On March 8, the Albanian government closed all schools and public gatherings throughout the country to limit the spread of coronavirus. Students at Nehemiah Gateway's schools and programs went home, and the elderly and sick people who come to Nehemiah Gateway's soup kitchens were told to stay home. Many of these people are very poor, and missing school means missing meals. For people with no other reliable source of support, this project may be the only food and care they get during the crisis.
Nehemiah Gateway Albania works with groups especially vulnerable to coronavirus, and to hardship caused by quarantines. Our elderly clients live in poverty, and NG supplies meals, community, and healthcare. Students at Amaro Tan and the Gjirokaster soup kitchen suffer from food insecurity and school is where they access nutritious meals. Being ordered to stay at home deprives them of meals as well as community and care. This project will feed them, and allow for check-ins with elderly clients.
This project will provide food to people who do not have the means to obtain it themselves. It will provide cleaning supplies to maintain better hygiene at home . And, it will allow social workers to check in on vulnerable elderly people who are at highest risk from the disease, at a safe distance. Many of these people live alone, and have no other way to get help from the outside world. Once the emergency is over, they will be able to return to soup kitchens, clinics, and schools.
Humanitarian aid is the first step toward restoring human dignity, meeting basic needs for food, clothing, and health. Personalized care provided by our social work team respects the dignity of each aid recipient and recognizes their humanity. Once survival needs are met, people can take further steps toward independence. They can learn skills that make employment possible. Children can go to school, greatly increasing their chances of self-sufficiency and a dignified future as adults.
