In Albania, Food and Medicine for the Poor

Dear friends,

Having a child with special needs creates challenges for Albanian families. Services are limited, and necessary treatments and therapies-- when they are available-- can be expensive. Parents and other family members are often the only caregivers, and that can be a full-time, unpaid job that lasts a lifetime.

In Pogradec, Nehemiah Gateway is one of the only organizations offering free services to people with disabilities or other special needs. Our connection to this community is highly customized to the needs of each household. We bring both physical therapy and aid parcels into the homes of people with mobility challenges, and sometimes our staff even do a little light cleaning and cook lunch. We run support groups for mothers, and provide special education services at our clinic.

And sometimes, we do things because they are fun. On a windy day in April, our clinical staff created a kite-flying field trip at a nearby park for some of the children with special needs in the program. It was a lot of fun-- and brought the  children together in the fresh air, allowing them to connect with one another as they developed their motor skills. 

Through this program, we provide food and medicine-- but we also work to build community and help people learn.

These needs are ongoing and you can help here.

With gratitude,

Sarah Pita

Development Director, NG USA

Dear Friend,

The road to Kabashi, an defunct military barracks near Pogradec, Albania is almost impassable in the winter months. The dirt road is clogged with ice, snow, and mud. But NG's Amaro Tan team has soup kitchen clients who live there, because even a poor shelter is better than nothing. 

The Amaro Tan team had to get creative to deliver firewood and food to the residents of Kabashi this January. Horses and mules helped carry 8 cubic meters of firewood and 13 aid bundles to the people who live there. Some 9th grade boys from the Amaro Tan school even helped out with the delivery.

Other deliveries of food and firewood, like the one pictured below, were accomplished more routinely with the use of the school's trusty blue van.

As you can see from the pictures, midwinter is a hard and hungry time for Pogradec's poor. More deliveries will take place in the coming days, making sure all our clients are warm and have enough to eat. Your gift is helping the Amaro Tan, Buçimas, and Gjirokaster teams offer some relief as Albania, as the world waits for brighter days ahead.

With gratitude,

Sarah Pita

Development Director, NG USA

PS This campaign is ongoing and you can continue supporting it here.

Dear friends, 

As the weather begins to turn cooler in the remote hill villages around Pogradec, Albania, the humanitarian team at NG's clinic has started another round of aid deliveries to the people who live there. Our aid deliveries are essential to these villagers. In the years since the fall of the Albanian communist regime, many Albanians have left for the improved employment opportunities in towns and cities. Those who remain, usually because of their circumstances, see infrastructure-- roads, post offices, schools-- deteriorating and closing, leaving them isolated and living in poverty.

Nehemiah Gateway Albania's humanitarian team brings bundles of food staples, cleaning supplies, and donated clothing to about 150 households in the villages several times a year. The roads get worse every year, and delivering bundles of aid is a multi-day proposition requiring skilled driving and navigation. 

The story of the villages varies little from year to year, and the needs remain. We are happy to help them-- and grateful that, in contributing to this project, you have helped them too. 

With gratitude,

Sarah Pita

Development Director, NG USA

PS Note that, in addition to bringing aid to the villages, In Albania, Food and Medicine for the Poor helps many people in Pogradec who are living in poverty. In 2020, many people with health conditions face huge challenges to taking care of themselves. Your continued support is helping them as well. 

Dear friends--

When Albania went into a nationwide lockdown in early March, Nehemiah Gateway worked with donors, GlobalGiving, and the City of Pogradec to expand the reach of its longstanding aid delivery program. The people we normally help--people who are old and alone, struggling with chronic health conditions, or trapped in a cycle of poverty-- continued needing aid. Many Albanians who live from day to day found themselves needing help as well, as their precarious livelihoods were put on hold by the lockdown. During March and April of 2020, Nehemiah Gateway delivered over 1000 aid parcels to people in need in Pogradec and Gjirokastër. 

At present, lockdowns in Albania have been substantially lifted. Nonetheless, the In Albania, Food and Medicine for the Poor program continues providing basic aid deliveries to society's most vulnerable-- and will continue doing so as long as aid is needed. This support saves lives-- especially in the era of COVID-19. By safely delivering necessities to people with chronic health conditions, we are helping them limit their exposure to other people, and thus their risk of infection.

With cases of COVID-19 increasing in Albania, it will become increasingly important to help vulnerable people stay home. And, if another lockdown occurs, In Albania, Food and Medicine for the Poor will be prepared to step up again to help the communities it serves. 

We are grateful for your support of this progam. 

Be well,

Sarah Pita

The humanitarian team at NG spends many hours every year visiting the villages around Pogradec, not only bringing needed food and supplies to people in difficult circumstances, but also showing compassion and making them feel less invisible. The food and supplies are always welcome, and they give our team a chance to connect with people who are often forgotten. 

Fatime, pictured above, lives in the village of Çerravë, southeast of Pogradec. At 75, she suffers from hemiparesis (paralysis on one side of her body). She lived for a long time with a daughter with special needs; after that daughter passed away, she lived with her son for a while and now is living with her other daughter. Nehemiah Gateway provides Fatime and her daughter with food parcels and home visits to make sure there aren't other unmet needs.

Fatime's is just one of 190 households the NG team regularly visits. Sometimes, aid  is the boost that makes it possible for people to begin building a more self-sufficient existence. Other times, it is a needed support for people who are perpetually falling through holes in Albania's social safety net. 

Your generous support helps people like Fatime. You can contribute to this ongoing program here.

With gratitude,

Sarah Pita

Development Director, NG-USA