In Albania, Food and Medicine for the Poor

Dear friend,

Pranvera is a young mother with five children and an alcoholic husband. She has kidney problems, and they are both unemployed. She and her children have been coming to the NG soup kitchen in the southern Albanian city of Gjirokaster since 2015 for meals, counseling, and community.

Inflation is a worldwide story in 2022, and in Albania, as elsewhere, it hits the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest. Prices of staple goods have gone up at least 20%. Added to that, the war in Ukraine has had some direct impacts on Albania. The costs of fuel have skyrocketed, while commodities that are usually imported from Russia and Ukraine, such as flour and sunflower oil, have become both scarce and expensive. To top it off, a terrible outbreak of bird flu on Albania's largest poultry farms has made eggs, normally a cheap source of protein, quite costly. 

As Pranvera says, "Our life has become more difficult now. Even though the war is in Ukraine, we feel the increased prices draining our hope. The increased food prices have made it hard for us to feed our children. I feel so overwhelmed seeing my children not being able to eat when they are hungry. I am so stressed as I don't know what we will eat the next day."

Every year, NG's aid program provides hot meals and parcels of staple goods for hundreds of people in need-- people like Pranvera and her children. As Pranvera says, "I am very thankful to NG Albania for  supporting me and my kids with warm meals, package food, and medicine. It is a big help for my family because I do not know how my family could survive in this situation."

This program is ongoing, and you can support it here. 

Gratefully yours,

Sarah Pita

Development Director, NG USA

Dear friend,

Vaide is 80 years old, and she has no family to help her. She never had children, and since her husband died, she has lived alone.  Most of the time, she is by herself. She lives in the village of Trebinja, in the Pogradec area. "She is a strong woman," says Nikoleta Xhindole, who runs NG's humanitarian program in Pogradec. 

For the last five years, NG has helped Vaide with food packages, clothing, and other material needs she can't take care of herself. Last summer, team members even helped her fix up her kitchen, because, at 80, she couldn't fix it herself. "Whenever the humanitarian team visits, she feels really happy," Nikoleta explains. "She smiles all the time when the staff is there, and wants only to talk to them and be asked about different things. It is very difficult to live alone in these times, and in poverty."

Vaide is just one of the 180 households NG Albania helps every year, with food parcels and other needs. The COVID-19 pandemic, along with widespread unemployment and inflation in Albania, have only deepened the isolation and hardship people like Vaide face. We are grateful that the support of donors like you has made it possible to add families in need to our program since the pandemic started. 

This program is ongoing, and you can donate here. 

Gratefully yours,

Sarah Pita

Development Director, NG USA