In Albania, Food and Medicine for the Poor

Dear friends--

The In Albania, Food and Medicine for the Poor project continues to bring food, supplies, clothing, and medicine to 190 families  in the Pogradec area of Albania year-round.  The people we help are in need due to poverty, illness, disability, unemployment, crisis, and geographical isolation. With your help, we provide aid, social services, and medical support to people who would not get it otherwise. 

Recently, the NG team visited the remote mountain villages in the Mokra area outside Pogradec. The roads to Mokra are terrible, and get worse every year.  A professor at Nehemiah Gateway University who lives in Pogadec accompanied the team. He says he was surprised at the abject poverty he witnessed in some households. One old woman who lives alone has holes in her roof that she patches with plastic sheeting every time it rains, climbing up on to the loosely tiled roof herself to put up the plastic in the rain and then removing them when the sun comes out. Food aid helps, but "much more assistance is needed," he says.

This project will continue as long as there are people in the Pogradec area who go to bed cold, hungry and without a good roof over their heads every night. You can help make their new year brighter and warmer by continuing to support this project here.

With best wishes for a happy holiday season and wonderful new year,

Sarah Pita

Development Director, Nehemiah Gateway USA

This summer, volunteers Tracy and Mitch Dalton of Estes Park, Colorado visited Pogradec. In addition to volunteering at Amaro Tan's summer camp, they were able to visit NG Albania's programs. They accompanied the social work team on home visits, and Tracy provided the following report of her experiences:

The Social and Medical Improvement team at Nehemiah Gateway (NG) has formed relationships with many different families in and around Pogradec. These families have many different needs, and the team works to take care of each family and the individual family members. Home visits allow the team to keep a presence throughout the community, especially for families with members with mobility challenges who cannot visit the NG clinic.

The home visitation program is unique, and families are very hospitable to visitors. I went along for a couple of visits, and the families I met are special people with tremendous stories. The social worker visits with the families to determine their needs, and works to provide for whatever those needs are. In some cases it can be a listening ear, while in other cases it may be medical or mental health care.  I saw individuals who were housebound due to paralysis and muscle pain. The social worker provided a massage while visiting, which helped to ease pain and discomfort, and talked to the family to better understand their challenges. During the visit, the families offered coffee, water, and treats. These families often don't have much extra for themselves, but they provide what they have to visitors without hesitation, and with much grace. It is amazing to visit people who give so much when they have so little.

The Social and Medical Improvement team at Nehemiah Gateway provides a connection for families who might otherwise be overlooked by society. Whether it is for a member with special needs, or a medical condition, the SMI team gives people the opportunity to live a full life even with hard circumstances. 

Your donation to "In Albania, Food and Medicine for the Poor" is helping families like these to make ends meet, and easing the burdens of poverty, isolation and physical pain. The project is ongoing, and the team visits dozens of families like these every month. 

Thank you for your generous support.

Sincerely,

Sarah Pita