On November 26, Albania was
rocked by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake, killing 51 people, and leaving thousands
with homes destroyed and uninhabitable. Homes, schools, hospitals, churches
were destroyed or severely damaged.
Albania Holidays apart from donating direct relief funds did
also raise awareness among its partners throughout the world. Grand Circle
Corporation and Overseas Adventure Travel reacted with lightning speed and
through their Grand Circle Foundation made clear their willingness to help.
In less than 48 hours they dispatched to Albania their
Director of Corporate Air Travel and Contracting Mr. Josif Goga, who is
originally from Albania. In Albania he meet with our team and together we started
to plan where we can put the relief funds.
Josif stated” Upon arrival, I realized that the situation was way worse that I
could have ever imagined. All these families left with nothing but their
clothes on their back and a plastic tent to live in. The amount of misery was
indescribable and beyond any stretch of my imagination. Families living in the
cold, humid tents, with rain water running underneath their beds, and mud
everywhere they stepped on”So, together we went over several options on how we could help these people. Food and tents were already being provided by the neighboring countries (Italy and Turkey).We decided that the best help we could offer, was providing wood stoves, as the winter had arrived and these families had no heat in their tents, and no means to cook.
The local authorities were very responsive (surprisingly) in providing the names and addresses of families who were affected the most and with no means to provide for their kids.
With the funds put together we purchased 35 wood stoves, including the accessories that come with them, and delivered them ourselves to these people in their tents. The combined feeling of joy and desperation in their eyes was a very touching moment. These people had been already living in the tents for weeks, and these stoves we provided a much-needed ray of hope in these people’s eyes, and through them, it warmed our hearts as well.
In total, we helped 35 families (almost 200 people) keep warm this winter. Gratitude to our partners Grand Circle Corporation and everyone else involved.
