Programs & Projects

Albania

Education

• In January 2009, Mercy-USA for Aid and Development began providing three-month computer office software and English language training courses to orphans and other vulnerable youth in Albania.  Forty orphans are enrolled in the first courses.  Trainees are also receiving education in important life skills and character-building combined with awareness of the danger of slipping into crimes (drugs, prostitution, theft, etc.).  Topics under character-building include the value of work versus waiting for handouts from others, respect for self and others, confidence, the value of helping others, honesty and integrity.  The orphans are also being provided with a nutritious meal/snack during each class.  This project is being done in cooperation with local orphanages and municipalities.

• During the 2007-2008 school year, Mercy-USA for Aid and Development educated elementary school children in four districts of Albania (Lezha, Shkoder, Tirana and Elbasan) about proper hygiene and the importance of caring for the environment.  M-USA also made necessary improvements to the sanitation facilities in the participating schools.
  
  Mercy-USA covered topics such as hand washing and other personal hygiene, water and food safety, the dangers of alcohol, tobacco and drugs, as well as protecting the environment and keeping schools and neighborhoods clean.   The program included lectures, practical demonstrations, and competitions between the participating schools in each district.  Over 2,800 students, teachers and their families in rural areas directly benefited from this project.

• From September 2004 to June 2005, under a $3.2 million grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Mercy-USA for Aid and Development (M-USA) provided daily lunch to over 32,000 vulnerable school children in ten districts in the economically depressed northern and central regions of Albania.  The objectives of this project, like a similar one in the 2002/2003 academic year, were to improve the children’s nutrition and encourage attendance, reduce drop out rates, especially among girls, and improve academic performance.  In addition, M-USA improved the hygiene and health knowledge and awareness of these students and their teachers through seminars conducted by our health monitors.

All student achievement indicators increased at the end of the 2004/2005 school year when compared to the previous one.  Total student enrollment increased 4.4% (from 30,782 in 2003-2004 to 32,143 in 2004-2005).  Among girls, enrollment increased 4.9% (from 15,084 in 2003-2004 to 15,825 in 2004-2005).  Total student attendance increased 0.7% (from 98.7% in 2003-2004 to 99.4% in 2004-2005).

Moreover, the total percentage of students who successfully passed increased 2% (from 97% who passed in 2003-2004 to 99% in 2004-2005).  Total student average marks increased 8% (from 7.2 out of 10 in 2003-2004 to 7.8 in 2004-2005) and specifically 9% among girls (from 7.3 out of 10 to 8.0).

Additionally, Mercy-USA and its local partners have built and improved infrastructure, such as kitchens, lunch rooms and water and sanitation, at 39 schools.

• From September 2002 to June 2003, through a USDA Global Food for Education (GFEI) grant worth over $3 million, Mercy-USA carried out a daily school lunch program for over 30,600 children attending 67 primary schools in ten districts in the economically depressed northern and central regions of Albania.

The objectives of this project were to encourage attendance, reduce drop out rates, especially among girls, and improve academic performance. All student achievement indicators increased at the end of the 2002/2003 school year when compared to the previous school year.

Total student enrollment was up 5.2% from 29,114 in 2001/2002 to 30,635 in 2002/2003.  Enrollment among girls increased 6.4% from 14,215 to 15,124.  Moreover, the total percentage of students who successfully passed increased 3% over the previous school year. Total student average grades also increased 6% from 7.3 to 7.7 out of 10, and, specifically, 7% among girls from 7.5 in 2001/2002 to 8.0 out of 10 in 2002/2003.

Under GFEI, USDA donated surplus US agricultural commodities for use in school feeding and pre-school nutrition projects in developing countries.  The World Food Programme (WFP) and 14 Private Voluntary Organizations (PVOs), including Mercy-USA, were selected as grantees under this pilot program.

• M-USA supports an English language-training course offered in the northern city of Shkoder.

Economic Growth and Income Generation

• From October 2007 to September 2008, Mercy-USA for Aid and Development provided technical training to small farmers in four districts of Albania (Shkoder, Kavaja, Berat and Tirana).  The objectives of this training were to improve local agricultural production, stimulate the local economy, increase food security and promote the establishment of farmers’ cooperatives in these four districts.
  
  Workshops covered topics such as fruit, vegetable, olive and maize production.  Farmers were trained in basic production methods and new developments, effective ways of fighting crop infections and infestations, as well as simple management and marketing techniques.  Approximately 280 farmers attended the twelve seminars held.

• From May to November 2003, Mercy-USA for Aid and Development, in partnership with the Orphans’ Association in Kruja, Albania, carried out a six-month tailoring and sewing course for 15 orphans in that town.  The objective of this program was to help these orphaned girls to develop skills that allow them to support themselves and not be dependent on charity and meager government assistance.
  

• During March and April 2003, Mercy-USA for Aid and Development distributed approximately 1.56 million pounds of animal feed to 3,737 family farmers in Lezha, a northern district of Albania.  Each family received about 420 lb. of feed.

This distribution, which occurred in 13 villages throughout the district, came at a very critical time, with the region experiencing dry weather and a resulting shortage of grazing grass.  Dairy farmers reported a 12 to 15% increase in milk production (about two liters per cow) as a result of this feed distribution.  The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) donated the feed and helped fund the administrative costs of this program.

• From May to August 2003, through a food-for-work program funded by WFP, Mercy-USA supervised improvements to a one-kilometer gravel road that links the small village of Sharra to the main highway.  This project has improved access to this isolated village, whose primary school with 211 children participated in M-USA’s USDA-funded school lunch program.

Mercy-USA supervised the repairs, while the local government provided some material and transportation and the residents provided the labor and were compensated with WFP-donated food items.  In 2002, M-USA completed a similar food-for-work program in the village of Milot.

• In April and June 2003, Mercy-USA for Aid and Development continued its small enterprise development program in Albania by providing interest-free loans to two dairy product factories.  These facilities, located in the districts of Durres and Lushnja, employ 12 and 30 people respectively, and will repay the loans over a two-year period.

Since 1996, M-USA has been supporting family-based agricultural businesses through providing small interest-free loans, while our partner Land O’Lakes provides many recipients with technical assistance.  Small farmers have received loans to purchase sheep, dairy cows, beehives, water pumps and materials to build greenhouses.  Also, as described above, small dairy product manufacturers have received loans to purchase new equipment to upgrade and expand their production capacity.

 
Food and Shelter

• From February 2002 to January 2003, through a USDA sub-grant from Counterpart International (CPI) worth approximately $3.4 million, Mercy-USA for Aid and Development provided over 13 million pounds of wheat flour and beans to more than 120,000 vulnerable persons (30,225 families) in Albania. This food distribution project helped to feed orphans, the elderly, single-parent families, and persons with disabilities living in almost 100 towns and villages in 14 districts throughout the country.

During 2000, M-USA distributed almost 12.9 million pounds of wheat flour to approximately 200,000 vulnerable persons living in 364 towns and villages throughout Albania.  The 2000 food aid program was also funded through a USDA sub-grant from CPI.

• During 2001 and 2002, Mercy-USA distributed about 4.8 million pounds of WFP food items – wheat flour, beans, vegetable oil, canned meat and sugar - to over 31,000 vulnerable persons in remote, poverty-stricken regions of northern Albania.  Many of our clients included orphans and persons with disabilities.  Since 1997, M-USA has carried out a number of WFP-supported food aid projects throughout Albania.
  
  

• During the last twelve years, Mercy-USA has provided about 250,000 pounds of meat to the needy.
  
  
  
• Mercy-USA periodically provides food, clothing and other essential items to persons in need.

 

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