The LVIA presence in Albania

The LVIA was one of the first NGOs to begin working in Albania as soon as the country opened its borders and the walls which had been built to isolate the population and govern them had been removed. Thanks to the humanitarian initiative launched by don Aldo Benevelli, the founder of the LVIA, and the support of the Caritas Piemonte charity, between 1991 and 1993 LVIA volunteers have brought emergency humanitarian aid (distributing food and basic necessities) to thousands of families in the Scutari and Lezhe districts. The LVIA has supported the establishment of the Caritas Centre in the capital, Tirana, and the founding of the local Church assistance organisations.  

The 1993 emergency action turned into a project which has involved thousands of people in socially useful work and in a Multi-sector Promotion Programme in Scutari district in building some twenty commercial family farms in the same number of villages in the district.

A number of social development initiatives have been promoted and implemented in both rural villages (training courses focusing on the emancipation of women, sinking wells and building aqueducts, renovating schools and kindergartens, clinics, microprojects, etc.) and in the urban environment (courses in entering the workforce for unemployed youth).

During the Kosovo emergency the LVIA was able to organise assistance for thousands of refugees by supplying basic requirements, services and heath aid and directly running a Reception Centre for eighty people seen for various reasons as highly at-risk, such as disabled children and the elderly. The schools as Pistull (1600 pupils), Barbullush and Boga (mountain villages) were also restructured.

Starting from 2000, a number of commercial farming businesses were set up the better to deal with the challenge of tackling development and sustainability.  The LVIA provided qualified technical assistance and financial support so that a number of the farms could be provided with effective agricultural mechanisation, irrigation equipment, channelling, etc. The winegrowers cooperative association, and two small sausage factories  went into production and a bee-keeping and small animal raising programme was developed. The products were marketed under the joint brand NANA NATHYR and some investments were made in the product transportation and distribution system (general market storage, shops in Scutari, packaging equipment, marketing).

Worthy of note is the collaboration between the LVIA and the School of Specialisation in Technology, Architecture and Urban Studies of Turin Polytechnic in the support of local institutions.

The Italian Ministry of Welfare has provided the LVIA with the results of investigations into family and environmental situations to aid in the possible return of unaccompanied minors to Albania currently resident in Italy.

Over the years the LVIA has gained valuable experience in the occupational training area and in introducing young men into the work force in Scutari and some rural centres (Bushat, Nenshat, Pistull), by organising courses for bricklayers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, electrical repairmen, aluminium workers, with courses for girls in silverwork, tailoring and dressmaking, knitting and hairdressing.  

In 2004 the FAO requested that the experiment be repeated in the Durazzo zone for developing wine growing.

At the beginning of 2005 the Italian Embassy in Tirana asked the LVIA to draw up a rural development plan for Northern Albania on the basis of which, assuming it was favourably received and distributed, a multi-year action is hoped to be developed in support of the most disadvantaged sector of the population.