Juli grew up in Iba village, near Albania’s capital Tirana. She was introduced to church and a children’s club run by World Challenge’s partner as a little girl. A very shy and reserved child, she still came every week with a friend.
Ema’s father died when she was three years old. For any child, this would be a devastating loss, but it was especially so for Ema and her family as Roma who depended heavily on her father’s presence to protect them and his income to support them.
Daily living for a Roma woman is a seemingly endless gauntlet of obstacles and challenges. One dear Roma lady who is involved in our team is Hena. Her name means “the moon,” but her life has not been that bright.
Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Albania, the government has taken very strict measures to contain the disease and protect people. This situation caught us all unprepared; but for Roma communities, more than anyone, this lockdown is like the end of the world.
Could you survive on $70 a month? This is the reality for much of the Roma community, the most vulnerable people group in Europe. One woman, a single mother of three, had nothing but a small shack on the side of the river. But while she was in the hospital, her home was raided, and her situation went from bad to worse. Learn more about Dorina and how World Challenge partners came alongside her family to provide hope.
Albania in the 1970s, caught under the boot of Enver Hoxha and his sharply Stalinist ideas of government, was not a friendly place for those who did not match the mold of mainstream society.
The northwestern side of Albania has experienced 31 earthquakes in the last month, many around a 4.5 magnitude and one as large as 6.4.
