Albania

The power of prayer has always been an integral part of World Challenge’s ministry, and we are honored to intercede on the behalf of our partners around the world.

World Challenge’s partners are reaching out to the children of the Roma community to help them grow towards their heavenly Father.

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.

In Albania, God reached out to one mother in a heart-wrenching situation to restore life, hope and joy.

When Zamira and her husband were informed that he had cancer, it was essentially a death sentence. 

A church in Albania is working to bring God’s light and new life to the Roma community, and they share how he is transforming one lady’s relationships with her family.

When you step into a Roma community, everyone around you has a story of incredible hardship that they have survived.

One Roma lady and her family in Albania went from crippled by poverty to helping their neighbors survive the economic downturn.

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.

Internet access isn’t always a given, even in Europe, so partners in Albania are working to make sure that everyone has the correct information but also stays encouraged.

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.

One girl was stolen from her birth family and left searching for a true home until she entered World Challenge’s partner-church in Albania.

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.

After a series of natural disasters, believers in Albania are working together to help those who have lost homes.

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.

In one of Albania’s Roma villages, gospel living is changing the face of the town and people’s outlook on their future.

Latif is a leader in the Roma, or gypsy, community. He has served God for more than 15 years in his village, and his home has become a community center and church where people from the village gather. Everyone knows his door is open anytime, and God has done incredible work to heal many of his hometown’s troubles.