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Caritas Albania

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Caritas Albania
Caritas Shqiptar
Established1993; 31 years ago (1993)
TypeNonprofit
Purposedevelopment aid, humanitarian relief, social services
Location
Coordinates41°20′06″N 19°48′23″E / 41.3349°N 19.8064°E / 41.3349; 19.8064
Region served
Albania
Official language
Albanian, English
President
Archbishop Arjan Dodaj[1]
Director
Juljana Reso
AffiliationsCaritas Europa, Caritas Internationalis
Websitecaritasalbania.org

Caritas Albania (Albanian: Caritas Shqiptar) is an Albanian Catholic not-for-profit social welfare and humanitarian relief organisation. It is a service of the Albanian Bishops' Conference.

Caritas Albania is a member of both Caritas Europa and Caritas Internationalis.

History

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In 1993, two years after the fall of communism in Albania, the Episcopal Conference of the Albanian Catholic Church founded Caritas Albania as its social and humanitarian arm. On 3 October 1995, it was officially recognized by the Albanian state as a charitable organisation of the Albanian Catholic Church.[2]

In the 1990s, Albania faced a challenging period marked by high levels of unemployment and poverty, along with an influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees from Kosovo in 1998 and 1999. In this context, Caritas Albania provided essential humanitarian aid, including the distribution of goods and making accommodation centres available, and supported impoverished individuals in becoming legal landowners.[3][4]

Since 1994, Caritas Albania has been a member of Caritas Internationalis and Caritas Europa, the global network of Catholic aid organisations.[2]

Work

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Caritas Albania implements a wide range of activities. In the field of humanitarian action, it supports communities after local or country-wide emergencies, including after floods such as the large-scale 2006 Albania floods,[5] the 2008 Gërdec explosions and the 2019 Albania earthquake.[6][7]

Since the 2015 European migrant crisis, Caritas Albania has been providing support to refugees, asylum-seekers, and migrants arriving in Albania. As of 2024, the organisation is a partner of UNHCR and maintains a presence at two border points, in Korça and in Gjirokastra, to provide translation and counselling services. Caritas staff identify the vulnerabilities and specific needs of the individuals arriving, such as healthcare requirements, and help them meet these needs.[8]

Another important pillar is the provision of social services for Albanians. Caritas Albania has been building healthcare facilities and provides services to vulnerable persons, including persons with disabilities and Roma people.[9][10][11]

Structure

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The national office of Caritas Albania in Tirana.

Caritas Albania is a network that consists of the national office located in Tirana as well as of six diocesan Caritas organisations:

In addition, Caritas works through 95 referral missions throughout Albania.[12]

Presidents

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References

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  1. ^ "UNHCR Albania joins UN agencies in celebrating United Nations Week". UNHCR Albania. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Reports and one survey on monitoring of best practices in the field of policy making directed to disadvantaged children and women and on dissemination activities" (PDF). taskproject.eu. 2019. p. 29. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  3. ^ "UN Inter-Agency Update on Kosovo Situation Report 49". ReliefWeb. 31 July 1998. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  4. ^ de Waal, Clarissa (January–June 2004). "Post-socialist Property Rights and Wrongs in Albania: An Ethnography of Agrarian Change". Conservation & Society. 2 (1): 19–50. JSTOR 26396565.
  5. ^ "Caritas working to ease the suffering of Albanian flood victims". ReliefWeb. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  6. ^ "UFT financially supports Caritas Albania and the Albanian Development Fund". Union Financiar Tirane. 6 March 2008. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Albania – Earthquake emergency, VIS cooperates with Caritas". Agenzia Info Salesiana. 29 November 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  8. ^ "Interview with Ariela Mitri". Scalabrini International Migration Institute. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  9. ^ "Support to People with Disabilities, SOCIETIES". caritaskosova.org. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  10. ^ Rama, Rudina; Çarçani, Valbona; Prifti, Fatmir; Huta, Kristo; Xhixha, Ali; Connor, Stephen R. (February 2018). "Palliative Care—Albania". Journal of Pain and Symptom Management. Palliative Care Development in Resource Limited Countries. 55 (2, Supplement): S14–S18. doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2017.05.014. PMID 28807704. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Caritas Albania". caritas.eu. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Historiku Caritas". caritasalbania.org (in Albanian). Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Shuhet arkipeshkv Rrok Mirdita". Gazeta Shqip (in Albanian). 8 December 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  14. ^ "10 anni di comunione tra Chiesa italiana e Chiesa albanese" (PDF). conferenzaepiscopale.it (in Italian). 2002. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  15. ^ AngeloMassafraCV"Shënime Biografike | CURRICULUM VITAE IMZOT ANGELO MASSAFRA O.F.M." kishakatolikeshkoder.com (in Albanian). 9 July 2020. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
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