Humanitarian work of Australian medical teams has improved lives of those affected, inspired with stories of hope, friendship, compassion and of the strength of the human spirit, says Ambassador of Australia Jenny Bloomfield at reception on the occasion of the visit to Tirana of the Australian medical team and celebrating Australian-Albanian partnership for community service. It was held June 14.
By Ambassador Jenny Bloomfield
TIRANA, June 14 – We are delighted to welcome to Tirana a team of volunteer medical practitioners from Melbourne, Australia.
The team are part of the “Kind Cuts for Kids” initiative – an Australian non-government, not-for-profit organisation providing specialist medical care to children around the world.
It’s their third visit to Albania in just over a year. They are here working with Albanian colleagues to conduct complex surgery and provide training.
I would like to acknowledge Dr Paddy Dewan, Dr Padma Rao, Dr Dritan Alushani, Mr John Taip and all their Australian and Albanian colleagues, for all they have done to change lives and make dreams come true. I would also like to acknowledge Irsilda, one of the young patients treated by the doctors in Melbourne and in Tirana, and her family, who are here with us tonight. And I would like to acknowledge the Australian-Albanian community. Its role in supporting this work has been instrumental. The community in Melbourne raised over $60,000 just last month for the medical professionals’ current visit. Congratulations and thank you most sincerely to Sezar Jekupi and his colleagues.
This has been a real partnership between the Albanian and Australian medical staff, who have had the privilege of working with each other and learning from each other.
And together, they have touched and they have affected dozens of children and families whose lives they have improved.
And in the process they themselves, and all of us, have been touched, affected, inspired by the stories of hope, of friendship, of compassion and of the strength of the human spirit.
This is the true hallmark of the Albanian-Australian relationship.
Our two countries are separated by a great geographical distance. But we are joined by community bonds, a shared commitment to peace and prosperity, and a willingness to work together to achieve common goals.
Australia recognises the significant progress made by the Albanian people. We see in Albania a country that engages positively with the countries in its region.
We see a NATO member with a strong record of contribution, including as one of our ISAF partners in Afghanistan.
And we see a nation committed to its full European integration, and to ongoing political, economic and social development and reform.
I would also like to acknowledge this evening the overwhelmingly positive contribution to Australia’s society by the Australian-Albanian community, members of which are with us here today.
Their journey to a new land on the other side of the world required courage, ingenuity and hard work.
They have succeeded in their new home, and they contribute to all areas of Australian life. And they enrich our society.
I wish to ackowledge Mr. Dinny Adem, who is here with us tonight from the city of Shepparton in the Australian state of Victoria – home to many Albanian-Australians. He came to ask for help to establish a sister-city relationship between Shepparton and the city of Korce, from which many Albanian-Australians originate.
We are proud to have with us tonight HE the Mayor of the City of Shepparton, who is here to finalise the agreement on the sister-city relationship.
We wish to congratulate you and look forward to formally inaugurating the Shepparton-Korce sister-city relationship.
Ladies and gentlemen
Australia has a western tradition and people from all over the world. We have one of the world’s strongest economies, and one of the fairest societies. We are a strong supporter of the United Nations, work closely with countries big and small, in our region and in the world, for peace, security and prosperity for all nations.
In Albania we see a true and a valued partner. We are also showcasing this evening the Australian Government’s support for community-based humanitarian and development projects in Albania.
We have supported projects such as child development activities, small infrastructure projects and assistance to disadvantaged community groups.
This year we are proud to be working with local communities in the Miredita district to improve nutrition and income generation from agriculture. The project will assist families to diversify their crops by using improved seed stock and new agricultural techniques and will provide training on the proper preservation and marketing of products, to supplement family incomes.
We are also supporting a project to increase community knowledge about human trafficking, to help end the stigmatization of victims of trafficking and help them reintegrate in society.
We look forward to working closely with our Albanian partners to continue this work, as we identify further areas in which Australian assistance can be useful.
Once again I would like to thank our doctors, their Albanian colleagues and partners, the medical students, and the children and their families, and wish them all the best. And I would like to thank most sincerely our community members, and all friends of Albania and Australia.
