TIRANA, Nov. 28- In the recent period, Caritas Polska has allocated over 110,000 Euro, obtained during special collections among Poles, to help Albanians affected by the floods in the last two years. This is an answer to the announcements of the Polish government submitted during the visit of the Prime Minister of Albania, Edi Rama in Warsaw, 6 Dec. 2017. The assistance from Caritas Polska has reached over 130 Albanian families.
The Polish aid project has been divided into two stages. The first stage was implemented in the region of Shkodra, where people affected by the flood were helped by providing useful tools needed in the renovation of flooded houses, such as construction and renovation materials, furniture, and basic necessities.
The next stage of assistance was the purchase of household appliances (some of which were Made in Poland) for families living in the area of Kamza on the outskirts of Tirana, which have already dealt with the effects of flooding. Some of the appliance given were 70 refrigerators, 75 automatic washing machines, 20 gas-electric stoves, radiators, irons, etc. These articles have been provided with the “Caritas Polska” logo and handed out to those in need. The list of the needy was prepared by Polish priests serving in Albania, in cooperation with Caritas Albania.
The Mayor of Kamza, Xhelal Mziu, representatives of local authorities, Caritas Albania, head of the local catholic parish of St. John Paul II in Bathore, Polish priest, Father A. Michon (CSsR) and Polish Ambassador in Albania, Karol Bachura, took part in the ceremony of presenting the equipment to the affected families.
Both the fact that Albania on November 28 celebrates its Independence Day and due to the approaching Holiday Season and the period of Advent, the transfer of help from Caritas Poland came in the time of celebrations and in time of giving and receiving.
Kamza has been a delicate area of Tirana where numerous floods have occurred during the years and countless houses have been damaged. The most recent happened on late Nov. and early Dec. 2017, where hundreds of families incurred damages. The main reason of the floods happen as there is no sewage collector, and thus the drainage canals get swamped and the streets overflow with water.
137 different projects were announced last year from the government for Kamza and its surrounding villages, however mayor Mziu claims no money has been received yet, either for compensations for the families, nor for infrastructure rehabilitation.
‘’It has been a year since the floods and the families in Kamza suffered damages, and they have received no money from the government. We remind that due to pouring in the area of Kamez, the citizens have suffered considerable damage in furnishings and household electronics, residence damages, etc.,’’ said Mziu.
The damages occurred as following: Valias over 30 families, Frutikultura over 26 families, Bathore over 170 families, Kamza 16 families, Paskuqan 23 families, and 22 families in Laknas.
Shkodra is another town that has suffered damages from floods over the years, especially in the villages area near the river Bojana. The river has a weak foundation which usually gets out of its bed when it pours and damages the houses nearby. Very little has been done from the government in these areas too, either in rehabilitating the river or to compensate the families that suffered impairments.
Caritas Polska is a charitable institution of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, revived in Oct. 10, 1990. It is a branch of Caritas Internationalis, a confederence of 165 catholic relief, development and social service organizations, which works in building a better world, especially for the poor and oppressed. Caritas was established by Lorenz Werthmann in Germany in 1897, and it operates in 200 countries and territories worldwide.
Caritas Polska coordinates the work of 44 dioceses and archdioceses Caritas in Poland. It performs a representative role (appearing on behalf of Caritas in Poland at the national and international level), formation and information (conducting trainings, symposia, recognizing areas and scale of poverty in Poland), operating (initiating nationwide fundraising for Poland and abroad, organizing humanitarian transport, providing emergency and long-term help, material, psychological, legal and financial assistance to the unemployed, homeless, sick and elderly, etc..
