A vision for Albania

Nearly 3,000 feet high on a plateau in south-eastern Albania, surrounded by the Morava Mountains, lies the city of Korça - the location of WorldShare's newest partner ministry.

"In January 1999, we started a community health evangelism (CHE) programme with three Albanian believers from a church in Korça and a missionary from the US," recalls ministry director Dr. Patriot Hoxhaj. "In 2003, our organization was officially registered within Albania as the Medical Ambassadors Foundation."

The ministry is now called the Balkans Wholistic Development(BWD).

"Our purpose is to reach communities of Albania and the Balkans using CHE as an approach, planting churches where there are no believers. Where there is a church, we empower local believers in their ministry to strengthen the church and help it grow.

"Our training team works in three villages in Korça province, comprising about 1400 households with up to 7,000 people. There are now weekly Bible study groups."

While BWD's key projects now centre around HIV/AIDS awareness training and care for the disabled, the ministry's impact at grass-roots community level was experienced powerfully by one village.

"This village was known as the dirtiest in the area. By their own initiative a successful trash project was started. The next year, the village was declared the cleanest in the region. The project was adopted by local government and applied to other villages."

Albania emerged from Communism 20 years ago as the world's most atheistic state, and a closed land.

"A major problem is the mentality that resulted from the communist system - some say the most hard-line in the world - which brainwashed people for 50 years," says Dr. Hoxhaj. "In 1967 Albania became the first and only atheistic state when its leader declared "Albania believes there is no God", and religious activities were prohibited."

Most communities entered by BWD have no Christian believers. "In all areas we work, people are Muslim traditionally," says Dr. Hoxhaj. "Usually we find people in poor communities with a lot of economic problems, poor infrastructure and hygiene, open sewer channels, health problems, and a lack of knowledge about God."

In 2009, Dr. David Carling undertook an initial visit to Albania on WorldShare's behalf. "The people are individualistic and passionate," he observed. "There is little effort at united action; rather, family and tribal loyalties are the norm."

Yet the Church has been born, and is beginning to emerge from Western domination. David saw how Bible studies begun by our partners have combined to form a church which meets in a hired house. They are beginning to contribute and save towards calling a pastor, and have a vision for a church building incorporating a community centre.

"Dr. Patriot is a quiet man of faith and dedication," concludes David. "He has a team committed to CHE principles. This is a highly successful approach to community evangelism in rural Muslim populations."

Projects to help BWD in Albania include:-

• Training & supporting handicapped & orphaned children


• Children's programme in schools