Albanian Alps.....Where eagles dare!!!

Last week we received a request to help a man who lives in a village called Thethi which is in the middle of the Albanian Alps near the border of Montenegro.. He had a bad wound on his foot from a burn 3 months ago! The young elders discovered him when they visited this village the week before on their P-day(day off). They had travelled there on a furgon which is a type of minivan which is used as a taxi. and can get you just about anywhere in Albania on any sort of terrain, due to the reckless abandon of the driver!!

We were told the road wasn't very good. We set off in a large Chevrolet for the 3 hour drive up and over the mountains.

The scenery was spectacular but the road was terrible, full of rocks and boulders and very narrow in places with VERY tight switchbacks!! It was bone-shaking and gut-wrenching. Dave had a hard job keeping the car away from the edge.

We arrived in the totally charming village of Thethi. It is set in the valley with the moutains rising up all round and the tranquillity hits you as soon as you get out of the car. This is the village church, unchanged for centuries.

People live here for Spring and Summer and work their land and look after their animals and are self-sufficient. They leave before the Winter sets in to go and stay in the town as they would be cut-off with snow. Its a simple and healthy life.

The smell of the meadow stays with you long after you've left. The little boxes here are beehives. We saw fields full of corn, and the river had the clearest blue water. We didn't have time to explore very much but there are waterfalls, caves, and other natural beauties

The man with the injury and his wife were glad to see us. This child who is a neighbour is fanning the flies away with leaves.

Amazingly, there did not appear to be a raging infection in the foot and new skin had grown! I advised about keeping it as clean as possible with daily soaking with saline and putting Betadine on which is the only antiseptic I've seen in Albania so far.We were able to leave him some painkillers as he said it was  painful at night. 

Our young translators wrote down the instructions in Albanian.

Apparently there is a community nurse but she came 2 weeks ago and didn't look at the foot; and buying any sort of medicine would be impossible for these people. The Ibuprofen we gave her has travelled all the way from Tesco in England!!

Dinner consisted of a thin lamb roasted on a spit and fresh goats cheese with salad and bread, along with the watermelon we had travelled up the mountain with us.

Have some stuffing Elder, from the lamb's stomach! He had already eaten some tongue, and the rest of the head and brains were offered to everyone.....just couldn't!!!

We loved our trip to Thethi in spite of the difficult and dangerous journey.  We accompished what we set out to do which was an errand of mercy. It was an adventure, but Dave said he would'nt drive there ever again!!

We appreciate the help that these two young men and others here in Albania give us with translation. It's amazing to think that the young missionaries who go out to every country in the world, receive only 3 months preparation in the training centre before they go to the country in which they will serve, and can speak the language fluently and so can teach people in their own tongue.

Community Service on Vlore beach

The members of the Church in Vlore wanted to do a service project in their community.They decided to clean up a part of one of the beaches. They approached us for help with providing equipment.

This is the first 500 metres of the North beach before the project. Litter-dropping is a big problem in Albania. It happens all over the place, including the beach. Albania is a developing country, and the potential for tourism could really be developed with a few changes.

We provided rakes, shovels, wheelbarrows etc.

Everyone worked very hard. Two TV stations took shots and the mayor came for a short while and helped, and wore one of the Mormon Helping Hands yellow vests.

Mission Complete!!

Now this beach can be enjoyed by everyone.

Including us. The sea was like a warm bath, really beautiful especially for tired feet! It's shallow for a long way out.

These little fishing boats were just bobbing about in the sea

Albanian children love having their picture taken.

This beach project took place on June 2nd. We went down to Vlore a couple of weeks later and walked the beach. There was a big machine ploughing up the sand along the rest of the beach, which is quite long, starting from the edge of where our project finished!!

Regional hospital Vlore

We first visited  Vlore hospital ITU in January. We saw how old much of the equipment was, and how difficult it was for the staff to look after their patients. We wondered if things were any better 4 months later in May. There is refurbishment of some parts of the hospital planned but this may not include new equipment, just the building and the grounds. So the needs we noted in January still existed.......

For example, this very old suction apparatus!

We presented them with a new one. 

This is a vital piece of equipment in ITU as it helps to keep the airway clear in very sick or unconscious patients, and also helps to prevent pneumonia.

We also brought a mutiparameter patient monitor which is very good machine to have in an ITU. It  enables staff to detect changes in a patient's condition more quickly.

ITU director tried it out on himself....it measures vital signs as well as pulse oximetry and continuous ECG reading.

Everyone will be trained to use the new machine. ITU chief said that the provision of this modern equipment will inspire staff to upgrade their skills and knowledge. He will press the health dept to provide them with more monitors like this one.

 Elder Willis is presenting the donation certificate on behalf of LDS Charities (our official name)........

........with the help of the young missionary who is

translating, Albanian that is, not Geordie!! 

Big birthday

Ola had a birthday in May, a big one, as she moved into a new decade!! The date coincided with a planned visit to the seaside town of Vlore where we needed to finalise arrangements for 3 projects!!

Overlooking the bay of Vlora and the Adriatic sea.

We love our mission because with our humanitarian work we get the chance to see new places and have fun (a lot of)!

 After 6 months spent mainly in Tirana, the sight and sound of the sea was just magnificent...

These are views just outside our window where we stayed......

And the luxury was almost too much to handle!!

On the day of my birthday Elder and Sr Volz who are the couple serving  in Vlore, took us on a trip over the mountains south of Vlore towards Himare. We were heading for Porto Polermo and the castle of Ali Pasha!!

We met this goatherd  jingling their way along, all with bells round their necks.....

And we discovered the 3 billygoats gruff!!!

We were heading for the Ionian Sea

 After a spectacular drive we reached the voast and arrived at Ali Pasha's castle. It's in a little cove, all intact and original.

 The door was open and we just went in.....if it's locked you find the man who lives in a little caravan nearby and he lets you have the

key for 100lek($1)!!

They are discussing how they could buy the castle and make it a tourist attraction!!

Early education

This is a Roma kindergarten in a village outside Tirana. Its a modest little school which aims to improve the chances of these children who come from the poorest families to enter mainstream education.

The government provides a teacher and a budget for supplies but there is a lack of essentials such as heating, suitable furniture, floor covering.

This is the class for 6 and 7yr olds. Our visit was unannounced! They were delighted to see us and respectfully stood up when  we entered the little classroom.

Here are the 8-9yr olds. These children really want to learn and have a better life. They and their parents understand that education is the key to getting out of poverty.

 Every child deserves the chance to learn. The alternative is begging or collecting recycling from the bins. We will be supporting 3 schools like this. We have commissioned a local carpenter to make the little tables and chairs and we will buy the rest of the items.

Fushe-Kruje

 This is the little town of Kruje; we found it accidentally as we were looking for a place that sold furniture for kindergartens! The town is built into the side of a hill. It has a castle and lovely views right out to the coast. It is one of the few 'touristy' places in Albania, but still very quaint and well worth a visit.

                              Dave found a bear to wrestle (in a restaurant)!

 When I said 'touristy' I meant that there were little stores that sold souvenirs, where you can see women weaving rugs etc. Otherwise, life goes on as normal and you never know what you're going to meet as you walk down the street............

Sheep tied to a lampost!!