LCIF Aids Albanian Villagers
Before LCIF became involved, the 4,500 dirt-poor villagers of Tarazh, Albania, had to use a school building with no window panes, no toilets and no protection against the rain or thawing snow. Most villagers said no thanks. Since the next nearest school was more than two hours away by donkey, many children did not attend school at all.Children not only did not learn but they also did without healthcare, as did their parents. The nearest health clinic also was more than two hours away in Preshen.
Those days of doing without are a memory now, thanks to LCIF and Austrian Lions. The foundation, the Lions Club of Graz-Forum and District 114-M donated funds to renovate and expand the dilapidated school building to house a clean, serviceable school and health clinic.
Such facilities are sorely needed in Albania, the poorest country in Europe. After 50 years of totalitarianism and economic isolation, the country suffers from massive unemployment, wrenching poverty and dismal health and education systems.
"It is among the goals of the worldwide Lions' organization to help the poorest of the poor," the Lions of Austria wrote in their final report to LCIF on their school/clinic project. "With this project we wanted to help the people of Albania realize they have a future in their own country."
One of the goals of the project was to improve life in Tarzah and to convince villagers not to move to a city. Many Albanians from small, remote villages have done just that only to find themselves without work or prospects and forced to live in a squalid ghetto. Some eventually have given up on Albania and abandoned their homeland.
The project in Tarazh was done in association with the Marianne Graf Foundation, which covered the project's operational expenses. Marianne Graf, an Austrian teacher, began charitable work in Albania after being horrified by its poverty during a trip she took there in 1992. Her foundation delivers aid packages to individual families and rebuilds schools and clinics. The Lions Club of Graz-Forum had previously supported the Graf Foundation's efforts in Albania.
The building renovation in Tarazh cost US$100,000. LCIF provided US$50,000, District 114-M US$45,000 and the Lions Club of Graz-Forum US$5,000.
All the renovation work was done by villagers, boosting the local economy, reinforcing the sense of community and increasing the efficiency of the project.
The project's efficiency wasn't limited only to the direct labor involved. The Austrian Lions reported that "we would like to thank LCIF for their support and the uncomplicated way of carrying out the project."
