New projects organized by Diakonia Agapes Office in support of people with disabilities and farmers
Diakonia Agapes, the Social, Developmental and Emergency Office of the Orthodox Autocephalous Church of Albania, was founded in 1992 with the initiative and blessing of His Beatitude Anastasios, Archbishop of Tirana, Durrës and All Albania. At the beginning, it started by providing humanitarian aid during the emergency periods, and then because of the various needs presented in the country, it oriented its activities towards the development field, aiming to stay close and support the most vulnerable individuals and groups in the Albanian society. Since 2000, the office operates within the “Spirit of Love” Foundation of the Church, which is a non-profit organization. Diakonia Agapes is also one of the founders of the Balkan Civil Society Development Network, which consists of 15 organizations in the respective field.
This year a series of new projects have been planned and launched by this office:
Perrenjas – Providing Support to People with Disabilities
In partnership with the Association for the Protection of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (MEDPAK) and the Albanian Center for the Integration of People with Special Needs (QSHINJNV), Diakonia Agapes Office is implementing a six-month project entitled “Transparent and Effective Public Services for People with Disabilities” in the municipalities of Perrenjas, Belsh and Cërrik. This project is supported by the sub-grant fund “Networking and exchange of knowledge between CSOs in the field of anti-corruption and good governance at the local level” – Round II, within the CIVILISC project, funded by the EU and implemented by IDM in partnership with the RiskMonitor Foundation in Bulgaria.
In the framework of this project, on 28 February 2018, a project was presented at the Municipality of Perrenjas, which was attended by persons with disabilities, parents, representatives of public institutions and civil society. Ms. Miranda Rira, Mayor of Perrenjas Municipality was present also in the meeting during which she showed special interest for the project and offered her cooperation and support as well as of the institution she represents.
A Project in Support of the Farmers
Since 1 January 2018, Diakonia Agapes has started implementing the project “The Economic Empowerment of Farmers in Rural Areas of Albania”, supported by Bread for the World Organization in Germany. Its purpose is to improve the life conditions and increase the welfare of farmers in the rural areas of Elbasan.
In the context of this project, two one-day workshops were organized at the Tregan administrative unit. On 23 February, a workshop was held in Muçan, which was attended by women who benefited from the greenhouses in Muçan and Kaçivel villages, and on February 27, a workshop was held in the village of Kyçyk, where the beneficiaries of Kyçyk and Tregan villages attended. There were also farmers who have greenhouses and grow their own vegetables in the area and who showed interest in becoming part of the project.
During these meeting, Diakonia Agapes representors shared with the attendees their own experience in completing the “Economic Empowerment of Women in Tregan Municipality” Project which was implemented during November 2014 – November 2017. Also thoughts were shared about the given opportunities for getting organized in groups of common interests with other women who wanted to benefit from the project. The meeting was attended by representatives of Diakonia Agapes Office, agriculture specialists, as well as the administrator of Tregan’s administrative unit.
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