Albania
Creating Opportunities

Donate for Albania

Albania is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Young people in particular are leaving their homeland to find work abroad. Help is committed to creating new opportunities. We provide start-up aid for young and disadvantaged people and help them build a self-determined life.

Support our projects in Albania: Donate now!

Inhaltsverzeichnis

A man in Albania supported by Help with a scarifying machine

What is the situation like in Albania?

Two women in Albania who are supported by Help — The great poverty in Albania mainly affects elderly people and members of minorities.

Poverty and lack of opportunities

The legacy of the communist past still weighs heavily on Albania. For over 40 years, the people lived under the totalitarian dictator Enver Hoxha, who led the country further and further into isolation. To this day, around 200,000 bunkers, which Hoxha had built all over the country as protection against external enemies, serve as silent memorials to this time.

The regime was overthrown in 1990, but corruption, nepotism and organized crime have so far prevented the country from recovering. Albania remains one of the poorest countries in Europe. In search of work, more than 700,000 people have left Albania in the last thirty years. There is great despair, especially among young people.

In November 2019, Albania was also shaken by a severe earthquake. 51 people lost their lives, public facilities and roads were destroyed, and tens of thousands lost their homes. Many people have been struggling with trauma and even greater financial problems ever since.

How is Help providing support in Albania?

A Help employee greets a woman in rural Albania — Help supports the people in Albania in building a self-determined life.

You can find further information on the local website of Help Albania.

Jump start for a self-determined future

Many young and educated people in Albania currently see emigration as their only perspective. In their home country, they face too many obstacles to build their own future. Help reaches out to them: We support young and disadvantaged people through sustainable training programs to facilitate their access to the labor market.

In addition, Help creates new opportunities: We provide resources for the establishment of start-ups and small businesses and offer trainings in business management and marketing. We are particularly committed to strengthening innovative and environmentally friendly ideas and provide support for businesses run by women. Help also promotes the renovation of kindergartens and daycare centers to make it easier for young parents to participate in working life. In our work, we rely on the extensive experience we have gained in over 25 years in the Western Balkans.

Help has been active in Albania since 2019. Our work initially focused on emergency aid following the severe earthquake in November 2019. Immediately after the disaster, we distributed relief supplies such as mattresses, sleeping bags and blankets to the affected families. Subsequently, we helped rebuild a severely damaged kindergarten.

Donors: AA (Auswärtiges Amt), ADH (Aktion Deutschland Hilft), Deutsche Botschaft Tirana, Europäische Union, Fondazione ENGIM, Japanische Botschaft Tirana, SlovakAid, Swisscontact, UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services)

Local partners in Albania

Photos and Videos

Eine junge Näherin in Albanien freut sich über ihre neue Nähmaschine.

KfZ-Mechaniker Gentian vor seiner neuen Hebebühne, die er dank Help anschaffen konnte.

Eleni steht in ihrem Friseursalon in Albanien, den sie dank Help ausstatten konnte.

Ein Landwirt in Albanien freut sich über die neue Ausrüstung, die er von Help erhalten hat.

Friseur Skerdi steht in seinem Salon, den er dank Help eröffnen konnte.

Zerstörtes Wohnhaus in Albanien nach dem Erdbeben

Eine Help-Mitarbeiterin beruhigt eine Dame nach dem Erdbeben in Albanien

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Facts and figures

Figures about Albania

2.8 million people live in Albania (2021)
57 percent of Albanians are Muslim, 17 percent are Christian (2011)
Albania's migration rate is the highest in Europe: Since 1991, more than 700,000 people have left the country, and the number of unreported cases is probably much higher (2022)
Around 30 percent of young people in Albania have no work (2022)

Sources: GIZ, IOM, The World Bank

Facts about Help in Albania

Earthquake 2019: A few hours after the disaster, our team was already in action in the hard-hit port city of Durrës and distributed 1,290 blankets, 200 diapers and 176 sleeping bags to those affected.
In Kavaja, a small town near Durrës, Help rebuilt a severely damaged kindergarten. 120 children can now learn and play again in a safe environment.
Since the end of the emergency aid, Help in Albania has been focusing on projects to strengthen the socio-economic situation of the population and, in particular, to help women and young people to build up a livelihood.