ACT member HEKS has been working in Albania since the beginning of the nineteen-nineties. By networking with strong partner organisations, including one of the four biggest NGOs in Albania, HEKS is succeeding in improving the lot of marginalised groups who are particularly adversely affected by the weak state and who are denied access to education, health care and earning opportunities.

One of the biggest challenges is the high level of migration, encompassing both internal movement to conurbations (Tirana, Durres, Fush Kruja) and migration abroad. Due to the adverse economic situation a third of the working population is forced to live abroad, often in poor conditions as illegal immigrants. Their absence opens the floodgates for a spate of social and economic problems. HEKS intervenes in strategic ways in an attempt to alleviate the welfare situation for those who stay behind and to improve the future prospects for migrants in Albania.

Whereas HEKS has concentrated on the urban centres in the past because of the high level of internal migration and the consequences this brings, it will increasingly move its focus to marginalised groups in rural areas in the coming years. The regional towns will also be included, however, particularly those in central and north Albania, as these are also adversely affected by the loss of skilled workers.

Aims, Points of Focus, Initiatives:

Over the next four years (2009-2012) HEKS would like to improve the social and economic conditions of marginalised sections of the population in Albania, such as the Roma community, migrants and women, who suffer under the patriarchal regime, but also of children and young people from socially disadvantaged families, especially in the regional towns and in rural areas. HEKS also intends to intensify its collaboration with church groups which promote tolerance.

The following aims are being pursued with the aid programme:

To encourage the rural population but also some marginalised urban groups by developing access to education, health and creating earning opportunities
To further civil society and the peaceful co-existence of the different people groups
To support the sustainable development of the partner institutions
To support the church partners (Interchurch Cooperation mandate)

HEKS is working in the following areas:

Facilitating access to loans and funds, and promoting vocational integration, education and state health care
Developing job opportunities, community centres and welfare services for marginalised groups and the rural population
Social and professional training with the focus on youth, women and Roma
Strengthening the local partner institutions, their capacities and fundraising strategies
Boosting the capacities of the Orthodox Church of Albania, its work and of a Protestant church still to be selected
Total programme cost 2015: CHF 65 000.

As a result of the Crimean crisis and the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine the humanitarian situation arising from this conflict has lately deteriorated dramatically.

There are alarming reports from conflict-affected areas that thousands of people are highly vulnerable and in need of assistance. Along with financial problems, many lack the ability to buy essential food and medicines and are living in frigid winter conditions.

The rise in numbers of refugees and internal displaced persons (IDPs) in the past month coincides with a recent deterioration of the situation worsening law and order, fear of abductions, human rights violations and the disruption of state services.

Winter is making life difficult

Most IDPs are currently accommodated by relatives or in temporary shelters: schools, recreation and cultural centres that are not suitable for habitation, especially in winter.

Local authorities are making efforts to winterize these premises, after it became clear that IDPs would not be able to return to their homes before winter.

Currently, they receive assistance from government sources, local authorities, local and international non-governmental organization, in particular – food, water, medical supplies and clothing, but this is not enough.

Host families are over-stretched

However, families and friends hosting refugees in Russia and Ukraine cannot be expected to keep providing the necessary assistance for a longer period. Resources are limited. The living standard of refugees/IDPs-receiving families and communities has dropped significantly.

Both in Ukraine and in Russia an economic crisis is developing. Production declines, jobs are cut, inflation is rising. In 2014 the local currency was devalued significantly.

ACT Alliance has issued an appeal for emergency assistance to refugees from Eastern Ukraine in Russia & Ukraine. The appeal target is US$ 332,766. ACT Alliance members Russian Orthodox Church and Hungarian Interchurch Aid are currently working to assist IDPs in seven regions of Ukraine.

Primarily large families with three or more children are receiving food, hygienic and baby packages.

Also Ebola-survivors need a lot of support in Sierra Leone. ACT Alliance members are on the ground building awareness at community level, giving educational and psychological support to traumatized communities and for example teaching how to wash hands with soap, water and Chlorine.

ACT Alliance member Finn Church Aid (FCA) this month signed an official agreement with the Eritrean National Commission for Higher Education in Asmara, Eritrea,to help support a revitalisation of teacher education in Eritrea.

Eritrea faces a critical shortage of trained teachers and training institutions are in need of radical reform, and in recognition of Finland’s international reputation for quality education, the Eritrean government has entered into a three-year programme (January 2015 – December 2017) with FCA.

Finn Church Aid will work side-by-side with Eritrean educators to strengthen teacher education programmes in all training institutions in Eritrea.

“The new agreement represents a welcome opportunity to renew partnership with Eritrea,” said Antti Pentikäinen, Executive Director of FCA. “Strengthening the teacher education is a great entry point to develop the education system as a whole.”

FCA will also support the planning and development of the first Innovation Centre in Eritrea. This new initiative will bring together innovation experts from Finland, Eritrea and East Africa.

The vision of the Innovation Centre is to develop new and local solutions to address pressing challenges in Eritrea, such as energy provision, better learning opportunities, education for marginalized populations in hard-to-reach areas, job creation, and so on.

The initial budget for the programme is 1.5 million euros for the next three years. The work is financed by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Floods in Malawi in January 2015 have killed nearly 200 people and displaced over 200,000. ACT is on the ground helping to save lives by providing much needed food for communities in hard to reach areas.

Senior staff of ACT Alliance member organisations meeting in Iceland under the auspices of Icelandic Church Aid. Photo: Sean Hawkey/ACT

The beginning

Icelandic Church Aid (ICA) was founded in 1969 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland, the National Church. The idea was born earlier that year, when the Church participated in a very successful nationwide fund-raising march against hunger for the starving population of war-torn Biafra in Africa. It was certainly not the first contribution the Church had made abroad for people in need, but this particular fund raising sparked ideas of establishing organized relief work on the pattern of that in our neighbouring countries. So it was in 1969 that the Convocation passed the motion that 1% of the annual income of all the clergy should go to relief work and the foundation of Icelandic Church Aid was established a few months later. From that time on ICA has participated in relief work in many parts of the world.

The organization
ICA is an independent foundation within the National Church of Iceland, governed by a council of 13 representatives from different regions of the country. Each Parish can also appoint its representative, which many have done and five are selected by the Church Council. The council meets twice a year. The council of representatives selects a three member board of directors and three proxies, to take responsibility for the daily running of the institution. A director is employed by the board of directors for a four year period to run the institution with additional staff.

The projects
The role of ICA is to initiate and coordinate relief work carried out in the name of the Icelandic Church. Its broad aim is to assist people in need at home and abroad, regardless of its cause and regardless of nationality, race, religion or political ideas. The greatest need and likelyhood of the project input to make a difference, are key issues. ICA has working guidelines to select projects. ICA also runs substantial aid to people living in Iceland.

A worldwide net
Our relief work is organized and carried out in close cooperation with local people and institutions. ICA is a member of experienced and professional international organizations; The Lutheran World Federation and The World Council of Churches who, together, form the ACT Alliance a network coordinating emergency relief and development. ICA also collaborates with its counterparts in the other Nordic countries, which, being larger institutions with greater resources usually have their own people stationed in the stricken areas, something ICA unfortunately lacks the means and manpower to do. Last but not least, we have close ties with individuals and institutions in the developing countries, people with first hand knowledge of conditions. They keep us informed about the work in progress with regular reports and budget analyses in between regular monitoring visits to project areas.

Development Cooperation
These are long-term projects aimed at improving standards of living in particular areas. We focus on providing water and as a consequence food can be irrigated and cultivated with more certainty than rain fed crops. Clean water improves health and allows girls the time to go to school instead of spending their days fetching water. Water also allows for animal husbandry which is a part of some of our projects. ICA emphasizes gender equality and capacity building and prioritizes women, orphans and the elderly.

We always encourage the recipients to take an active part in carrying out the projects. Their participation and feeling of ownership is the key to lasting changes and sustainability. We take all possible care to ensure that our projects harmonize with the local environment, its people´s customs, culture and tradition though no custom or tradition will be valued higher than human rights as agreed by the United Nations.

Domestic Aid
ICA has since its foundation assisted people in Iceland who are in need. There is an application process where each applicant has to produce documents to show their income and expenditure. Should the difference be lower than dictated by the authorities to be a minimum amount to support a family, the applicant will receive assistance in the form of a gift card in food stores, second hand clothing, drug and medical costs and more. There is also assistance available to youth, who are financially not able to support themselves during secondary studies. ICA´s assistance aims at helping them graduate and be able to enter University level with state loans or graduate with certificates that make them more competitive on the job market. All applicants are interviewed by our social workers to identify their specific needs. We offer various councelling, free of charge, for example financial councelling, family and individual counselling and life coaching.

Where does the money come from ?
ICA depends almost entirely on public contributions for its income. We do have regular supporters, who pay a certain amount every year, and so do the clergy and many of the parishes. Another means of income is the sale of outdoor candles, our so called “lights for peace”, By far the greatest sources of income, however, are organized fundraising campaigns among the public, the largest being at Christmas. All fundraising income and gifts are spent on projects while administration and publications are financed by other means, like financial revenue, candle sales and parish contributions.

See more about ACT member Icelandic Church Aid.

Thanks to the ACT Alliance, which through its members is present in 140 countries, Church of Sweden can rapidly provide humanitarian aid in times of crisis.

Church of Sweden is part of the ACT Alliance, a global alliance of churches and church-related organisations for disaster relief, development and advocacy.

Church of Sweden operates from a community-based psychosocial approach, which means that our humanitarian relief efforts, in addition to meeting physical needs, also aim to meet the social and psychological needs that arise when disaster strikes.​

This framework looks to people’s own resilience and their own capacities to manage the situation and to recover.

The goal is to restore hope, dignity, mental and social well-being and a sense of normality to people affected by a disaster.

Besides financial aid, Church of Sweden provides capacity-building staff and thematic support, and in particular providing an integrated psychosocial support framework and specific psychosocial initiatives. For this purpose, Church of Sweden maintains a staff roster of psychosocial specialists, which is at the disposal of the ACT Alliance.

More information on the international work of ACT member the Church of Sweden here.

Dutch entrepreneurs use their ICT-knowledge to offer young, talented Suriname people a job and an income. They do this in co-creation with ICCO. Youngsters in the rural areas of Suriname hardly have any access to professional education. Because of this, companies in these regions have problems finding good educated staff. Consequence is that the economic development in these areas stays behind. The lack of professional education is not the only reason Suriname stays behind. Children are being raised different then in the Netherlands. A passive, docile attitude is the norm. While in the ICT-branch initiative, teamwork and taking responsibility are wanted.

Disasters of every scale hit hardest in communities that are the least prepared and the poorest. In Kuala Bubon, like other coastal villages across Indonesia’s Aceh and Nias islands, most people rely on the sea and farming for their livelihoods.

When the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami hit on 26 December 2004, these communities had little or no emergency response capacity.

The effects were devastating. In Indonesia alone, the tsunami caused an estimated 167,736 deaths, with 37,063 missing persons, and left more than 500,000 people homeless. In Kuala Bubon, it took the lives of 221 people and swept away the entire village, leaving nothing but traumatised survivors.

The global humanitarian aid mobilised for the disaster was considered the largest ever, in terms of international pledges and donations, and it was the fastest financial response to disaster.

The event 10 years ago became a catalyst for a significant change in perspective on effective disaster response, implemented in the “build back better” approach. This approach is not merely about rebuilding houses and infrastructure, but also about rebuilding people’s lives and dignity.

It encourages communities, NGOs and governments to focus on ensuring people’s rights in the aftermath of a disaster – restoring livelihoods, providing psychosocial support, and building the capacity of local communities in disaster preparedness.

ACT Alliance members mobilised their resources to respond to the disaster with a total funding of more than US$50m, reflecting the extent of the global solidarity and giving hope to people across the affected region.

Right after the end of the Sri Lankan conflict in 2009, ACT member ECLOF Sri Lanka engaged in the post-conflict zone of Mannar which had been devastated after 30 years of fighting. In partnership with Episcopal Relief Development, ECLOF Sri Lanka began serving the resettled communities in the area, mostly support­ing agriculture and fishery, the traditional income sources of these communities.

Special attention was given to developing the prom­ising business of dairy farming through credit and associated training. The government fixes the prices for dairy products, and lately two large commercial milk collection centers were opened to purchase fresh milk in the area. In communities close to the sea, fishing is another trade ECLOF actively sup­ports. In total, 86% of ECLOF’s loans in the area support agriculture and fishery.

ECLOF Sri Lanka works almost exclusively with women who organize themselves in solidarity soci­eties upon ECLOF’s guidance. With support from local government, ECLOF provides not just loans but communal association and skills development, training women on leadership, self-empowerment, entrepreneurship and marketing before providing loans to develop their livelihood. ECLOF thereby complements the government’s reconstruction efforts which have brought much-needed infrastruc­ture investment recently.

In 2014, an external evaluation of ECLOF Sri Lanka’s work in the post-conflict zone was undertaken, involving focus group discussions with 75 beneficia­ries and individual interviews with 55 beneficiaries. The positive impact of the program was evident. It had enabled women to engage in income gen­eration, taking advantage of profitable investment opportunities and developing micro enterprises. It had also smoothened consumption and reduced reliance on expensive informal sources of credit. 62% found that their living standard had increased: there were improvements in housing (better roofing, water and sanitation), children schooling rates, pur­chase of agro machinery and enhanced transport with bicycles and motorcycles.

Specifically for women, the greatest changes included greater involvement in family decision mak­ing (72% agreement), a bigger role in household cash generation, more sharing of household respon­sibilities and increased ownership of assets.

88% of respondents noted that credit had been the most important factor for their income generating activities.

While not all of these changes can be directly attributed to ECLOF’s intervention, it can be con­cluded that the positive impact of micro credit and associated training and community development has become very visible in the Mannar area.