Heifer Albania Celebrates its Ten Year Anniversary

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The celebrations started with a festive ceremony in Lezha community, with songs, dances and animals and rural products exhibitions.  The director of Heifer Albania , Dr. Fejzo Begaj, in his opening speech, said that the first project of Heifer International began in this poor region ten years ago. “The farmers have willingly embraced Heifer International philosophy, and their hard work and successes have encouraged us in extending our activity in different communities of the region.”

The celebrations were complimented by the attendance of Senior Vice President of Heifer International, Jim De Vries, Vice President of Central Eastern Europe Program, Mr. Rafal Laski, and Albanian Vice-Minister of Agriculture and Food, Mr. Ndue Preka.  Also attending were representatives of state institutions and local organizations, and partners from Heifer France , Heifer Netherlands , Heifer Ukraine , Heifer Romania , and Heifer Kosova.

Vice-Minister of Agriculture and Food, Mr. Preka, said, “Heifer Albania started this difficult mission 10 years ago for the reduction of poverty. Today they are successfully working and assisting the farmers. We thank them for what they have done. He also said, “Passing on the gift is a great principle of humanity, embraced by all the farmers all over Albania .”

Evaluating the work of Heifer International in Albania , Padre Don Antonio of Catholic Church in the community stressed, “This is Easter for the animals.” “Today, Thanks to Heifer Albania work, we can find our future here, in our lands and farms.”

The celebrations continued with the exhibition of rural dairy and handicraft products of the region, going on with the exhibition of animals, as cows, pigs and goats, donated by Heifer Albania for the poor farmers' families in the region. A crucial moment was the Passing of the Gift ceremony, when farmers passed on their animal's offspring to help other families in need.

Jim De Vries, visiting the exhibition, said, “I see a great progress in Heifer Albania activities in these 10 years. It is fantastic to see the condition of the animals. Farmers are hard working and serious in implementing these projects”. The activities continued with visits in the farms, presenting the real conditions of the families involved and supported by Heifer projects in Albania .

On the next day, 21 April, the celebrations of the 10th Anniversary of Heifer Albania were followed by a conference reflecting Heifer Albania work in supporting the rural communities in the development of small scale farms.

More than 150 participants, different representatives of Heifer International, central and local state institutions, partners and homologue European offices and project leaders and members attended the conference.

The Adviser of Prime Minister of Albania, Prof. Myqerem Tafaj, said that the economical development of Albania , considering our economy conditions, could not be understood without a livestock development. “Heifer Albania is a real help for the farmers and we've seen it growing to considerable regions of the country. The contribution of this organization is precious to the development of the livestock sector in Albania .”

Jim De Vries, on the other hand, evaluated the achievements of Heifer Albania activity and congratulated its efforts in extending the Heifer's activity, while assisting in initiation of Kosovo Program in 1999, today even in Macedonia .

Vice President of Central Eastern Europe Program, Mr. Rafal Laski, evaluated the progress of Heifer Albania in these 10 years and confirmed his support for the activities of the country program. “It's nice to see representatives from different projects, different regions of Albania and Macedonia presenting their successes, and see the growth of the Albanian program.”

The conference included presentations of Heifer Albania progress and activities, Heifer's contribution in livestock situation in Albania , presentations from farmers' associations and successful farmers, and even partner organizations and institutions.  

Heifer International activity in Albania started in April 1996. Actually 24 projects are implemented in 51 communities in 17 districts of Albania . Over 3000 families received assistance through animals' donation, technical assistance, and trainings.