Update about floods (16.01.2010)

1 – The coordination of work and the delivery of the relief items in the affected zones.  
2 – The training of the operators of Caritas Albania and those of the Diocesan Caritases.
3 – Preparedness of the Emergency Board, to intervene in short term and long term interventions.
4 – Contacting and lobbing to the local and state authorities.
 
1 – The coordination of work and the delivery of the relief items in the affected zones.  

The Emergency Board is going on with the intervention, and we are delivering food items and clothes. During these days we have assisted not only the Communes of Dajc and Obot, but even the other zones that were affected by the floods.  
The procedures and the coordination for the delivery of the relief items is realized in different levels:

    The Diocesan Caritases are helping us with the evidences about the most necessary items in every village.
    Then the Emergency Teams of  Diocese of Shodra and Diocese of Sapa compile the lists according to these needs.
    The Emergency Groups of the Diocesan Caritases send a Request to the Board of Emergency of Caritas Albania, where it is indicated the kind and the  quantity of the items and the number of the families in need.
    The volunteers of Caritas Albania prepare the cargo for every Center.  
    At the end the volunteers go to the Centers that have represented the Request and together with the Parson and the Nuns they deliver the relief items to every family.

The packages prepared consist in food and non food items,( especially raincoats and boots).  
 
The Centers that were assisted during these four days:

1 – Etrit Orionin – Shirokë
2 – Dom Vlash Palaj – Velipoje
3 – Dom Michele Gentile – Berdice
4 – Dom Marjan Gega – Dajç B/B
5 – Motrat e Udhes së Shenjtë – Dobraç
6 – Motrat Bijat e Dashurisë Hyjnore – noviciate
7 – Motrat Françskane Kapuçine – Obot
8 – Motrat Françskane të Krishtit Mbret – Trush
9 – Association of CARE – Madonnina del Grappa
10-  Father Ernest – Bushat.

There is a very serious situation for 150 persons of the Roma Community, who are sheltered in a command. They have lived in the edge of the river and the floods have destroyed and taken away everything they had. The State evacuated them and has offered a short term help to them, but after the Emergency Phase they can not stay anymore in the Command as it will be used by the Army. So these people will have lots of problems, because they have nothing. 

The managing   of this Centre is entrusted to Caritas Albania, which is taking care about these people and is sending relief items to them. The volunteers of Caritas prepare the food in Caritas Centers,   and deliver it to them as there are no conditions for cooking there.  
The Emergency Board is analyzing the situation and is preparing the short-term and long term intervention for this category.  

2 –The training of the operators of Caritas Albania and those of Diocesan Caritases.  

On 11 – 15th January, two experts of Caritas Romania, Thomas Hackl and Ioana Boat assisted the staff of Caritas Albania by sharing their experience with us. They helped us to prepare the Post Emergency intervention program.
Also on the 13th of January, training was elaborated in the Offices of Caritas Albania. There took part the operators of the Diocesan Caritas’s as well.  The topic of this training was the Emergency Program.  

Subjects of the training
1.    What is a disaster?
2.    Our main objectives as Caritas
3.    Project Cycle
4.    Assessment and analyzes
5.    Project design

Caritas Albania really appreciated their experience and this training was really helpful and valuable, because it was a good opportunity for the increasing of the capacities of the operators, while they intervene in different emergency situations.

3  – The preparedness of the long term and short term intervention

The experts of Caritas Romania Thomas Hackl and Ioana Boat apart from the training about the Emergency Program, have done an intensive work with the Emergency Board in order to compile a program for the Post Emergency Intervention in the affected zones. That was the reason that they visited the affected zones in Shkodra and they met the representatives of Caritas Shkodra to get a clear panorama about the situation.  
It has to be mentioned that the interviews in the Centers, where the people were evacuated, were really very important.  
The meetings in these two Centers served to understand better what has happened during the Floods. The inhabitants spoke about the aggravated situation and gave evidences about the damages that were caused to them.

The assistance given by these two experts for the compilation of Emergency Program, especially for the Post emergency Intervention was really very necessary for Caritas Albania, because in this way our Emergency Board would be prepared to know what to do in another situation like this.
The board has already begun the compiling of the Intervention Program, where will be included even the Post Emergency Phase.  

4 –Contacting of the authorities and the lobbing campaign that Caritas Albania is doing near the Institutions.  

Caritas Albania has been in contact with the authorities and other institutions since the beginning and for this reason the Head of Ministry of Interior, who is the Head of the Civil Emergency Committee, has thanked publicly, Caritas Albania for the support that it is giving. Also, he stated that Caritas Albania is the most serious organization that is working in the field.
Most of Medias in Albania have transmitted reportages about our work.

 Laprake,Tirane