News

The cellar under the safe home for girls is being converted into apartments and will soon accommodate two young adults. They will be accompanied live there.

At the end of 2014 the idea arose to renovate the basement under the girls house. After making plans, producing a budget and finding suitable contractors, work commenced in mid-June. Currently work is going on to insulate the basement walls and install new electricity and plumbing.

Rebuilding
The apartment is approximately fifty square metres and has a bathroom, double bedroom, storage room and living area. A youth group from the Dutch city of Ommen comes in early August to finish the apartment by, among other things decorating, furnishing and installing a kitchen. The group organized in Holland some fundraising events to cover the rebuilding costs.

Independent living
The apartment is due to be opening soon. One 18+ lady in the girls house will supervise the girls who will move in. It is hoped that the apartment will assist the girls in adjusting to adulthood giving them more independence through having to cook, wash themselves and manage their own finances.

The Kenedi Foundation has partnered with Nestor Furxhi in opening a food bank. The project, which is the fourth of its kind in Albania, began in March 2015 when the group began collecting healthy, non-perishable food for distribution. Food is being collected in supermarkets and stored at the Evangelical Church of Korce/Kisha Ungjillore e Korces.

Purpose
Almost half a million Albanians live below the national poverty line. Many have less than one euro a day for personal expenses. In the Korce area, many people live in poverty. The food bank is designed to help the extremely poor and people in emergency situations.

An additional goal of the project is to provide education in high schools about nutrition and ways to avoid food waste.

Motivated by Jesus
Furxhi was inspired to begin the project by the desire to act on the needs that he sees. “My personal example is Jesus who said in Matthew 25:34, ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink,’” says Furxhi.

Local and international involvement
“Food Bank Albania” was started in November 2013 by a Dutch NGO, Mensenkinderen. The organization cooperates with national and independent organizations in Albania and is operated by volunteers.

We need you!

There are a number of ways to get involved:

• Be a volunteer
• Give food
• Help connect us with your network of people

If you are interested in being a part of this project, contact Nestor Furxhi, nestorfurxhi@yahoo.com or 069 366 1481.

You can Follow the foodbank at Facebook or take a look at Foodbank Albanië Website.

We graduated three boys out of our Children’s Day Center in Korce this week, Vacili, Jorgo and Mihael. They grow up so fast and it was hard to say goodbye, but it was time. What a joy it was to love these guys and live into their lives during the time they were with us. We aren’t dropping them on the street however, we have worked hard to connect them to our other Church activities for the summer, and we will certainly stay involved in their lives, but in a smaller way. Goodbye guys, God bless you!