How you’re building community with refugees in Albania

Eralda teaching Albanian lessons for refugee children

Across the bridge from Tek Ura in Tirana, you will find the national reception camp where many refugees are housed and processed in Albania. Men, women, and children of many different nationalities arrive at the centre, including a recent influx of Afghan asylum seekers. Albania was one of the first nations to throw open its doors to Afghans when the Taliban took over last year.

Since 2016, Tek Ura has connected with refugees from the camp as they came through our doors to receive practical help. Some joined our groups, others have since become part of daily life at Tek Ura, with some being active members of our faith community. More recently we’ve been granted a formal partnership with the centre to support families on the move as they start a new life in Albania. Dan Dupree, our British Director and co-founder says:

‘This has been an incredible opportunity. We’ve always had refugees as part of our community, since the very beginning, and we’re excited to work in partnership with the State to welcome and support families’

Roxhers and Eralda, along with the rest of the team, offer a safe place for refugee families to meet others in the neighbourhood. We provide specialist language support, and offer crash courses in Albanian language, and we’re supporting children as they begin local Albanian schooling. Rothers Lufta is Tek Ura’s Albanian Project Leader and from Roma heritage, he’s acutely aware of the challenges facing people arriving in Albania. He explains how Tek Ura’s community can empathise deeply, welcome and love refugees from a place of shared experiences:

‘We’re made up of so many people who themselves are no strangers to trauma. Many live without the basics for life, face discrimination every day, and wrestle with extreme poverty. Yet, it’s been amazing to see how our community has responded in empathy, welcome and a desire to help others.’

Many local Albanians are familiar with what is means to be displaced and excluded, and have welcomed refugees into our community

Tek Ura’s Albanian teachers and social workers support families through assessment, care planning and practical help to enable them to find their feet and immerse themselves in their new surroundings. Eralda Kodheli is an Albanian teacher who recently joined the project. She explained how community building is central to her role: ‘Community is crucial to people settling in Albania, for children to settle in school and orientate to their new surroundings’. ‘I am a language teacher but see our mission as to go beyond learning the language!’, she explains. We support children to navigate starting their new Albania schooling, helping families to have a better understanding of Albanian culture, and being available to help with homework, and being on-hand to help socially and emotionally. In addition to regular language lessons, Tek Ura operates an afterschool homework club with one-to-one support for refugee children. Youth projects have also been expanded to welcome children from the camp.

We are helping families to make a life in Albania. Families receive a crash course in Albania and social orientation

Tek Ura is working with the camp but also plays an important role providing a space outside for refugees to make friends in the local community and be part of what is happening in the neighbourhood. Roxhers says,

’our community centre at Tek Ura is a place where families can feel safe and find practical facilities such a use of a washing machine, but it’s also a place where people can rest, drink a coffee, have a chat, and wash their clothes, knowing their children can play safely.’

We provide support to find employment and work with the state service to help job seekers once their residency papers have been processed. This might mean helping with CVs or soft skills, accompanying them to the employment office, or in some cases helping job-seekers to start up their own entrepreneurial ventures.

Roxhers explains that many of refugees have made their own way to Albania. ‘Most of the people we encounter are from some of the most unreached places in the world, who have made the often-treacherous journey themselves’. Sometimes we can underestimate the impact of listening and being there for people in their moment of need. ‘Every refugee has a story of a traumatic journey. Often people need someone to listen to them without judging, to be accepted and shown love and kindness,’ he added.

Many of the families we work with have paid traffickers to take them to Europe - risking death, capture and deportation. It’s common to hear stories of how property and possession were sold for a fraction of their value. Gangs exploit them and many people lose more possessions and most of their money enroute to Europe. Dan recalls a recent conversation sitting with ‘Ahmed’, a Libyan father who was in tears talking about his ‘nightmare’ journey. He described Ahmed’s dangerous 10-hour drive with his wife, 4-year-old boy and baby girl. This was followed by hiding in a series of overcrowded rooms, where they were robbed, and Ahmed was beaten. What followed included a night-time boat trip. A boat of about 10 metres in length, packed with adults and children, before Ahmed and his family boarded. Fifteen minutes later another boat they fired shots at the boat. Miraculously his family survived, thanks to having life jackets, but others weren’t so fortunate.

In the past year Albania has witnessed a stark increase in the number of refugees and migrants arriving. Dan believes Tek Ura can play a crucial role in helping refugees find and authentic and healing community.

‘Our centre has been a place where those who have arrived on an incredibly traumatic journey - can find authentic community. Moreover, they can find a real place in society where they can fully participate amongst others who can truly empathise. Our dream is for new families to fall in love Albania and thrive here and to be a part of what God is doing.’

Finally, thank you! Your continued support over these past years has meant Tek Ura could grow and be able to reach out to refugees in community – together we’ve been able to ‘extend our table’ to more people on the move. Whilst Tek Ura has been responding on the ground, there is no doubt that this work couldn’t happen without your generous giving.

We are Tek Ura!

Our centre is a place to find practical help and community facilities, such as our washing machine

Children and families can join a range of community activities that include after school home work clubs and youth groups