" SOS Malta Activity Report by Claudia Taylor"

Introduction
SOS Malta is a Maltese-registered NGO set up in 1991, in the wake of the fall of the communist regime in Albania. Its development, to a large extent, reflects the development of the State of Albania from the shadows of a cruel communist regime to a developing state in its own right at the heart of the Balkans and on the shores of the Mediterranean.
The nature of the NGO has, over the last decade, changed from a relief-based to a development-based organisation. This change resulted both from the experience gained by the NGO in the field as well as the change in the socio-economic and political environment that the country experienced since the nineties.

A Brief History of the Organisation
At its inception, SOS Malta was founded to address the hunger and poverty striken Albanians that reached the Maltese shores in ship-loads in the early nineties. Not being able to seek haven on our small island, a national campaign to assist them in need was launched. This led to the first visits of the founders of the organisation to the country.
Humanitarian aid and emergency food supplies, together with items of clothing and other basic needs first reached the Albanian shores in September 1991. After various appeals for assistance on a national level, it was soon realised that a more structured and permanent approach was needed if any difference was to be made to the quality of life of Albanians. This led to the foundation of SOS Malta as the first international NGO in Malta.
From the delivery of ship-loads of humanitarian aid, SOS Malta has developed into a development agency, providing for the long-term social, economic and political development of the people of Albania, assisting in times of crisis as happened during the collapse of the pyramid schemes in 1997 in the country as well as the Kosovo crisis in 1999.

SOS Malta's Purpose
SOS Malta advocates and works for the people of Albania and Kosovo, believing in the strength of the people to implement change in their country in order to ensure a better quality of life. Fundamental to the organisation's belief is that Albanians and Kosovars need to be empowered if they are effectively to overcome the limitations conditioned by fifty years of a demotivated, centrally planned economy.
Solidarity, for SOS Malta, goes beyond the distribution of aid in times of crisis. In order to avoid dependency on this kind of assisstance, SOS Malta strives to educate and seeks to give opportunities to the Albanian and Kosovar people, where otherwise there would be none.
 
SOS Malta's Aims
• To bring aid to the people of Albania and other countries,
• To assist all people in Albania and other countries through projects of a social and charitable nature in Education and Health,
• To encourage volunteers to participate in the implementation of projects,
• To advocate on behalf of the people of Albania and other countries by representing their needs,
• To promote models of good care and practice,
• To enhance the knowledge and skills of peoples in need,
• To raise funds through sponsorships, donations and fund-raising activities or through any other means as the Council may determine.
 
SOS Malta's Identity
• SOS Malta is a non-profit making organisation working overseas in order to assist with the development of Albanians and other peoples.
• SOS Malta seeks to contribute to the increase in quality of life of Albanians and other peoples, ensuring that they have access to the right education and health care,
• SOS Malta invests in the children of Albania and other people who are the future of the country,
• SOS Malta works with local and international NGO's in order to achieve its aims,
• SOS Malta is accountable both to those who support it as well as those who it aims to assist.
• SOS Malta seeks to assist those marginalised by society especially the sick and the disabled.
 
SOS Malta's Culture
• Sustainability - all projects that are initiated are created in such a way as to ensure sustainability by the peoples themselves.
• Reliability - Our team is made up of seasoned people in the field who ensure that each commitment entered into is followed through to its fruition.
• Accountability - due to our non-governmental nature, SOS Malta has had to, over the years, ensure a strict accountable system so that each cent spent is accounted for.
• Empowerment - The main aim of SOS Albania has always been that of empowering the peoples to develop their country and improve their quality of life, thus ensuring a no-dependability of foreign aid scenario.
• Cost-effectiveness - All our projects are studied for their feasibility and cost-effectiveness ensuring that the best product is achieved at the best cost.
• Result-oriented - All our projects have a specific aim and look to serious results being achieved in the short, medium and long term.
• Persistence - As one of the first NGOs in Albania and Kosovo, SOS Malta has a vast experience in operating in a country of transition. SOS Malta has witnessed contraieties most notably during the 1997 crisis when all infrastructural projects were totally destroyed as a result of the uprisings against the pyramid schemes. Despite all, SOS Malta did not give up on the Albanians but with their assistance helped re-build those projects which had been initiated.
 
SOS Malta's activities have been concentrated in two countries;
- Albania
- Kosovo
 
SOS Malta's Activities in ALBANIA
Over the last decade, SOS Malta's activities can be classified as follows:
1. Fundraising and Partnership;
2. Humanitarian and emergency aid including the financing of its transportation to and across Albania;
3. Education;
4. Assistance for disabled children;
5. Health care;
6. Social and community projects directed at children and youth;

1. Fundraising and Partnership
SOS Malta emerged as a result of the strong reaction of the Maltese people to the plight of Albanian refugees at their shores. Fundraising for basic needs such as food, clothing and blankets and basic construction materials such as tiles, wood, paint, and glass was met with an overwhelming response. This led to the fundraising of educational materials as well as all items necessary for babies and children.
Funding was sought for transportation and distribution for all items donated or purchased. Eventually, as Albania developed, it was fundamental for the organisation to assist the local economy and thus purchasing as much as was available from the country itself. In this way, SOS Malta sought to form partnerships with local entrepreneurs who were just starting out and thus support the local economy as well as provide assistance.
Eventually, such partnerships also became international, with SOS Malta's partnerships being awarded funding from international organisations as well as national and regional NGOs i.e. World Food Programme (WFP), UNHCR, Open Society Institute (OSI) and ICRC in Albania. Funding was also provided under the PHARE program with contract number 95-0327.00
 
2. Humanitarian and Emergency Aid
Humanitarian aid was the main reason for which the organisation started working in Albania at the onset of the dire humanitarian crisis that existed at the turn of the 1990s. Food supplies, clothes, children's effects as well as basic hygiene requirements and health materials and medicines were transported to and distributed across the country. Initially, this was done in an indiscriminate manner but it was soon realised that the best way to achieve results was to concentrate on one or two areas of the country. We therefore decided to focus on the two towns of Elbasan and Korce. providing humanitarian aid to development projects on a community level especially in the area of health care and education.
Operazione Pellicano (Italian Military Mission) was instrumental in collaborating with the organisation transporting the Aid to the South East region
 
3. Education
Education has always been at the forefront of SOS Malta's activities. The realisation that investment in education for the youth of Albania was the country's best chance of emerging from a state of under development was immediate. SOS Malta, together with a local educational group set up 'Preca College' in the heart of Korce, an English Speaking college run by a Maltese lay organisation together with Albanian teachers. The college achieved Baccalaureate standard within three years. Many of its graduates win scholarships at overseas universities and have definitely contributed to Albanian society. SOS Malta continues to assist with the financing of the school which has also entered into partnership agreements of its own in order to become a self-sustainable project.
Fifteen students from the Faculty of Tourism of the University of Korce attended a six-week training course at the Malta Institute of Tourism Studies. SOS Malta organised the training programme in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism.
SOS Malta's latest project is the development of a management institute in Korce with the collaboration of the Malta Institute of Management and the Edward Debono Institute of Lateral Thinking. It is envisaged that this centre will service the South of Albania equipping the Albanians with modern management techniques and updated methods including also an element of life-long education.
 
4. Assistance for Disabled Children
On visiting Elbasan with humanitarian supplies, SOS Malta recognised the dire need of the disabled in the town where they were left to live without basic needs. The organisation, with its funds, set up a fully functional home for disabled children who were, till this time, considered as outcasts of Albanian society. Hope for these children came in the form of a better quality of life and a dignified home in which to live.
 
5. Health Care
Albania was a country with relatively very little or non-existant health care. The need for basic health care in Elbasan and Korce was obvious and thus was immediately addressed. A fully functional clinic was set up in Elbasan and a family clinic in Korce. Thanks to the partnership created with the Little Company of Mary, a UK based organisation, a clinic was set up in the heart of the town, fully financed by SOS Malta and free for all those who needed it. Funding from the EU under the PHARE programme was received for the employment and training of local personnel as well as for the furnishing of the clinic was received from the EU under the PHARE program.
An ambulance and a landrover were provided for the sisters Home Care programme in Korce.
Hospital equipment was donated to the main hospital in Korce.
A nutrition programme was initiated in Korce to which SOS Malta shipped a container of milk powder for infant feeding.
A group of dentists and students led by the Dean of the Faculty have, since 1994, yearly treated the children of Preca College, their families and other students from state schools.
In January 2000, the Mary Potter Centre for Palliative Care was established in Korce. A twinning agreement was signed with the Malta Hospice Movement, aimed at developing a centre that could service the whole of South Albania, including a comprehensive Home Care Programme for Korce and its surroundings. For the first time in Albania, this centre introduced the concept of care for the terminally ill and their families. As part of the twinning agreement a week's public seminar for the Palliative Care Team in Korce was held. SOS Malta financed and organised Psycho social sessions relating to (spirituality, bereavement, self awareness and breaking bad news) as well as team building, role identification and management.
In parallel, SOS Malta initiated and committed itself to funding a three year educational programme between the Nursing school of Korce and the Institute of Health Care in Malta. In October 2000, 2 nurses from the Palliative Care team in Korce travelled to Malta to undergo training in Palliative Care with the Malta Hospice Movement and financed by SOS Malta. Further educational development was made possible with a week's visit to Korce of Dr.Victor Pace, a Maltese specialist in palliative care. During his visit, a public seminar was held in Korce for doctors and nurses and in-service training for the team was organised for pain and symptom control.
Plans for the further development and expansion of the clinic are in hand, ensuring that it becomes a centre of excellence in the region, contributing to the development of high quality health care for the terminally ill. Besides its financing, SOS Malta is also committed to partnering with other similar organisations in the region. Its commitment was seen with the organisation of the first National Conference on Palliative Care held in Tirana from June 26-28 2002. This conference led to an association with the Sue Ryder and Sob organisations as well as the setting up of the National Association for Palliative Care with the Mary Potter Centre being recognised as the National Centre for the next three years. The first steps towards this aim have already been taken with the funding of the Palliative Care Team in Pogradec in May 2003.

6. Social and Community Projects directed at Children and Youth
The more time passed, the more SOS Malta realised the importance of social and community projects particularly those directed at the Children and Youth of Albania. Especially after the 1991 crisis it was fundamental to keeping children and youth out of trouble. Social spaces were non-existent and thus, SOS Malta sought to create secure havens which would bring children and youth together in a spirit of companionship.
In 1993, SOS Malta set up a fully equipped Youth Centre in Korce, totally refurbished with a library of books and equipment.
In July 2000, SOS Malta initiated a playground project financing and setting up playgrounds in the centre of Korce and others at the Korce Orphanage, The Missionaries of Charity, the Franciscan Sisters in Billisht, the Catholic Centre in Libonik and the Catholic Parish Church in Korce.
In June 2002 SOS Malta financed and made possible a corneal transplant and the fitting of a prosthesis for an Albanian boy the victim of an unexploded ordinance. Also in 2002 a young father was fitted with two prosthesis for his missing arms lost in a factory accident.
In January 2003, SOS Malta inaugarated a five-a-side flood lit football pitch in the school grounds, which was completely financed by the organisation . The pitch will be used for the students of the college and the general public.

SOS Malta's Activities in KOSOVO
Crisis Management - Relief Programmes in Kosovo
In the wake of the crisis in Kosovo, the Albanian-speaking once Yugoslav Republic and its effects on the whole of Albania, the organisation once again led a large-scale fundraising campaign in Malta in order to assist with the refugee problem that was brought about by the war. This opened up a new area of focus for SOS Malta - Kosovo. With the funds collected and under the name of SOS Malta, the organisation once again followed the same principles and operational procedures practiced in neighbouring Albania.

1. Fundraising and Partnership
Fundraising and Partnership were once again cornerstones of SOS Malta's success in Kosovo as they were in Albania, only this time all the experience that had been gained in Albania was put to good use in Kosovo. In Kosovo SOS Malta partnered with 999 UK, UNHCR, MSF and PSF.
2. Humanitarian and emergency aid including the financing of its transportation to and across Kosovo.
SOS Malta undertook full responsibility of a refugee camp in Korce, housing 355 refugees, providing them with three meals a day plus supplementary hygiene and other essential commodities.
SOS Malta also provided three meals a day to 120 refugees residing in factory and supported 15 families (95 persons) with 1$ per person per day. SOS Malta financed the refurbishment of two properties in Korce and housed and fully supported the most vulnerable refugees.
SOS Malta provided and financed 3000 loaves a day for refugees in Korce.
SOS Malta co-ordinated the arrival of 10 trucks of humanitarian aid arriving from the UK with the organisation Albania 999.
SOS Malta co-ordinated the distribution of aid in Korce to refugee camps and subsequently organised and financed the repatriation of all refugees under their immediate mandate in Korce, Albania.
SOS Malta together with the Government of Malta and the UNHCR, co-ordinated the transport of Malta of 105 refugees from Macedonia. SOS Malta undertook the financial responsibility of all refugees during their stay.
SOS Malta also financed an airlift of humanitarian aid from Malta and coordinated its distribuution in Prizren and the surrounding areas.

3. Education
SOS Malta supplied three schools in Kosovo with essential stationery and desks.

4. Health care
SOS Malta set up a pharmacy and networked with other NGOs providing the necessary medicines in refugee camps in Albania and also in the hospitals.
SOS Malta supplied the Korce Hospital with a large amount of insulin, antibiotics, saline, syringes and doctor's couches. It provided medical backup by financing doctors and nurses from Malta to work with and train Albanians on site.
SOS Malta organised a physcho social programme in the refugee camp.
SOS Malta constructed and refurbished a family health centre in Gjonai, Kosovo.
SOS Malta rebuilt and refurbished Ambulantas in Bela Ceka, and Lugishte Kosovo.
SOS Malta ran a course for nurses in the Municipality of Rahovic - the goals and objectives were to update the nurses' knowledge and clinical skills. The course also included sessions on infection control and health promotion and was spread over a period of 15 weeks with two lectures of 1_ hours weekly. The project was approved by WHO.

5. Social and community projects directed at children and youth;
SOS Malta collaborated with the Armed Forces of Malta for the delivery of playground structures and humanitarian aid to Kosovo.
SOS Malta set up and financed a playground in Mustisht and in Mallisheva, both in Kosovo.
SOS Malta set up a widow's co-operative in Krusha Vogel, supplying sewing machines and bales of material etc…

Conclusion
Naturally, it is near to impossible to summarise the work and dedication that has gone into SOS Malta since its conception, in a few pages. This is also due to the fact that love and generosity, encountered over the years, defies description.
From a small humanitarian organisation, SOS Malta has grown into a development organisation of substantial reach. It has provided relief, rehabilitation and development to the people in Albania and Kosovo, while emphasizing on an exit strategy to leave the necessary resources that enable the locals to manage the operations on their own.
The handling of large amounts of money and the managing of daunting challenges are indicative of the success that a small local organisation can achieve in a foreign country. Accountability, reliability, sensitivity and commitment is always at the forefront of all its activities and philosophy. SOS Malta is a success story which, given the chance to grow and develop within the European framework, can only look forward to more challenges and more successes, many of which are unparalleled in terms of generosity and consistency for such a small nation like Malta.
For these reasons and on the strength of our track record, we are seeking partnership with the EU. We believe that such an agreement will endorse the principle that an NGO should be judged not on size but on the strength of its capability and achievements. We are confident that SOS Malta is proud and living proof of this.

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