SOS Children's Village with social center in Albania

Many families in Albania have difficulties meeting their basic needs . They are often dependent on help from non-governmental organizations. Hundreds of thousands of Albanians have left their country in recent years. A lack of work and prospects as well as severe poverty force people to take this step.

Basic state services such as healthcare, education and support for families have fallen by the wayside. This lack of support has a negative impact on the lives of children, who are increasingly being exploited.

Those most affected are single parents, families with many children and members of the Roma community. The latter are still exposed to social discrimination and suffer from a particularly high unemployment rate. Many children from Roma families do not receive an education because their families cannot afford to send them to school. Some children from these families can be found on the streets of Tirana or Shkodra, where they work, collect garbage or beg for money.

The commitment of SOS Children's Villages since 1992 has helped to spare many children this fate with the Children's Village, three youth centers and four social facilities.