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Balkans Peace Park Summer Programme in Thethi, Northern Albania. 16 June – 9 August 2008 star

Interim report: 16 July 2008

The 2-month Pilot Summer Programme in Thethi got off to a very good start. There is tremendous local enthusiasm and gratitude (after years of discussion and planning). 

When the course started on June 16th we had 46 pupils, with 52 by the end of the week and 55 the next week. It seems that more are likely to come as the families who migrate to Shkodra (50 miles away) in the winter return to their Thethi ancestral homes during the summer. (At least three families returned this year who had not been back in ten years, one of these with the plan of staying through the winter, all thinking of renovating their homes with a view to taking advantage of the growth of tourism in the region.)

There are 3 school classrooms which have been well renovated by the German government agency, GTZ, and provided with new desks. The toilets are functioning with running water, and there is also drinking water at a fountain outside the school. We've set up a table tennis table, which the boys love (though the girls have not yet tried) and we have footballs and a Frisbee in regular use.

The children are divided into 3 groups, as planned: under l4, and 2 groups l4-22 by ability. Additionally, our first two teachers taught a small group of more advanced students an extra class, on request.  Many pupils are enthusiastic to do more work. Parents are all thrilled and really appreciative, and adults asked for classes on Tuesday and Thursday evenings (though no women have expressed this interest).

It was tough for our first two young teachers to establish the classes and routine, but it became easier by the day, and sometimes we have more than just the 2-3 teachers and there are others to help in other ways. Besides our volunteer native-English speakers, we have an excellent Albanian resident teacher/interpreter (Miranda Terthorje). She was especially helpful with the initial discipline problem stemming from the fact that, for reasons that are unclear, the school had been closed for all except for one month of the past school year.

The Environmental Awareness classes started in the second week, with Albanian teachers. Besides our resident interpreter, we are covered by Albanian teacher/interpreters for the whole 2-month period. Classes run for l hour each session (i.e. at least 2 hours of classes for all children) . We’ve also had additional arts and crafts sessions put on by Millsaps (US) students studying in the area.

The weekend workshops (locals prefer to call them Meetings) are also a great success. The participants chose to have those segregated by sex, so the men meet on Saturday mornings, and the women, after church (4-5) at 5.l5pm. (They have their visiting priest on Saturdays.) One weekend, OSCE's head of Waste Management in Albania worked with the groups. Another weekend there was input from the Yorkshire Dales National Park following the week-long visit of two of its Senior Rangers to Valbona and Thethi. This is the start of a potential long-term collaboration between the YDNP and Northern Albanian parks There are to be sessions on roles and responsibilities in democratic society, and a Registered Nurse provided training in emergency First Aid.

As for the wider picture, SNV (a Dutch government agency) and other countries' government agencies are doing a tremendous amount of work in our special region. The Regional Authority in Northern Albania (led by Dr Kolombi) have decided that road improvement is necessary and are going ahead with plans to rebuild the longer, lower road to Thethi through Breg Lumit. This fits in with the government’s plans to support tourism in Northern Albania.

We have managed to secure a small grant towards the improvement of cross-border trails – Todd Walters, is working on that also, and will spend two weeks after the Programme ends, following trails through Kosovo and Montenegro. We are also setting up a twinning of a local Primary School in the Yorkshire Dales National Park with the Thethi School.

Our Co-ordinator in Shkodra is Mark Rupa:  +355 692-039-696

Our on-site Co-ordinator is Todd Walters:  +355 69-354-l765 (TEXT ONLY). 
© Ann Kennard
 
 

Yorkshire Dales Rangers:
Workshops in Albania star

Grassington, 8 July, 2008

Two members of staff at the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority (YDNPA) will be passing on their expertise next week as they join a team of volunteers working in Albania.

YDNPA Ranger Services Manager Alan Hulme and Access Ranger Paul Sheehan will be heading off on Saturday (July 13) to the Balkans Peace Park’s first summer programme in Thethi, a remote village in the Accursed Mountains of Northern Albania.

They will spend a week there staging practical workshops and discussing the creation of a possible longer-term collaboration between the YDNPA and the Peace Park. They also plan to take part in a trek from the neighbouring Valbona Valley to Thethi.

Alan said: “We hope to be able to pass on some of the experience we have collected from living and working in a national park.

“We will be looking at the way the park is run and at some of the practical issues that arise and we will be suggesting possible improvements.”

The Balkans Peace Park Project (BPPP) is a UK charity that has been working in the mountainous area where the common borders of Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo meet. It aims to protect the ecology and heritage of the mountain landscapes from uncontrolled exploitation, while promoting ethical and sustainable tourism, enabling the ancient village communities to survive.

Antonia Young, from Hetton, near Skipton, speaking on behalf of the BPPP said: “We are delighted Alan and Paul will be taking part in the summer programme. The Balkans Peace Park is an area of wild mountain beauty – one of the most important biodiversity areas for both the Balkans and Europe with an incredibly rich cultural and historic heritage.

 

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The Balkans Peace Park Project is a registered UK Charity (No. 1105447) and is regulated by the Charities Commission of England and Wales. T&C