One year after the devastating earthquake, CRCA re-remembers the need for child support

This morning, CRCA /ECPAT Albania and ACE, thanks to the support of GAF, helped 14 children who survived the earthquake with tablets, enabling them to attend distance learning

November 2020 - ACE and CRCA / ECPAT Albania, one year after the severe earthquake that hit Albania, distributed this morning tablets that will enable 14 children to attend distance learning education during covid lockdown. Since the launch of the lockdown in Albania, CRCA has launched its campaign not only to identify children who cannot attend distance learning, but also come to their aid.

CRCA and ACE, returned exactly a year later to Thumana, which was one of the areas in Albania severely damaged by the earthquake of 26 November 2019, and which has already been turned into a huge reconstruction center.

In the only school that survived the quake, 7 children and their parents were waiting for the representatives of CRCA. They were selected by the employees of the Child Protection Unit in Thumana, who work every day in the field and know the reality of children affected by the earthquake.

ACE and CRCA / ECPAT Albania, thanks to a grant of the Global Albanians Foundation and Shpresa.al, is providing this morning 14 tablets for children who during the pandemic could not attend distance learning due to lack of the equipment.

A special thanks came from a schoolteacher for CRCA/ECPAT Albania and ACE, for distributing the tablets, as some of the children had been a concern for the teachers as well. One of them, thanking us, stated that “During the pandemic, one of the boys who you donated a tablet was among the only ones who was unable to attend distance learning, as he didn’t have a computer or tablet, but also his family did not even have a phone. For this we are very pleased that you have him the tablet so he will be part of the lessons now."

Ace and CRCA / ECPAT Albania donated 7 more tablets to Durrës, a major city in Albania, strongly affected by the earthquake.

CRCA Director, Altin Hazizaj, stressed that “It seems that these tablets came to children, at a very significant moment, as they will serve as a tool that will give them access to knowledge and will make them feel equal with their peers.”

Children are attending on education in Albania since 9 March of this year, due to the pandemic. Over 570 thousand children were forced to attend distance learning, while CRCA during this period, began to identify children who couldn’t attend online education due to lack of phones, tablets or internet.