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Why Albania? The early Christian church flourished in Illyricum which was the ancient name for present-day Albania. However, over the centuries, this ancient country has been conquered and dominated in turn by the Roman Empire and the Ottoman Turks through to Stanlinist Communism. In 1967, the dictator Enver Hoxha constitutionally declared God to be dead and sealed the nation off from contact with the outside world, creating the most ruthlessly oppressive of all the former communist regimes of eastern Europe. Albania moved from a land that received the Good News of Christ from the apostle Paul to a nation that has few people who have any idea who Jesus is! AHF History In October 1991, Dr. William A. Johnson, formerly president of the Christian Medical Dental Society of the United States, joined Robert McFarlane in assembling a team of Christian physicians, dentists, nurses, and logistics personnel which traveled to Albania to assess the health care needs there. A plan of relief was implemented, bringing to the country large quantities of hospital supplies, equipment, and desperately-needed medicines. However, after five decades of intellectual and motivational repression, the greater need was for Albania's health workers to grow professionally and to be encouraged. Multi-specialty teams were organized to work alongside the Albanian doctors, teaching and demonstrating modern techniques. The first of these included 15 physicians, 3 nurses, a pharmacist and a dentist who visited Albania in March, 1992. During this visit the team was asked to consider returning and presenting a professional medical conference. This first conference with the Albanian physicians was held in October, 1992. Physicians and other staff continued to return to Albania and many practical expressions of Christianity were given including the donation of medical textbooks, stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs to the graduating class of the medical school. Albanian medical students (and most of the doctors) had never before possessed their own medical textbooks or basic equipment! Relationships formed as the same members returned again and again and the teams were able to share their faith with many in the health care field as well as with government leaders who welcomed them to their needy country. Since that time the Albanian Health Fund has become the "lead agency" providing voluntary Christian response to Albania's health care needs, and seeks to support and encourage the local church in Albania. |
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Situated
on the eastern Adriatic coast, Albania, with a population of about
3 million, is the poorest country in Europe and considered a third-world
nation. The Albanian government in 1990 approached Robert McFarlane,
then head of a Canadian Christian health relief organization, for
assistance. Their prompt gift of over 2 million dollars worth of
life-saving medical supplies was the first humanitarian donation
ever accepted by Albania from a western country. Democratic elections
further opened the door for Christian missionaries in 1992 to freely
proclaim the Gospel of Jesus for the first time in five decades.
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