Greetings friends,

This final report on my Albania experience comes to you from Chicago — it is wonderful to be home.

My last week in Albania was an eventful one. For the Way Station project, I helped to coordinate the delivery of supplies and materials, resolved problems, liaised with partner NGOs and was a cheerleader for the staff working in the field. My event planning background as a fundraiser came in handy — instead of ordering flowers, working with caterers and compiling an invitation list, I was considering latrine building needs, traffic flow problems and the volume of refugees visiting the stations. The major difference was in volume of supplies needed — I now understand that five tons of liquid soap and five tons of powdered soap will keep a lot of people clean for a long time.

The Way Stations were a tremendous success. Our original goal was to provide six stopping points along the routes to Kosovo. Despite our best intentions, only four stations were operational when I left. Two had been closed due to circumstance beyond our control (affiliated camp closing and site reallocation). The Gojan station daily was seeing almost 4,000 refugees stop and the Shemri station lost count as the stream of traffic overwhelmed staff. It was heartwarming to know that CARE was somewhat easing the burden of the long and arduous trip home for many Kosovars. And, not to be overlooked, was the partnerships on this project — NATO, UNHCR, Salvation Army, GOAL, Solidarte, are among the organizations that contributed to the success of the project.

On July 1, I traveled into Kosovo to visit a colleague’s family in Pristina. It was an emotional and beautiful experience. I also had the unexpected pleasure of seeing friend and fellow CARE fundraiser, Marshall Burke in Pristina. What are the odds that we would both be there the same day? My two days in Kosovo brought my month in the Balkans to a fitting closure. The attached journal is about my Kosovo experience.

I am grateful to CARE and my family for this incredible opportunity. I hope that through my journal entries you have gained a new insight to CARE’s emergency programs, especially our valuable work in Albania and Kosovo. I have many photographs to share and would welcome the chance to visit with you. Please don't hesitate to call or email me at the Chicago office (312/641-1430).

Warm regards,

Mary Irvine