L O C A L O F F I C E S
Local Beat: Albania
The REC Local Office network, now totalling 13, is a critical asset in the work of the organization and helps to extend the REC's assistance throughout the region. But the offices are more than just mini versions of Head Office, they understand and operate in local conditions and have developed expertise and services to meet the various needs in their own countries and regions. In early November Wendy Muzzy visited the REC Local Office Albania (LOA) to kick off a Local Beat series for The Bulletin, which will take a closer look at these in-country operations.
In January 1994, Blerta Maliqi and Mihallaq Qirjo were hired to run the office, which relocated to its own space just off one of the main streets in Tirana. While both had experience in NGO operations, they admit it took some time to get activities started. "In the beginning we were just learning the basics... grants management, financial procedures, and the local Bulletin, which was at that time mostly a translation of the main REC newsletter." Mirela Dervishi joined the team in 1995 to help manage operations and since then the office has taken giant steps towards more substantive and qualitative efforts.
As Blerta describes the situation, the development of the LOA has in many ways paralleled that of the country's nongovernmental organizations. "In Albania, there is not a strong tradition of community involvement, but people are now starting to think about how to do things on their own." The Local Office has also taken the initiative to set priorities. "We are more than just a bank for NGOs," says Mihallaq, "we can use the grants to encourage certain activities and can measure the changes."
For example, in the first grant rounds the goal was to support the initial development of NGOs throughout the country. In 1991 Albania had only six NGOs, but the total is now nearly 10 times that number, and more than half of those are based outside of Tirana. Now the focus for grants is to encourage cooperative efforts both inside the country and on a transboundary level. So far the LOA has given 98 grants to 52 NGOs, mostly for environmental education projects, "This is still where the NGOs are the most effective, as they are closest to the people, but some are moving into other areas, such as public participation and drafting of environmental legislation," says Mihallaq.
The LOA is also moving into other activities. In addition to giving grants the office is directly involved with projects of their own initiative and in cooperation with other organizations and the government. Earlier this year, they worked with the Environmental Center for Administration and Technology (ECAT) to conduct a beach-cleaning project in Golem Kavaja. The project funded through the Phare programme involved more than 350 people. Eighteen people were hired to run the clean-up and local companies were contracted to remove the collected waste. The Local Office coordinated the volunteer efforts and public education campaign. The 3.6 kilometer stretch of beach targeted by the project now stands as an oasis in a sea of litter which covers the shore on either side. The challenge now is to keep the area clean and to expand the project next year. Local businesses, which have already reaped the benefits from increased numbers of happy beachgoers, have pledged their support, but the area municipality does not even have funds to install garbage cans let alone a system for waste removal.
In another unique initiative, the office is working on a World Bank project for the management of Ohrid Lake. The Lake is one of the oldest and deepest in the world and has been listed as a UNESCO Cultural Heritage site, but this treasure is suffering a slow death from pollutants and waste. The Lake is shared by Albania and Macedonia and the Local Offices in both countries are cooperating to run public participation campaigns which will treat the site as a complete ecosystem.
Other projects in the office include developing the local Bulletin, which now has a circulation of more than 200, creating an Albanian NGO directory, and improving information services to NGOs and the government.
The REC Head Office couldn't be happier with the range of initiatives in Albania. "This is exactly the kind of activity we are hoping the Local Offices will continue to undertake in the future," says Conrad Lawrence, REC Board member and financial advisor. "They can serve as a tremendous resource in their countries, but they are still underutilized."
For Blerta and Mihallaq there is no question about the importance of the REC in their country, "the evolution has been very fast, first we saw the same faces all the time, but now we see someone new almost everyday. The REC is a kind of oxygen for the NGO community."
The role of the REC Local Offices is sure to increase in the future, and plans are underway in Head Office to support this change, but there will be more on this in the next issue.
