The Orthodox Church of Albania made efforts to help the inhabitants of Gerdeci whose houses were destroyed in the tragedy of the munitions explosions. It called for help even from abroad to ensure support and help. The pleas of the Church had its benefits since there was much help in distribution of materials provided by the orthodox faithful in Greece and by the IOCC which acts as an agency for emergencies under the guidance of the Conference of the Canonical Orthodox Bishops of the United States.

During the last two weeks of April, representatives of our Church handed out emergency supplies to stores in Vora.  Over 10 tons of materials were distributed to the inhabitants hurt in the tragedy of Gerdeci. There were 4.2 tons of materials provided by the faithful of the Metropolis of Larisa/Greece which were given on the 17^th of April. These goods included a ton of flour, beans, sugar, oil, pasta, 100 blankets and clothing.

On April 20th, representatives of our Church donated another load of goods which was gathered by the faithful of the Metropolis of Florina/Greece and which weighed 6.2 tons. Such materials consisted of clothes, shoes, and food items such as rice, pasta, etc.

Under the special care of Archbishop Anastasios, the Orthodox Church of Albania provided help from the very first moments of the tragedy to facilitate improvement of the conditions of those who were affected so adversely. Help continues to be provided and consists not only of food and clothes but also of spiritual support given by our orthodox youth. In addition some contributions were given for the re-settling of the survivors’ lives and the functioning of educational institutions.

     Because of the help provided by our Church, we received an official letter of thanks from the Mayor of Vora, Fiqiri Ismaili, who wrote in the name of the entire community the following:
     ‘The community of Vora thanks you for your wonderful help of clothing and food, which was provided during such difficult circumstances after the munitions explosion in Gerdeci.  During these great moment of need, all kinds of help, even spiritual help, is necessary in order to recover from this trauma which occurred in our community.’

Fr. Vasil Skordileva
      Translated by Juliana Pici
      Edited by Melanie Linderman