Help Albanian juveniles!

Currently, 16 juveniles live in horrendous conditions in the prison of Lezhe, Albania. They need a separate building with access to education, so they can improve their prospects for a successful future. The NHC wants to achieve this by refurbishing a current building. Your help, however, is needed for the realization of this project.

In the current situation, the juveniles have to share the common areas in the prison complex with the adult prisoners. There is an old classroom in the building, but since there are no books or teachers present, the juveniles cannot receive any education. The conditions in the building itself are no better. There are not enough sanitary facilities for all the detainees and the few that they have are often out of order or in a terrible condition. The cells also lack windows and proper heating and ventilation. This creates indecent living conditions, especially during the winter.

Most of the juveniles come from poor families and in most cases they have committed minor offenses, often out of a necessity to survive. Being locked up in a detention center with very limited educational training and inadequate living conditions weakens the juveniles’ chance of successful reintegration. Leaving prison without strong motivation and commitment to education and change, the juveniles are placed at a huge disadvantage in the job market. This way it is very easy for them to fall back to criminal circles.

The NHC wants to create a healthy, safe and educational environment for these young detainees. To achieve this, an existing building will be refurbished and serve as the new juvenile detention center. The new building will provide adequate space for education, training and daily activities. Furthermore, the problems with sanitation, bad ventilation and missing windows will be dealt with. There will be more spacious cells as well as better equipped classrooms to assist and motivate the juveniles for better learning outcomes. The new cells will allow a maximum of three juveniles in one cell instead of six as is the norm in the current situation.

To realize the project of reconstructing the building, funding is needed, which the NHC is trying to raise with individual and institutional donors as well as with national and international donors. Any small contribution helps to provide for a more successful future for these juveniles! You can help us by donating on NL48INGB0000417808 on behalf of “Albania”. For international transfers BIC: INGBNL2A. We will make sure the money gets in the right place.