World Vision’s work in Eastern Europe

We help those most in need

Our work in Europe focuses primarily on child protection and family income. Issues such as child marriage and domestic violence are leading causes for concern as are the high poverty levels that can hinder children’s education and life prospects.

We work in Albania to improve the lives of vulnerable children living below the poverty line. We empower children to know their rights, ensure their access to a proper education, and support families to lead their own development and build reliable incomes so that progress made is sustained, and continued, long after we’ve left.

Where World Vision works in Eastern Europe

Our work in

Albania

Since 1999, after the Kosovo refugee crisis, we’ve been working with children facing abuse, violence, exploitation and early marriage. We focus heavily on child protection, such as training child protection workers about new laws on child rights and protection. We also prioritise education; training teachers on inclusive and accessible education, particularly regarding minorities and those with disabilities to ensure education for all.

N.B. Looking to support our work in Armenia? Good news! Having worked in in Armenia since the devastating earthquake in 1988, we're overjoyed to announce that our Armenia office is able to fund itself through local fundraising and grants, meaning 2020 was the last year UK supporters provided funding for our activities here. We give thanks for the transformation UK supporters have made to the lives of children in Armenia.

Support our work in Eastern Europe

You can help transform the lives of the most vulnerable children in Europe:

3 year old girl from Senegal smiles to the camera wearing a pink and white top

Sponsor a child

Change a child's life. And support their community to lift themselves out of poverty.

Sponsor

Four children and an adult clapping and celebrating in front of their hut in Malawi

How you can help

Choose how you want to have an extraordinary, positive impact on vulnerable children's lives.

Learn more

Somali mother holding her child while sat in front of a makeshift tent in an internally displaced persons camp

Responding to emergencies

When war and disasters happen, we respond with immediate relief and long-term rebuilding.

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Now we can develop a more qualitative lesson using modern technology. I am very happy we made it happen.

Sheri

Worked with WV to improve her school building

Sponsor a child in Albania

Child Sponsorship is a unique relationship that brings real hope and a life-affirming experience. When you sponsor a child, you’ll help them move from surviving to thriving. We identify the child’s core needs and use your donation to provide these, keeping you updated on their progress all the way.

Girl smiles as she stands outside next to a washing line in Albania talking about how sponsorship has impacted her life

Child Sponsorship

Supporting Xheorxhina

Now 17, Xheorxhina has been sponsored for years. She talks fondly of the education she's received - learning about human rights, child protection and how to be active citizens - and how she dreams of one day sponsoring children herself. She says of her sponsor, "She often sends me letters, so we communicate with each other and we became good friends. I have learned many things about her community and life in the UK. My sponsor has encouraged me to pursue my dreams and never give up despite the difficulties.”

Two girls in Albania smile broadly as they hug and play outside on World Childrens Day

Child Sponsorship

Supporting her community

Because of the way Child Sponsorship works, for every child you sponsor, another 4 children benefit. In Xheorxhina's village, the lack of drinkable water was a great issue for the local children - and her sponsorship and that of others allowed for a water pipeline to be built. This has made a huge impact, as have other local sponsorship-enable initiatives. Thanks to Xheorxhina's sponsor, children like Besjona (left) and Ilda, both 9, also benefit.

I want to sponsor a child like Xheorxhina

Support children in Eastern Europe through hardship

World Vision has a presence in almost 100 countries so we can act quickly to help children. When disasters like Covid strike, we are on hand to help families. This lifesaving work is only possible because generous individuals who support World Vision with regular donations, so we can support children when their need is greatest.

Teenage girl from Albania waters a hazelnut plant provided by World Vision to help her family during COVID-19 — 15 year-old Artenisa from Albania waters a hazelnut seedling provided by World Vision to help her family during COVID-19

Your support for World Vision has been vital during the Covid pandemic. When the virus hit, we worked with local authorities to identify families who would be hardest hit by isolation regulations and supported them with 4,600 hazelnut seedlings.

We were able to support these families with sustainable economic opportunities to help them overcome the difficulties of the situation. Thanks to World Vision supporters and our ties in the local area, even in the most difficult of circumstances we were able to act quickly to support families like that of 15-year-old Artenisa, who said, “We take care of the seedlings, you give us hope”.

Tell me more

More about our work

Thanks to the faithful support of people like you, our unique community-based model, refined and expanded over our 70-year history, can focus on key areas to ensure that all children, regardless of religion, race, ethnicity or gender experience the fullness of life.

Our work is driven by a relentless desire to transform the lives of children so we partner with governments, peer organisations, institutional donors and businesses so together, we can have a greater impact in the lives of the families we serve. You can learn more about them and our work below.