On November 26, 2019, a 6.4 magnitude earthquake shook Albania. The epicenter of the quake was only about 10 miles from Vlashaj.
25% of the homes in our community were declared unsafe for living and Planters and WGM rallied to support the 20+ families who were now homeless. Generous gifts allowed our team to provide temporary shelter and food for the community. Many times our team wished the Family Center had been finished so that our capacity to help would have been even better and more complete.
For the Family Center construction, the only progress in construction at the time was the clearing of the land and the digging of the footers. Engineers all over Albania studied the effects of the earthquake and experts from the European Union and others made building recommendations to strengthen current and future construction projects.
The Family Center had already been engineered to withstand an 8.5 magnitude earthquake (4 times the November quake and twice as high as the largest quake recorded in Albania). Now, in addition to that engineering, the builders were being shown new and better ways to use the building materials for added strength and stability.
By mid-December, construction resumed. We are thankful that the workers have something productive to focus on during this trying time and can provide for their families when so many are without work right now. Also, several in our devastated community have expressed that just seeing it rise from the ground is giving them hope for a better future too!