Christlicher Hilfsverein Wismar e.V.

Christlicher Hilfsverein Wismar e.V. (Christian Relief Association Wismar) focuses on two main areas: We are working in Albania for people who need social and spiritual support; since 2022, we also provide aid for refugees from Ukraine. Secondly, in our Wismar clubhouse we offer opportunities to become active, experience community and find out about spiritual and other topics.

Our Mission

Helping people in need – that was and is the essence of our work. It was this concern that led to the first aid transports in the early 1990s, when Albania was just opening up, and it is still the motivation for our campaigns and aid projects today.

For the implementation of our projects, we consider two aspects to be essential. Firstly, a partnership-based and sustainable approach: we work on an equal footing with municipalities and authorities, but also with local cooperatives and churches. Beyond the help we provide in emergency situations, our projects lay the foundations for individuals and entire village communities to lead a better life.

Secondly, the commitment of foreign aid workers in and for Albania is also a way of bringing people together, promoting intercultural understanding and opening up personal horizons. Help from people for people enriches both sides – that’s also meant by “love reaching people”.

Diakonia conference
Conference with municipal partners
Home visit
Visiting a family in Spellë

Our values

The “Christian Aid Association” originally was initiated by the Wismar Methodist Church. We still work on the basis of the Christian view of humanity, with respect for local culture and traditions, for the individuality of personalities and family structures. Nevertheless, in our activities we consider ourselves to be a partner to all people, regardless of their religion or philosophy.

We at CHW gladly accepted the invitation of Diakonisches Werk (charitable organization of the protestant church in Germany) to become a member. It is useful to belong to an umbrella organization to receive advice and help on a variety of issues. Furthermore there are also friendly relations with the German Evangelical Alliance.

Structure and activities

The work of Christlicher Hilfsverein Wismar e.V. is mainly based on private donators and volunteers. Project-specific funding helps us to expand this donation base and achieve greater goals.

Our association employs 4 staff members in Germany and 14 in Albania. The current work priorities are supporting children at the children’s center in Bishnica, providing medical supervision and care for sick and elderly people in the mountain villages, and aid transports to support needy families, schools, hospitals and churches. Rounding out these activities are various projects such as school renovations, the annual Christmas campaign, tree planting and support for the local communes. In 2012, we established the Diakonia Albania foundation as a local legal body for our work. This enables us to act quickly and flexibly with our own partner organization on the Albanian side – and we are especially close to the people with whom we work in the mountain villages.

Alongside the growing work in Albania, our network of supporters in Germany has also expanded. Friends of Albania and workgroups from various regions have become part of our work. Cooperation with the city of Wismar and local institutions has noticeably intensified as a result of the Wismar-Pogradec town twinning and the activities of Ukraine Aid.

Thomas Beyer
Susanne Schütz
Martin Scriba
Alfred Gomolka
Harald Ringstorff
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