{"id":24498,"date":"2025-08-28T15:14:55","date_gmt":"2025-08-28T15:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/?p=24498"},"modified":"2025-08-28T15:14:55","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T15:14:55","slug":"summer-camps-bring-joy-to-albanian-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/summer-camps-bring-joy-to-albanian-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Camps Bring Joy to Albanian Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

28 August 2025 | Tirana, Albania [Sarah Henke]<\/p>\n

Churches in Tirana and Kor\u00e7\u00eb welcomed children aged 6 to 12 this July and August for Summer Camps organised with the support of the Adventist Development and Reliefief Agency (ADRA) in Albania and local volunteers. The camp programmes combined games, stories, and music with faith-based learning, planting seeds of hope in young hearts.<\/p>\n

Five Weeks in Tirana<\/strong><\/p>\n

In July, Tirana hosted the ADRA Albania Summer Camp, which ran for five weeks. According to Vojsava Firi, project manager at ADRA Albania, teamwork was essential, \u201cADRA, in partnership with the Adventist Church and the volunteers who came from Brazil, made this Summer Camp possible. The children were very happy and, according to the parents, the project was a success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Activities included stories, music, games, and interactive sessions designed not only to entertain but also to teach and inspire. For Nati\u00e9li Sch\u00e4ffer, Albanian Mission Children\u2019s Ministries Director, the value was clear, \u201cMany of these children may never step into a church, but here, through games, stories, and songs, a little seed of Jesus\u2019 love can be planted in their hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a><\/p>\n

Volunteers from the Adventist Conference of Paulistana and South Paran\u00e1, as well as the Brazilian Adventist University, Engenheiro Coelho campus (Centro Universit\u00e1rio Adventista de S\u00e3o Paulo or UNASP-EC) dedicated their time and energy to make the experience memorable. Caroline de Brito, a One Year in Mission and Service (OYIMS) volunteer, commented on their impact, \u201cIn Albania there is not a large Adventist presence, so when we receive volunteers, they not only make the programme happen but also serve as an example for the Albanians who are beginning to develop this project.\u201d<\/p>\n

The camp took place at the ADRA Albania site, which is being transformed into a Centre of Influence. As ADRA Albania Director, Altin Rexhepi, explained, \u201cThis is part of the vision we share with the Adventist Church: to transform the entire ADRA property into a Centre of Influence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outreach in Kor\u00e7\u00eb<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Kor\u00e7\u00eb, the Adventist Church organised a one-week Summer Camp for around 25 children from a nearby neighbourhood each day. None came from Adventist families, and many heard about Jesus for the first time through the camp activities.<\/p>\n

\"kids<\/a><\/p>\n

The camp included music, Bible stories, crafts, games, healthy meals, and water games, made possible with the support of church members. Edlira Zissi, a volunteer, reflected, \u201cBeing with the children makes us feel young again! And above all, it\u2019s wonderful to be used by God to work with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

For some years the church has also run a Sunday children\u2019s programme, led by Fatjon File and his wife, Anxhela Rakollari. File explained how the summer camp helps children to explore faith in practical ways. \u201cFor many, this is their first encounter with Jesus. Some have been coming longer, and now new children will join as well! It\u2019s such a blessing to work with kids, because through them we can do beautiful things for God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Together, the Tirana and Kor\u00e7\u00eb camps highlight the growing impact of simple, community-driven initiatives in Albania. Through games, stories, and care, children are not only entertained but also introduced to lasting values of hope, friendship, and faith.<\/p>\n

\n

[Photos: courtesy of Sarah Henke].<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Programmes in Tirana and Kor\u00e7\u00eb combine fun, friendship, and faith with the support of ADRA and local volunteers<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":24500,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1580,1568,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-albania-croatia-slovenia","category-children-teens-young-adults","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24498"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24498\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24504,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24498\/revisions\/24504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ted.adventist.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}