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The Orthodox Soup Kitchen - Feeding the Needy
Albania was a very poor communist country in 1990. It had been ruled since WWII by a tyrannical dictator named Enver Hoxha who succeeded in wiping out all religion and making Albania the first truly atheist state in history. After the communist regime mercifully collapsed in 1990, an already poor country had to go through the difficult process of learning a democratic system of government, and a developing a market based economy. Many people have fallen through the cracks in this difficult transition, especially the elderly, and are in great need of basic necessities starting with getting enough to eat.
Working together with the Archbishop Anastasios, we opened the Orthodox Soup Kitchen on Jan 15th, 2005. The Archbishop wanted the Orthodox Church of Albania to have a program that addressed the problem of hunger directly. We serve lunch to about 120 people, 3 times a week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday). As of July 2007, we have served the following:
- Over 16,000 lbs. of meat (including meat
substitutes during the 2 major fasts)
- Almost 4000 gallons of Soup
- Over 9,000 loaves of bread
In addition to providing food, we give the people who come to the kitchen an opportunity to come closer to the Church. As we have served them and talked to them, we have gotten to know many of the people who come to the kitchen, and their families. More and more, we are seeing these people coming to church for liturgy, or in the church lighting candles and talking to our priests.
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