Volunteer work AlbaniaLove Volunteers has united with a local NGO to offer volunteer placements in Albania. Volunteering in Albania means stepping into the breach to make an small contribution to the fight against poverty and discrimination in one of Europe’s poorest countries. Volunteers in Albania work with children from the disadvantaged minority Romani community. Directly contributing to these youngsters’ education, volunteers in Albania see perceptible advances being made in the progress of the individual children he or she deals with.

Bordered by Montenegro, Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia and Greece, Albania is a mountainous country with an extensive stretch of Adriatic coastline. Its assorted peoples, having emerged from Communist control in the 1990s, have had difficult economic conditions to endure. Members of Albania’s ‘Romani’ community are particularly hard hit by poverty, low literacy levels as well as suffering considerable discrimination.

Volunteering in Albania amounts to that rarely experienced thing, immersion in another people’s culture while at the same time carrying out a genuinely needed service. Reasons for choosing to volunteer in Albania, rather than simply travel or obtain temporary paid work closer to home include seeing an extraordinarily beautiful country, experiencing the warm hospitality for which that country is famed, and receiving the rare satisfaction of directly enhancing the quality of life of individuals.

For more information about Albania and the region check out Lonely Planet's Eastern Europe Guide.

Live As A Volunteer In Albania

When volunteering in Albania, you engage with people eager to introduce you to their world. Your own reserves of initiative and judgement will be drawn on. Volunteers in Albania is likely to be moved by the plight of the people they meet, while knowing that you need to remain focused on the job in hand. All of this helps you to develop as a person.

volunteer in Albania

Start and Duration

Volunteers going to Albania can start on any day of the year and can stay from two weeks or more. Fees are outlined for stays of up to 12 weeks, but it is possible to stay longer.

Volunteer Requirements

Volunteer RequirementsFor this program, Love Volunteer requires individuals who possess experience working with kids - this might mean teaching or simply looking after your siblings. The main thing is that you are enthusiastic, fun and responsible. If you're not sure whether you have the right experience just drop us a line and we can discuss your options. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old, have a good grasp of English and be able to supply a police report. Apply Now!

Project Descriptions for Albania

Program Costs

Love Volunteers offers not-for-profit program fees and is one of the most affordable ways to help out in a developing country while being immersed in the local culture.

Fees for volunteer programs in Albania start at US$395 for two weeks, which includes accommodation, breakfast, an airport pick-up and drop-off (if required), orientation and 24/7 in-country support.

Other volunteers periods available. Please, contact LoveVolunteers for pricing of other periods.

A Love Volunteers registration fee of US$235 (approximately €170) is charged in addition to the program fees and covers any placements you undertake for twelve months from the start of your first placement. The fee is refundable if you choose not to volunteer more than three months prior to the start of your initial placement. This fee ensures 24/7 pre- and post-placement support from Love Volunteers, checking and vetting of local organisations, a comprehensive information pack, as well as administration and marketing costs. Given Love Volunteers is a not-for-profit organisation we also ask volunteers to cover any bank charges incurred by international money transfers.

Food and Accomodation

Volunteer accommodation is in the purpose-designed guest room at the Romani centre. Depending on whether one’s stay coincides with one or more other volunteers, it may be necessary to share the room. There is also a shower and toilet. An Albanian family living close to the centre take charge of its day-to-day running and also provide the volunteers’ breakfast. Volunteers with specific dietary requirements should make this clear in advance. Albanian food is based largely around corn as well as rice and includes a great variety of cheeses made from goat's milk or ewe's milk, as well as yogurt. Lamb, mutton and to some extent chicken are the types of meat generally preferred. Fresh vegetables and fish are also popular.

Cool soups also feature in Albanian cuisine, usually based around pureed vegetables or fruit. Desserts are extremely sweet, usually prepared using filo pastry, nuts, sugar or honey, cloves, and cinnamon, very similar to Greek Baklava.

Tirana has many good restaurants, bars and even cocktail bars. Albania is a wine producer and raki is its national drink.

Orientation

A representative of our partner organisation will meet the volunteer at the airport. From there volunteers will be taken to their placement and introduced to their local hosts. This is followed by a one-day orientation program that includes basic information about the volunteer placement and about customs & daily life in Albania followed by an exploratory tour of Tirana. This will include visits to some historically and culturally important buildings, such as the National Historic Museum and the Mosque of Et’hem Bej.

A Typical Week

Specific details of the volunteer placement schedule will be agreed upon during orientation. The volunteer’s working day will last between 5 and 6 hours. Evenings and weekends are free. The structure of the week may vary, but a typical pattern is likely to be:

Weekdays: Rise at 7.30am and have breakfast provided by the family who manage the centre. Commence work at 8am by planning with the teacher what the schedule comprises. A tea break and lunch break will be fitted in and by mid-afternoon you are free to socialise or perhaps take a trip to the shops or a café. Alternatively, there is always extra jobs that you can help out with.

Weekends: Volunteers are free to spend time in Tirana, to travel to the Ionian coast, for example, or to some of the fascinating historic cities in the region. Parku Kombetar (the Grand Park) is a popular destination in the summer months.

About the Country

Albania has a long history of isolation, due not just to its geographical location and inhospitably rugged terrain, but also due to its political situation over the decades, notably the forty-seven years spent under Communist rule from 1946 until 1992. Governed democratically since that period, economic progress has been extremely slow.

A predominantly Muslim country, Albania’s frontiers also contain a wealth of other ethnic and religious groups. Travellers enjoy visiting the country predominantly to experience its very distinctive culture. The Shkumbin River, which virtually bisects the country, separates speakers of the northern dialect (Gheg) from those of the southern dialect (Tosk; the official dialect).

Albania’s Ionian coastline in the west is known for its untouched beaches. The country is home to some ancient classical sites, among them Berat, 70 kms from Tirana, an Ancient Greek polis and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Known also as “The Town of a Thousand Windows", being graced with attractive old decorated houses with many windows, its partner city is Gjirokastra, another ancient architectural gem.

Albania’s north is the area that has endowed the country with its image as a wild and bleak land of inhospitable jagged mountains and villages trapped in a time warp. Here there is wildlife a-plenty, including deer, wild boar and wolves. Thethi – named after the river on which it lies - is one of the four major national parks in Albania. The Grunas Waterfall in the park is a dramatic sight.

Tirana is a fast-developing city, shaking off its communist past and acquiring a western feel. It is small and manageable for traversing on foot. There are cinemas, concert halls and theatres with programs of a high standard and many bars, some providing live music. Several shopping malls have sprung up. Italian shoes at bargain prices are one attraction.

Apply now! Or check out the FAQ or contact page for more information.