When you travel from the north, from the mountainous areas of Gora and Golo Brdo, and descend to the southeasternmost point of Albania, the village of Vrabnik, you will hear Bulgarian speech. Unfortunately, in some of these places, people have not been able to learn to write and read in Bulgarian due to the lack of schools and teachers. In recent years, efforts have been made in this direction so that as many Bulgarians in Albania as possible can learn literary Bulgarian language. Elbasan is one of the towns where young children from the Bulgarian ethnic minority have the opportunity to be educated in their mother tongue. 

In a cozy café there, the team of Radio Bulgaria (Kostandina Belo and Krasimir Martinov) met with Ahmet Bala, Chairman of the Bulgarians in Albania Association, based in Elbasan. He himself is from the village of Shishtavec, Gora region. He graduated from the local high school and later studied in a university in Tirana. After working in various places throughout Albania over the years and getting to know many Bulgarians, Mr. Bala decided to take an important step:

"In 2017, I left my job and found it necessary to get involved and help the Bulgarian community in Albania. It is quite large, and I noticed that people are not sufficiently informed and organized. That's why we created the Bulgarians in Albania Association", Ahmet Bala said for Radio Bulgaria.

The association was established in 2018. Initially it operated in Tirana, but later moved to Elbasan, where a large number of Albanian citizens of Bulgarian descent also live. Some of them graduated in Bulgaria and now teach at the University of Elbasan. All of them work together to support the Bulgarian community and implement various projects and initiatives. For instance, the Bulgarian Sunday School ''Zora'' was established with the support of the Bulgarian Ministry of Education and Science. Today, it attracts the children of Bulgarians who learn to read and write in their mother tongue.

''Then we opened another Sunday school in Durrës", Ahmet Bala went on to say. ''It was difficult in the first year because teachers had to commute from Elbasan. Today, we are much more organized as we have provided local teachers in Durrës. At the same time, we opened another Sunday school in Librazhd, attended by 20 students. We aim to establish educational centers in the Gora and Golo Brdo regions as well. We intend to open three schools in Gora, and we are currently working to find teachers to teach in them."

Serious efforts are being made to improve the educational process in Borje (one of the villages in the Gora region), where partial renovations have already taken place, and heating for the school has been provided. Unfortunately, life for Bulgarians in these areas is not easy, admitted Ahmet Bala and added:

''The Bulgarian community in these areas has a lot of needs, given that these are poor areas. The roads are terrible, and it is very difficult to reach the villages without a high-clearance vehicle. This discourages people because they do not have normal transport links to nearby settlements, as well as to the larger cities and the capital Tirana. The hospitals in these areas are in a shocking state, and the schools are in need of major renovations. That is why, we are working on various projects and trying to help."

Ahmet Bala is grateful for the help the Bulgarian state has provided so far, but believes that much more can be done if the governments of our two countries join efforts. Thus, key issues such as roads and poor conditions in healthcare facilities and schools can be addressed.