TIRANA, ALBANIA--Today, U.S. Ambassador, Alexander Arvizu, and the Australian Ambassador to Albania, Mike Rann, participated in a special ceremony to provide 32 women with an Alpine goat. The goats are provided through USAID and Australian grants to provide sustainable livelihoods for rural families in the remote, mountainous villages in the district of Tirana.

USAID is providing 20 women with Alpine goats, which are known for milk production, as well as training in goat care, farm management, and the production of quality goat cheese. Other farmers’ families will be supported by the women “passing the gift” of the first female kid to a neighboring family. With the addition of the 12 goats donated by the Australians, the project is expected to result in 84 families receiving goats and engaging in milk and cheese production. Veterinary specialists of Heifer Albania will monitor the growth and health of the animals.

Upon receiving a proposal from USAID’s partner, Assist Impact, the Direct Aid Program (DAP) of the Australian Embassy in Rome, agreed to provide 12 additional 'Alpine' goats for women of another village. With this contribution, 84 families in Zall-Bastar Commune will benefit from this project.

All donated goats (32) from the USAID and Australian project are female and pregnant. Normally, Alpine goats give birth to two kids per pregnancy. The women in Zall-Bastar who received these goats today agreed that they will donate the firstborn female to another woman in their community. Thus, it is expected that more than 80 households will have a goat by the middle of next year. And this donation will continue, time after time, with each new birth.

For integration into the EU, it is important that Albania increases focus on marginalized and rural populations, including people with disabilities, Roma and Egyptian, victims of domestic violence, and women head of households. USAID/Albania, in cooperation with Assist Impact, an Albanian NGO, is currently implementing a three year project “Building Human and Institutional Capacities,” aimed at supporting local NGOs, governmental agencies, and community groups to improve their capabilities and work more effectively. As part of this project, Assist Impact, through a competitive process, has selected seven NGOs from all over Albania to support the economic empowerment of women, particularly those most marginalized.