When Arnold Geiger, founder of NG, asked me if I would like to come to Albania, I flew there without further ado. From the old airport in Tirana, we drove for about four hours across the mountains to Elbasan and further along the pass road - until “suddenly” the lake lay below, the oldest lake in Europe! On the opposite shore, the mountains of the border region with North Macedonia and Greece. Majestic!
The Geigers lived with four children in the old mission hut, where they looked after their family, staff and guests. A popular souvenir was a jar of chocolate Nutella, which, scraped to the last scrap, was put back on the table because there might still be some flavor in it. Esther, I was in awe of you! There was also a time of prayerin the morning in the mission house, and the team was assigned to breakfast duty. Everyone had their area of responsibility. The great hospitality wherever I went was overwhelming.
At the time, I was the chairwoman of Parents of Secondary Schools in Bavaria and dealt a lot with school issues. In Buçimas, it was about founding a secondary school. I spoke to the principal Drini Hajdini, attended classes, studied the Albanian curriculum and thought about what I could contribute. I am no longer sure when I was “infected with the Albanian virus”, but I soon knew that I wanted to help make it possible for the children at Nehemia primary and secondary school to complete high school. Several students qualified for a scholarship at the renowned boarding school Landheim Schondorf am Ammersee, where I was on the board of trustees.
It was logical to found a university. I was able to accompany the founding and faculty planning with renowned people from the German university world and also held seminars in the Master's program myself.
Soon new students arrived, mainly from Africa, Latin America and even from Cuba! Typically for NG: there is no standing still ever! The most important question was always: What helps people to lead an independent and self-determined life? This is the starting point for all projects. How grateful I am that I was able to experience how much can be achieved when very different people work together with commitment towards common goals and trust that God will give his blessing!
Thank you, dear Arnold, for asking me back then.
Picture: Co-worker training in Pogradec (2003)