WILTSHIRE sponsors of Albanian families, who live in the most deprived conditions of almost anybody in Europe, were last week given an insight into the families' lives.

International Community Assist, based in Patney, near Devizes, is working to improve the lot of people living in isolated rural areas in the mountainous north of the country.

In an update on the charity's work, Bashkim Bashllari, who runs ICA's operation in Albania, spoke of the conditions that people live in in a state still recovering from years of Communist rule and the effects of the civil war in its neighbouring Balkan states.

Mr Bashllari told the Gazette: "It is the way the area has been left since the collapse of Communism.

"There is no economic support from the state and people are in the street looking for jobs. But there aren't any jobs in that part of the country."

One of the families supported by the big-hearted sponsors of ICA is that of widow Bardha Martini.

Mrs Martini's husband died when the walls of a well he was digging in an attempt to get clean water for his family, collapsed and he was suffocated.

Mrs Martini, aged 26, was left destitute with four children, aged three to 12, to look after. She lost her home and is now living in part of the old railway station buildings in Bajze.

She and her children are frequently ill, because the place where she lives has holes in the roof, is unsanitary, unsafe and bitterly cold in the winter, when temperatures regularly fall to minus ten degrees Celsius.

When Mrs Martini fell ill, Mr Bashllari took her to hospital in Tirana, the Albanian capital, otherwise she could have died.

The family sleep on the floor in one room, so it is hardly surprising that the children are constantly sick. Mr Bashllari said: "My wife starts to cry when we go to see them."

In a desperate effort to make ends meet, Mrs Martini gets up at 2am to climb a nearby mountain to collect a species of sage that is used for medicine, which she can sell to buy food for her family.

But hers is not the only case to come to the attention of ICA.

There is an 18-year-old girl whose family all suffer mental health problems and who was kidnapped and sold into prostitution. She managed to escape but now lives in hiding as there is a contract out on her life.

On a notice board at ICA's headquarters there is a photograph of a happy family group. But the director of ICA UK David James warned: "Don't let the smiles fool you.

"They are all sick. The father's bones are crumbling, but there is no money to get him the urgent medical help he needs."

There is something that people in the UK can do. ICA runs a family sponsorship scheme where, for £120 a year, donors can fund the ICA to continue working in Albania.

Mr James said: "Half the money goes directly to the family but we keep the other half for community projects or any emergencies that may come up. "

ICA invests a lot of money in education, much to the appreciation of local people, who see learning as a way out of their dire poverty.

At a school in the town of Rupsh, 40 minutes drive from Bajze, ICA have made the building weatherproof by the addition of a roof and windows, which it lacked until their arrival. ICA also sponsors bright pupils to study at

university in Tirana.

Mr James said: "The problem is that money from the international community is not getting to rural outposts like Bajze because they do not have enough educated civil servants to handle the distribution.

"Hopefully, with an improvement in education, we can help to bridge that gap."

There is also a great need for

computer hardware and software as ICA's organisation has benefited from easier access, via e-mail and mobile phone, between Patney and Bajze.

Anyone with a computer or laptop they no longer need is asked to donate it to the charity.

People interested in becoming a sponsor, or who would like to hear about the opportunities to work as an ICA volunteer in Albania, should

contact Mr James on (01380) 840990 or e-mail icauk@btopenworld.com