Peshkopi

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Revision as of 09:27, 8 March 2008

A street in Peshkopi.

Etymology

The name "Peshkopi" (definite form Peshkopia) derives from the Greek episkopia, which refers to the seat of an Orthodox bishop. The word peshkop "bishop" still exists in the modern Albanian language. One folk etymology for the name is pesë shtëpi "five houses", in reference to the tiny size of the town in times past.

Presence of NGOs

• Opportunity Albania (formerly PShM), a microcredit business, has an office on the main boulevard.
• Qendra e Edukimit dhe e Komunikimit (The Center for Education and Communication or QEK) is located on the boulevard. It's a large building and hard to miss. It houses the only internet cafe in town, 150 lekë/hour. It was built with Danish aid, but the staff are all Albanian. None of them speak English.
• SNV, a Dutch-funded development organization, has an office between the elementary school complex and Hotel Veri. It may soon move to an second-story office next door to the Prefecture. The Peshkopi office's activities are focused mainly on small business development in the region of Dibër. With the exception of the office director, a native of Vancouver, staff are all Albanian. All are fluent in English.
• World Vision is scheduled to open an office in Peshkopi soon, possibly in the space currently occupied by SNV. Rumor has it that there will be three Albanian staff members and a French director. It's likely that all staff will speak English fluently, as this was a qualification listed in the advertisement for job interviews.
• The Albanian Red Cross (Kryqi i Kuq Shqiptar) has a building up the hill behind the QEK. One of its current projects involves child nutrition and survival in local villages.

The post office.

Education

Schools in Peshkopi include the following:

• Nazmi Rushiti - foreign languages and pedagogical high school. Commonly referred to as the pedagogjike. Gafur Markeçi is the director, and the vice-directors (zëvendësdrejtorët) are Hairi Hasa and Nebi Xhembulla.
• Seit Najdeni - general high school (gjimnaz).
• Demir Gashi - elementary and junior high school (shkollë nëntë-vjeçare).
• Selim Alliu - elementary and junior high school, physically connected to Demir Gashi but administratively separated.

Directors of schools in Peshkopi report directly to the Regional Directorate of Education (Drejtoria Arsimore Rajonale) of the region (qark) of Dibër, whose offices are in the same building as the city government (bashkia) of Peshkopi and the regional government (prefektura). The Director of Education (Drejtor Arsimor) is Premtim Kryemadhi.

Transportation

• Buses for Tirana and Durrës leave from a spot on the boulevard next to the Turizëm hotel. The Durrës bus is much smaller than the Tirana one. It's best to get on the bus by 7am in order to be sure to get a seat. As of early 2008, the bus fare to Tirana is 500 lekë.
• Furgons for Tirana are regularly lined up in the treg (market) neighborhood on the section of street that slopes downhill from the new mosque (xhamia e re) with two minarets. The furgon fare to Tirana is 800 lekë.
• Furgons for Kukës are sometimes available from the dirt yard in front of the pedagogjike (Nazmi Rushiti).

The route to Tirana passes through Maqellarë, Bulqizë, Klos, Burrel, and Milot.

Current volunteers

• Kenji Yamada - G10 TEFL.

Past volunteers