Albanian mercy mission on the move to help the hungry

Tons of desperately needed food have left Sunderland to help starving children in Albania.

A truck carrying seven tons of food will join a convoy taking relief to abandoned children in orphanages in Europe’s poorest country.

The food was collected by Wearside schoolchildren as the result of an appeal by Sunderland-based car firm Cowies.

The convoy was the brainchild of Cowies business development manager Alwyn Starling who started the appeal a month agao after seeing horrific TV news pictures.

Alwyn persuaded every one of Cowies’ 20 dealerships nationwide to join in, and together they collected more than 20 tons of tinned and dried food.

All the provisions will be collected together in a warehouse in Slough before the convoy sets off across Europe.

The relief operation is being masterminded with the help of the charity Feed The Children.

Children from some of the many Wearside schools who gave up their harvest festival collection to the appeal, were at the Cowies Trimdon Street depot to help load the truck.

Nine-yearold Michael Etherington, from South Hylton Primary School, had no doubts about the importance of the convoy. He said at the time: “The children in Albania are hungry because there is not very much food. I hope now they won’t starve.”