The Angels' Cradle Nursery and Clara's Garden.......
In May 2000, The U.S. Department of Defense, through the auspices of the U.S. Embassy in Albania’s Humanitarian Assistance Program, funded a renovation of the abandoned babies ward within the maternity hospital. A clean, fresh environment has been created, including a new and improved kitchen and laundry facilities, in which to care for the babies.
The U.S. Department of Defense also provided funding, on behalf of the abandoned babies, to construct a laboratory, a hospital administration building, and a mother/child training room on the hospital premises.
Before
After
Nursery - Before
Nursery - After
Nursery Kitchen - Before
Kitchen - After
Administration building - Before
Lab - Before
Lab - After
"Clara's Garden" Inaugurated on International Children's Day, June 1, 2005
Established as a memorial fund in loving memory of Clara Mitchell Bates, silently born on May 28, 2004, to parents Lisa Tepper and Scott Bates, "Clara's Garden" provides a tranquil and loving environment for abandoned babies to be provided one-on-one care while they remain in the maternity hospital. Lisa Tepper, Clara's mother, is the former Political and Economic Section Chief of the U.S. Embassy in Albania and actively worked as an OSAAB volunteer throughout 1999 and 2000, helping realize a project to improve the facilities for abandoned babies at the maternity hospital. Working through the U.S. Embassy, Lisa also raised awareness of Albania's political leadership of the needs and rights of abandoned infants to be given the dignity and respect they deserve as human beings. "Clara's Garden" represents the spirit of Clara and the right for all children to be loved and to grow, like the flowers in the garden, throughout their entire life.
