700 000 KOSOVO ALBANIANS EXPECT HELP

PRISTINA, Nov 25 (Hina) - At least 700,000 people in the southern Yugoslav province of Kosovo are expecting humanitarian help, including 323,000 displaced whose homes were destroyed during the eight-month conflict between Albanian and Serbian forces, a humanitarian worker said on Wednesday. Palok Berisha, coordinator for the Pristina-based non-government humanitarian organisation "Mother Theresa", said his organisation had doubled efforts in sending humanitarian aid since the beginning of the Kosovo conflict. The organisation, which has almost 7,000 members in 44 branches and 630 sub-branches throughout the province, has established good cooperation with about 38 international organisations operating in Pristina, Berisha said. The alleviation of war consequences is a very difficult task because the Kosovo population is very poor, with the highest unemployment rate in Europe, Berisha said adding that the eight- month conflict had only deepened the already grave social and humanitarian crisis. Three times a week, the organisation sends convoys with aid to those in need of it in larger towns, while on other days its workers visit remote villages. Transport of help has recently been seriously hampered by harsh winter conditions and heavy snowfalls. In 1996, the organisation opened a centre for gynecology, where about 5,500 babies are born every year. Albanian gynecologists work at the centre on a voluntary basis. (hina) rml