Zadar, April 29, 1999 (IKA) – On the occasion of the departure of a large shipment of humanitarian assistance for the Kosovar refugees in Albania, a press conference was held today, April 29, by the president of Croatian Caritas, Archbishop Ivan Prenđa of Zadar, at the palace of the archbishop. The public appeal Croatian Caritas issued before Easter for donations to the Kosovar refugees encountered great response, both in Croatia and other countries. In Zadar, the chief collection center, approximately 800 tons of various types of humanitarian assistance has been collected. At the conference, it was announced that a special ship carrying approximately 600 tons of assistance (food, hygienic supplies, medical supplies, tents, water receptacles) valued at 500,000 U.S. dollars, is being sent to Albanian Caritas to ease the suffering of the Kosovar refugees in Albania. Archbishop Prenđa pointed out that all the diocesan branches of Caritas of the Catholic Church among the Croats had participated in collecting this assistance, as well as various enterprises and institutions, the Red Cross of Zadar, in addition to foreign charitable organizations, including those from Scotland, Germany, Italy and England. The archbishop of Zadar particularly thanked the personnel from Caritas, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Croatia, the enterprise Luka and the Customs Administration in Zadar for their assistance and understanding in this undertaking.