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f you ask 12-year-old Benson in Zimbabwe what the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is, he will bring you a cup of clean water from the new borehole hydrating his community. Ask the same question to Natalia in Moldova, and she will give you a tour of Rainbow of Hope, a center for abandoned children. Gabe will invite you inside a structurally sound home built in the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.
Everywhere you go you are likely to hear a different answer. ADRA is a goat for a young girl; prenatal health for an expecting mother. ADRA is a microloan, a hot meal, and a good education. ADRA is many things to many people, but one thing remains constant: ADRA acts as the hands and feet of God.
As the humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, ADRA meets human needs with God’s love. Thanks to the unfailing support of donors, we are meeting those needs in more than 130 countries around the world. The following report shows some of the top projects successfully completed within the past five years. On behalf of all the people served, thank you.
In 2011 conflict in southern Yemen displaced more than 100,000 people into the neighboring governorates of Abyan and Lahj. In response to this crisis, ADRA implemented a food assistance project that fed nearly 40,000 households. More than just depositing rations, ADRA worked with local vendors to develop a food voucher system, which fostered trade, business, and normalcy in a region that had effectively shut down. During this time ADRA was the sole organization consistently working on food security projects in the area.
In almost every facet of its program, the Ghana Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Project far exceeded its goals, at times nearly doubling the original objective. When 60,000 beneficiaries were projected, ADRA and its partners met the needs of 112,000 people who were in desperate need of even the most basic sanitation and hygiene amenities, such as latrines, hand-washing stations, and boreholes. Additionally, ADRA trained and facilitated students, teachers, committees, and local organizations to further develop the knowledge and health of their communities, ensuring the sustainability of the program.
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here was a time when Maybelle was afraid to use the toilet. The dilapidated structure with sunken floor, rotting beams, and gaping holes where prying eyes lurked was her only option on school grounds, but using it meant risking her comfort, privacy, and safety. So like many of her female peers at the Assin Kumasi Junior High School in the south district of Ghana, she found an alternative: the woods. By venturing far from the school, these girls were granted the seclusion they needed, but they were also at risk of sexual assault. Then Maybelle’s school was one of those selected by ADRA to receive new facilities. Now when she has to go to the bathroom, there are two safe and secure latrines in the girls’ section to choose from. With the risk and embarrassment of the past laid to rest, Maybelle can finally focus on what really matters: getting a good education.
IndiaIn a triumph of modern medical practices, India was declared polio-free March 27, 2014. However, with neighboring Pakistan and Afghanistan still suffering from the virus, India must fight to maintain its status. In the districts of Uttar Pradesh, ADRA has been working to do just that. To prevent the transmission of polio and the spread of new epidemics, effective sanitation practices and immunization are vital. ADRA helps facilitate community meetings to demonstrate proper methods of sanitation and provides routine immunizations for children under the age of 5.
The world’s newest nation, South Sudan has suffered more tragedies in its three years of existence than most countries have faced in centuries. Natural and political disasters have plagued the young nation and affected millions of innocent citizens. In response, ADRA has invested the resources necessary to ensure that aid, both immediate and long-term, reaches the most vulnerable. This takes the form of emergency food and access to clean water for survival, and sustainable resources (such as seeds and boreholes) for hope of a better tomorrow.
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onica is a single mother of four young children, and a refugee in her own country. But in between the rigors of motherhood and the stress of basic survival, Monica is an empowered leader in her community. Known as Leader Mothers, women like Monica organize meetings with other women in the camp to teach skills in improving health to increase their chances of survival. Lessons include sanitation, hygiene, and nutrition, as well as information on how to best use the resources provided by ADRA, such as boreholes, latrines, and food rations. “It empowers us to make informed decisions,” Monica said. “It gives us hope of survival.”
Malnutrition in Mozambique is a medical crisis that continues to afflict millions of children. To bring this preventable crisis to an end, ADRA has worked closely in five of the most vulnerable districts in Zambezia Province, providing training, support, and resources. Because the problem requires short-term interventions as well as long-term vision, ADRA has combined health and nutrition training and cooking demonstrations using local food with growth-monitoring activities. ADRA also addresses the need for sustainability by providing seeds, tools, technologies, and literacy. Now thousands of well-trained and organized parents have the skills necessary to fight child malnutrition effectively.
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hen Dony entered ADRA’s child growth promotion and monitoring program, he was almost a year old and weighed only 10 pounds. He was classified as severely malnourished. ADRA treated him for his short-term survival, then connected his parents with a nearby health council comprising trained mothers, fathers, and leaders within the community. There, Dony’s parents were given the knowledge and resources they needed to keep him alive and well, including enriched porridge, access to a nutritional rehabilitation program, and an education in nutrition. Now Dony is 2 years old and is at a normal weight for a boy his age.
Projects like these are being implemented all around the world, providing lifesaving aid to millions of people. Together we can continue meeting needs everywhere with God’s love. Join us. For information on what you can do to help, visit ADRA.org
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