ADRA-UK News Update

Smiles for Zambia

Following the enormous success of previous year’s appeals, with between 5,000 and 7,000 boxes collected and distributed in Madagascar & Guyana, ADRA-UK is planning a repeat of this touching experience this year to send
Christmas packages to Zambia. It is a fun way to help very poor children to experience a little joy in their lives.

Zambia is one of the least developed nations in the world with over 80% of its population living on less that 50 pence a day. As a result most of the parents cannot afford the basic needs of their children. The number of orphans is estimated to be over 1,100,000. Most of their parents have died from tropical disease like malaria but also from HIV/AIDS which has infected approximately 15% of the population and has led to more female single parent
homes in Zambia. Women in Zambia tend to be more vulnerable because of social and cultural practices and as a result cannot afford to take care of their children. Consequently, they have no other recourse but to turn to
orphanages and other institutions, which cater for these orphaned and vulnerable children.

Many of these orphanages/homes are privately run by ordinary people who just want to make a difference in these children’s lives and depend heavily on adhoc outside assistance for their annual upkeep. In this regard, whatever
outside help they could muster will be readily accepted. Anticipating once again your generous efforts this autumn ADRA Zambia says, “Thanks in advance for this humanitarian gesture which will, no doubt, put a smile on the faces
of all recipients.”

Shoeboxes can be filled with toys such as play dough, building blocks, story books, clothes, school supplies, toiletry items etc. and should be nicely wrapped and clearly labelled with the appropriate age and sex. Please make sure ALL items are NEW!

As additional note, please if possible do an equal amount of boy boxes to girl boxes as we found in previous years that there was a distinct shortage of boy!

Please do NOT include breakable items, food or sweets, toys that need batteries, medicines, or war-related items.

All boxes need to be received by Sunday, 29 November. Boxes can be delivered to ADRA, Stanborough Park, Watford, WD25 9JZ during business hours (Monday to Thursday 9-5, and Friday 9-noon).

Please help to bring a little happiness in the lives of orphans and vulnerable children of Zambia! For more information call our office on 01923-681743. Even the smallest gift at the orphanage will be talked about for months, even remembered for years to come. What will YOU give?

What to do?

* Remember: quality is more important than quantity! Each child will get one box - let’s make sure that ALL shoeboxes have good content!

* Select a good shoebox that closes well. Maximum suggested size is 30x25x25.

* Shoeboxes can be filled with toys, clothes, toiletry items, a plate and cup, school supplies etc. * Please make sure ALL items are NEW!

* Please do NOT include breakable items, food or sweets, toys that need batteries, medicines, or war-related items.

* Gift wrap the box and put a label on the box stating if it is for a boy or girl and what appropriate age.

* All boxes need to be received in Watford by the 29th of November.

* Boxes can be delivered to ADRA, Stanborough Park, Watford WD25 9JZ during business hours (Mon-Thurs 9-5, and Friday 9-noon).

* We will ship the container at the end of November. The gifts will be distributed early 2010 as it takes many weeks to arrive in Zambia.

* Shipping each box will cost £1.00 - if you can, please make a donation to cover the shipping cost of your box. Many thanks!

* Please help to bring a smile to the orphans and vulnerable children of Zambia!

For more information call our office on 01923-681743!

Destination: Zambia
Beneficiaries: Orphans and vulnerable children
Partner: ADRA Zambia

Final delivery date: Monday 29th of November 2009
Shipping date: First week in December

ADRA-UK contact: Valerie Austin and David Balderstone
ADRA Zambia contact: John Kunda
Shipping agent: Allways

Collection points:

We are in the process of coordinating some central collections points for delivery of Shoeboxes. Please check our website for current information. You will help us save cost by delivering directly to our Watford office.

Most people think of Peru as a tourist destination. Featuring the famous ‘Lost City of the Incas’ at Machu Picchu, the Cusco region however, is one of the poorest areas in the country. With an overall population of nearly 1.2 million 65% of the people are estimated to be living in poverty.

ADRA Peru has proposed to systematically address this situation, perpetuated by poor living conditions, ill health and inefficient agricultural methods.

With financial assistance from ADRA-UK (US$185,000) ADRA Peru is now building an agricultural training centre (ATC) just outside the central location of Chuquikahuana on the main road from Cusco to Puno. The training centre will serve the four districts of Checacupe, Combapata, Cusipata, and Quiquijana.

The centre will teach and illustrate advanced agricultural production systems, better health and nutrition practices, better use of materials for construction, and management of surplus crops for profit purposes.

The training centre will enable representatives from private and public institutions to play a part in improving the daily practices and living conditions of the people whom they represent. Training of teachers is important in passing on knowledge. Theoretical and practical courses will be offered to introduce the best organic agro-silvo-pastoral productive system and practices in hygiene, cooking, and construction.

The project also has the potential to be extended to include rural tourism, which could become an income-generating element to the facility.

The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) recently approved a four-year $1,000,000 budget for an irrigation project for the area.

Walter Britton, ADRA Peru Director comments: ‘We have been working on the plans for the agricultural training centre for more than a year. It will make a big impact in the area and will permit ADRA Peru to develop in a better way the already approved irrigation project for the area by AECID. The combination of the two projects will create excellent opportunities for many small farmers.’

The new Agricultural Training Centre has the potential to become a major center of development for the area.

Visiting a GP, receiving a fair wage and living without fear of exploitation and abuse – things we generally take for granted here in the UK. Many in the world fare differently.

Thailand’s Tak province is on the border with Burma (Myanmar) and is host to thousands of refugees. There are about 60,000 registered but also an estimated 150,000 unregistered Burmese migrant workers. Women make up about 50% of these migrants.

The Thai government has established a registration system for migrant workers, but there is confusion due to the limited flow of information to the migrant workers regarding this process and their entitlements. If you are not registered you have no access to health services and often employers are abusing workers that have to work in poor conditions with limited entitlements, resulting at times in bonded labour and reduced wages.

Once workers have registered and paid the insurance fee, they are entitled to similar health care entitlements as Thai citizens. Migrant women face language and cultural barriers and lack of access to culturally appropriate reproductive health information and services in their own language. ADRA is now working to create change.

From the 1st of August this year ADRA Thailand, our local partner, will work to improve registered migrant women’s knowledge of their legal entitlements. This will help them to get access to basic health care, work in safe labour conditions, receive fair compensation, and have documented registration.

The 54-month project will built the capacities and work implementation of local grassroots civil society organisations (CSOs) who will then advocate for and protect the rights of migrant women. ADRA will also support and participate in advocacy through migrant rights advocacy networks to influence change and the enforcement of policy. The project will also seek to increase the recognition and enforcement of migrant women’s rights among employers, health care institutions and the government.

Funding for this project valued at £550,000 comes from the Department for International Development (DFID), ADRA Norway and ADRA-UK.

In Southeastern Sri Lanka, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) recently completed the Ampara Community Empowerment (ACE) project, a two-year program that targeted communities left vulnerable by the political instability in the region, and the Indian Ocean tsunami, which devastated the Ampara District when it struck in 2004.

The ACE project, which was funded by ADRA International and the ADRA United Kingdom office, was implemented between April 2007 and May 2009, and assisted more than 400 families in 15 villages of the Pottuvil Division of the Ampara District. By its completion, participants were benefiting from increased access to clean water, and had improved their health and sanitation. In addition, the project helped create better quality housing conditions and community infrastructure, and facilitated more peaceful relationships between tsunami-affected families and their neighboring communities.

“In the implementation of this project, we were confronted with several obstacles, including the political instability in the eastern region, the various needs of the region’s diverse ethnic communities, and the effects of recurring natural disasters, such as severe floods, drought, and the 2004 tsunami,” said Edgar Castillo, country director for ADRA Sri Lanka. “In spite of these challenges, the project was very successful.”

One of ADRA Sri Lanka’s proudest accomplishments was the successful creation and improvement of 336 water sources within the tsunami-affected communities, including the ongoing rehabilitation of hand pumps, overhead tanks, rainwater harvesting tanks and wells. ADRA also introduced hygiene and sanitation trainings into the communities, making a significant impact on the health and hygiene of the participants.

“The post-tsunami communities in which we work face social and cultural challenges which make them more vulnerable,” said Castillo. To address these concerns, ACE developed special trainings and capacity building programs that strengthen the Community-Based Organization that will be responsible for the maintenance and sustainability of the project’s activities. ADRA also organized 26 peace-building activities that with the participation of more than 6,100 beneficiaries encourage peaceful relations among the multi-ethnic communities.

To ensure community participation, ADRA encouraged regular house visits, community meetings and community clean-up days, motivating more than 10,000 people to join in. ADRA also provided materials that would help improve the operations of the community centers. To promote the development of community infrastructure, ADRA also assisted in the rehabilitation of public spaces in Pottuvil, such as multi-purpose and religious centers, schools, health centers and the bus station.

ADRA improved and constructed 403 facilities, including kitchens, verandas, toilets, and fencing. To improve the health and nutrition of targeted families, ADRA introduced the practice of composting and home gardening, benefiting nearly 400 families.

Throughout the project, ACE coordinated with other agencies and organizations, such as the United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID), Malteser International, Norwegian People’s Aid, and Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society.

“ADRA’s collaboration with the local government also provided opportunities to better assess the needs of the targeted communities,” added Castillo. Due to these activities, ADRA Sri Lanka was appointed the coordinating agency in the Pottuvil Division for meetings between international government agencies, local non-government agencies and government agencies.

“Thanks to ADRA, in Pottuvil, there are happier and healthier families,” said a local government official.

ADRA has been working for the people of Sri Lanka since 1989 in the areas of economic development, emergency management, basic health care, and food security.

(Source: ADRA International)

In Niger, where only 60 percent of the rural population has access to potable drinking water, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is working with government and local authorities to increase good health and water access for more than 5,000 people in the western region by installing 20 borehole water wells in villages throughout the southwestern department of Kollo.

“By providing clean water within the community, we will be able to improve their health, lower their childhood mortality, increase their household incomes, and allow them the opportunity to access a better education for their children,” said Jason Brooks, country director for ADRA Niger.

As partners, villagers are heavily involved in the project’s implementation. They also agree to install a latrine within their communities, which will be used as a model for their own homes. Through the project, participants will also benefit from training in sanitation education, learning about the importance of clean water, how to maintain a clean environment, proper latrine usage, and personal hygiene. In addition, ADRA will facilitate the forming of Community Water Councils, which encourage the maintenance and sustainability of the intervention.

The location of each well will be chosen based on the needs of the targeted population. Priority will be given to communities with more than 250 people per water point, communities where members must travel more than half a mile (1 kilometer) each way to reach a water source, and communities without safe wells.

“If the communities are motivated and willing to work in partnership, and the site is well chosen, the likelihood of success is much higher,” added Brooks.

“Although everyone will benefit from this intervention, women and children who are often depended on to carry water for their families will benefit most,” Brooks continued. “From a health perspective, children will be the greatest beneficiaries, as they are the most vulnerable to sickness and death caused by contaminated water.”

The project is currently scheduled to begin at the end of September. The six-month project, valued at more than $302,000, is funded by private donations, as well as contributions provided by ADRA Finland, ADRA United Kingdom, ADRA Norway, and ADRA Netherlands.

According to the United Nations, 80 percent of illnesses and deaths in the developing world are caused by the lack of clean water. Common water-related diseases include diarrhea, typhoid, hepatitis, cholera, and numerous skin diseases. In addition, in many developing countries, women and girls are responsible for collecting the household water supply, walking an average of three miles (6 kilometers) a day to fetch water for their families. Often, they are forced to walk for several hours a day to meet their families needs, carrying two six-gallon (25 liter) plastic jugs, back and forth from the closest water source.

“Young girls are often kept out of school for the purpose of performing this household task,” said Brooks. In addition, the time that it takes to walk to and from the closest water source could be better used performing activities that could generate additional income for the family, or improve their education, he added.

When clean water cannot be attained, residents often resort to using surface water, which may have been contaminated by dirt, foreign objects, or animal and human excrement. When used, this contaminated water can cause sickness and even death, ultimately affecting the financial stability of households, and causing vulnerable families to sink deeper into poverty.

(Source: ADRA International)

His friends and family know that he can do it. Most people think it is a great idea. A little crazy but an excellent idea.

Craig Shipton is organising a sponsored cycle run this July. With options to cycle from London to Paris and then on to Athens the challenges are great. Shipton is very optimistic about what can be accomplished with sports activities to help people in need.

Shipton: “I am motivated to go on the trip from London to Athens for two reasons. I love an adventure and I also wish to make a positive difference to the lives of others. Jesus commands us to Love others as we love ourselves. To store up riches in heaven and it is my hope that this trip will be the start of something, which can better the lives of other people. For those that participate in the cycle from London to Paris and for the children who benefit from the funds raised.”

Three charities will benefit from the cycle run: ADRA, Compassion and UNICEF. Shipton: “All do an excellent work and each charity has its place. By involving all three I think each group brings something extra that the other doesn’t offer.”

The trip will start in London on the 22nd of July and Craig is expecting to reach Athens on the 25th of September.

For more information or to sponsor riders, please visit www.25000spins.com