ADRA-UK News Update

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is running an energy and livelihood project that aims to increase access to renewable energy sources and reduce poverty for hundreds of thousands of impoverished individuals within the states of Puntland and Somaliland in northern Somalia.

The Somalia Energy and Livelihoods Project (SELP) is based on a joint needs assessment that was conducted by ADRA in 2005. The assessment revealed that more than 95 percent of Somalia’s low-income population has no access to electricity. It also showed that 87 percent of the total energy utilized in Somalia originated from biomass fuels, such as wood, charcoal, and crop waste.

The primary goal of SELP, which was launched in 2007, is to strengthen the livelihood capacities of the targeted population by promoting the use of alternative energy options, such as solar thermal technologies, wind pumps, and energy-efficient cookstoves.

“The role of energy in development and poverty reduction cannot be overemphasized,” said Samuel Muthamia, programs assistant for ADRA Somalia. “It affects all aspects of development—social, economic, and environmental, impacting a people’s livelihoods, access to water, agricultural productivity, health, education, and even gender-related issues.”

Some of the activities that ADRA conducts to meet the primary goal, include the installation of solar and wind energy equipment in schools and health centers and raising awareness of alternative energy options through trainings and trade fairs.

ADRA also works with local institutions, providing training on how to install, manage, and promote the sustainable use of these services and helping them to build marketing and dissemination strategies that promote alternative energy services in rural areas.

The project also includes training workshops that enhance the skills of cookstove producers in Puntland and Somaliland, helping them to build better products. SELP’s training workshops have increased the number of technicians in the solar energy industry in the region, more effectively meeting the needs of the burgeoning alternative energy market.

By the project’s conclusion in October 2010, ADRA will have assisted more than 281,000 people through this initiative.

The project is implemented by ADRA Somalia in coordination with the governments of Somaliland and Puntland, local authorities and the local community. The European Commission funds this project, in partnership with the ADRA United Kingdom office for € 2 million Euros.

ADRA has been operating in Somalia since 1992, implementing emergency relief and development interventions in various sectors, including water, primary health, education, food security, infrastructure, institutional capacity building and economic development.

In the Philippines, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is assisting nearly 22,000 survivors of Tropical Storm Ketsana in northern areas of the country through the distribution of emergency food supplies and bedding kits. Meanwhile, some 50,000 people in the hard-hit regions of Rizal and Laguna Province, near Metro Manila, are receiving food, bedding supplies, kitchen utensils, and hygiene kits.

“These projects seek to fill the needs of some of the hundreds of thousands victims and fill any gaps in assistance, while conducting relief operations to alleviate the harsh conditions currently experienced by displaced families,” said Goran Hansen, country director for ADRA Philippines.

Beneficiaries are chosen in coordination with the Regional Office of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, to identify families currently living in evacuation centers. Priority is being given to families with children, the elderly, those with disabilities, and individuals who lost their homes in the disaster.

“Our ongoing distributions in Manila and its nearby provinces brought us to the realization that the basic want for adequate food and decent bedding is unmatched in almost all of the assessed places and intervention areas,” said Hansen.

The current intervention, set to begin later this week, is funded by the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) within the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as ADRA Australia, ADRA Czech Republic, ADRA Denmark, ADRA France, ADRA Netherlands, ADRA New Zealand, ADRA Norway and ADRA United Kingdom.

As of October 19, the National Disaster Coordinating Council reported that the storm had killed 438 people, left 49 missing, and affected more than 4.1 million others. Tropical Storm Ketsana caused more than $355 million worth of damage.

On Saturday, September 26, Tropical Storm Ketsana, also known locally as Ondoy, hit northern Philippines bringing torrential rainfall, record flooding and deadly landslides, and displacing hundreds of thousands of people.

In response to the storm, a state of National Calamity was declared for Metro Manila and 25 Luzon provinces on September 27, allowing officials to use emergency funds for relief and rescue.

Please donate to help!

Source: ADRA International

The Shoebox container has arrived and is outside the ADRA office at Stanborough Park, Watford, WD25 9JZ and we have already started filling it up with the gifts for the orphans and poor children in Zambia.

The ADRA office is open to receive your gifts during the week between 9.00am – 4.00pm (Monday - Thursday) and 9.00am - 12.00pm (Friday).  Please come before the 27th November. It is best to give us a call before you come on 01923 681723.

We will accept deliveries on Sunday 22nd & Sunday 29th November, when David Balderstone and his team will be at Stanborough Park ready to unload any shoebox deliveries between 11.00am – 3.00pm.  You can telephone David on 07831 438095 on either day.

North England Conference – Drop off Points

There are three drop off/collection points for the NEC which are as follows:

- The Stanborough Press at Grantham. Mon – Thurs only before 26th November.

- West Midlands Adventist Centre next Harper Bell, 31 Ravenhurst Street, Birmingham B12 0EP.  Contact person Grace Walsh 07791 230043 on the 29th November only or the ADRA office on 01923 681723 during the week.

ADRA is sending a 7 tonne truck on Sunday 29th Nov to the West Midlands Adventist Centre to collect all the Shoebox gifts.  The suggestion is that the truck will be on site waiting between 11.00am – 1.30pm that day and any shoeboxes received can be loaded straight into the truck and thus save double handling.  The truck will leave on time for its return journey to Watford so please do not come after 1.30pm.

- Mr John Barron in Manchester 01706 876145 or 07747 031143 has arranged to collect from some of the churches in the North West of England on Sun 22nd November.

South England Conference – Drop off Points

- Mr Tony King has kindly agreed to bring shoeboxes in from the West of England and can be contacted on 07785 900331 or 01275 830668.
- London & South East contact the ADRA Office on 01923 681723

Thank you for taking part in this year’s Shoebox Appeal.

David Balderstone – ADRA Volunteer Transport Manager

On October 16, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) joins the world in commemorating World Food Day, recognizing an immediate need for increased access to food in many countries, as the number of the world’s hungry continues to grow, and the amount of food assistance shrinks.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the number of people globally suffering from hunger has reached a record high this year, surpassing more than 1 billion people. Meanwhile, the amount of available food aid has dropped to its lowest number in two decades.

“The double whammy of the financial crisis and the still record high food prices around the world is delivering a devastating blow,” said Josette Sheeran, executive director for WFP. “Throw in a storm, a drought, and conflict, and you have a recipe for disaster.”

To meet the ongoing challenges of today’s changing world, ADRA continues to implement much-needed projects that provide emergency and development relief to communities on the brink of starvation.

In Guatemala, where millions are currently struggling to survive the worst drought in 30 years, ADRA just completed a distribution of emergency food baskets for 377 families in some of the country’s worst affected communities.

“The problem is very serious,” said Otoniel Trujillo, country director for ADRA Guatemala. “There are many people that are currently in need of a lot of help.”

In response to the ongoing food crisis that is affecting an estimated 250,000 people in southern Madagascar, ADRA is partnering with WFP and other organizations to provide Food-for-Work and other activities for more than 18,000 households in the affected region. ADRA is also distributing more than 4,000 tons of food throughout 16 communities in the districts of Ambovombe and Tsihombe, in the Androy Region. Other partners include the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), also of the United Nations.

“In recent months, the food security situation in the south has steadily worsened,” said Peter Delhove, country director for ADRA Madagascar. “This project is expected to meet the needs of affected households in that region, helping them to make it to the next harvest.”

In order to fight malnutrition among Malawian children under the age of five, ADRA is working with the local government and other non-governmental organizations to train parents and care givers in nutrition, effective childcare, and healthy feeding habits, through an initiative called the Resilience and Capacity Building for Vulnerable Households and Communities affected by HIV/AIDS, Malawi project. In collaboration with trained health care providers, ADRA is supporting mothers who have malnourished children through training, practical cooking, infant feeding demonstrations, and counseling.

“ADRA believes that solutions for most of the problems can be found within the same communities,” said Thoko Mwapasa, project manager for ADRA Malawi.

Therefore, ADRA facilitates the transfer of knowledge within the community by drawing lessons and beneficial practices from mothers of well-nourished children from low-income families.

By the project’s completion in 2011, an estimated 2,000 children under five years of age from the districts of Mulanje and Neno, in southern Malawi will have benefited.

“The intervention can greatly contribute to better health outcomes for children under five who are often at risk of child mortality, since a lack of good nutrition leaves children vulnerable to frequent illnesses and poor growth,” said Mwapasa.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the vast majority of the world’s hungry live in developing countries, with 65 percent of those suffering from hunger found in India, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia. Nearly two-thirds of the world’s hungry live in Asia.

World Food Day was created to raise awareness about global food scarcity, motivating communities to get involved in the fight against world hunger.

(Source: ADRA International)

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) continues to provide immediate relief activities in Indonesia, including emergency shelter and a mobile medical clinic, following two major earthquakes that devastated the region two weeks ago.

ADRA Indonesia has established a response office in Padang, which experienced the devastating effects of a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, and is working with local authorities and other agencies to assess community needs and provide appropriate support. ADRA is also providing emergency shelter, sleeping bags and torches, and is sending a mobile medical clinic, which consists of one physician and four nurses, into affected communities.

“There is an eerie feeling here in Padang. The city is back up and running, but about every third building has been completely destroyed. It’s heartbreaking to see what these people have been through, and they need a lot of support,” Ms. Finlay said. “When I first arrived, I went out with our mobile medical clinic to a village that had not yet received medical attention since the quake. The team managed to treat 110 patients – mainly elderly and little children. As we visit communities, we also assess their other needs and work with local partners to make sure they receive the right support. It will take time for these people to recover from such a horrific ordeal.”

In addition to these activities, ADRA will distribute household kits, which will include bed mats, blankets, mosquito nets, tarpaulins, and cooking pots and utensils, to 1,000 affected families in the Patamuan sub-district, where 95 percent of the homes were destroyed.

To provide relief activities, ADRA Indonesia is partnering with other ADRA offices (including ADRA-UK), government authorities, other non-government organisations (NGOs) and local groups, including the West Indonesia Union Mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Please donate to help!

A mobile medical team dispatched by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is on the ground in one of the regions most severely affected by the deadly earthquakes that struck Indonesia last week, delivering medical aid for survivors that were wounded or injured in the recent disaster.

The medical team, which is coordinating with the West Sumatra Provincial Health Office for support, is from the Bandar Lampung Adventist Hospital and consists of two physicians and five nurses.

“Through this project, we are now able to go to different parts of Padang Pariaman District, as well as Padang City, where many are still in need of medical support,” said Hector Carpintero, country director for ADRA Indonesia.

In response to a request from local residents for basic emergency items, ADRA is helping earthquake survivors in the Patamuan sub-district, where 95 percent of the homes were destroyed, by providing shelter materials, non-food items, and medical assistance.

To meet those needs, ADRA will be distributing non-food items for 1,000 families, including household bedding kits, packed with bed mats, blankets, mosquito nets, tarpaulins, raincoats and umbrellas. They will also receive household kitchen kits, equipped with cooking pots and utensils.

ADRA is working primarily in the village of Paraman Cumanak, where a camp is hosting 1,000 displaced persons.

“From there, our response will spread to other villages to help those who are most in need,” continued Carpintero.

The intervention will last between three to four weeks, and will be organized in coordination with other partners that are providing humanitarian services, such as supplemental feeding, clean water, shelter rehabilitation, and emergency sanitation and hygiene activities.

“The magnitude of this disaster, and the complexity of the operation requires a larger window of time, especially because of the great need after the disaster,” added Carpintero.

Donors for this response include ADRA International, the ADRA Network, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, West Indonesia Union Mission of Seventh-day Adventists, and the ADRA Asia Regional Office located in Bangkok, Thailand. ADRA Indonesia is also receiving technical assistance from ADRA Australia.

The 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Padang in the province of West Sumatra on Wednesday, September 30. Early Thursday morning, another earthquake hit Jambi Province in Sumatra. As of October 13, 1,115 people had been confirmed dead, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). A total of 135,299 homes have been severely damaged.

Padang and Pariaman, reports OCHA, are the worst affected areas, with 3 of every 10 homes in Pariaman suffering substantial damage.

Please donate to help!

(Source: ADRA International)