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Community Development
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is an international organisation engaging in sustainable development programs and disaster relief for people in Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Island nations, Asia and Africa.
ADRA is officially recognised in over 125 nations as a professional development and relief agency who cares for everyone regardless of race, gender or religion.
ADRA runs community shops and programs to
empower community members.
ADRA-Australia is one of Australia's major non-government organisations (NGOs) fully accredited with the Australian Government's Agency for International Development (AusAID), and is a signatory of the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) Code of Conduct
> ADRA has been operating in Australia and overseas for over 20 years.
> ADRA-Australia supports development community projects in the South Pacific, Asia and Africa. Development projects (through the interchange of appropriate knowledge, skills and resources) strengthen a community's capacity to help themselves. Sustainable self-reliance and self-sufficiency offer hope and a positive future for communities.
> Internationally, ADRA aids development in five key areas: health (including water and sanitation); food security (eg farming); work and economic development (eg jobs and loans); education (eg adult literacy); and disaster relief.
> ADRA engages in community-based development programs and assists people during times of disaster both in Australia and overseas.
> ADRA-Australia is one of the largest agencies in the global ADRA network.
ADRA coordinates hundreds of volunteers and staff to operate more than 120 projects.
ADRA's presence during Australia's worst bushfires, floods and droughts has relieved the suffering of many. ADRA also works with youth in crisis, the homeless and people with addictions.
Corporate partnership with companies such as Sanitarium Health Foods has allowed ADRA's National Program to dramatically expand it's work, particularly through distribution of food supplies to needy families and through school breakfast programs for children.
Some national programs include:
BART - Broome, WA
The Broome Advent Racing Team (BART) is a speedway racing program for at-risk youth. The program gives teenagers the opportunity to learn new skills by allowing them to help prepare and then race cars in the Junior Division at Broome speedway. BART helps kids focus on something fun that doesn't involve illegal substances.
Hot Air Balloon Club - Mildura, VIC
The first Youth Hot-Air Ballooning Club began in 2003. Get'N'High on Life, as the project is known, aims to help disadvantaged youth gain useful life skills through teamwork and leadership experience. It also helps build confidence and self-esteem through participation in balloon flights.
RECON - Melbourne, VIC
RECON Ministries works on the streets to help drug-addicted, homeless, at-risk and long-term unemployed people. The RECON car heads out every Friday night with a team of volunteers who meet with people over a hot drink and food, offer assistance where they can and direct them to other agencies as needed.
The RECON car
For more information about ADRA's National Programs, visit www.adra.org.au.
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> Of all the water on earth, less than 1 per cent is fresh water and accessible for direct human use. Around the world, 2.3 billion people suffer from water-related diseases. These diseases cause an estimated 12 million deaths each year.> 50 per cent of the world suffers from malnutrition. Every day 24,000 children die from hunger or hunger-related causes. In fact, more people have died of hunger in the past five years than in all the wars in the past 150 years.
> In Kenya alone, there are 2.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS.
> In many countries up to 59 per cent of the population can't read or write.
> Around the world, one in four children live in horrible poverty, which means their family's income is less than $1 per day.
> The United Nations says it would take $A25 billion per year to stop hunger completely. That's a lot, right? Maybe not...
- $25 billion is the amount of money spent on toys and sports equipment each year
- $25 billion is the amount of money spent on hair stylists every year
- $25 billion is what the world spends on military expenses every eight days.
ADRA's global network is recognised by virtually every donor government, and has been given category one consultative status to ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) at the United Nations (UN).
Around the world, ADRA is working with people to relieve suffering. Most of ADRA's work is helping people to help themselves. Someone once described development in this way:
"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day.
Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime."
Here's some of the ways ADRA is "teaching the world to fish."
Mongolia: Live and learn project
Young Mongolians face the usual challenges of adolescence. However, many of them also struggle with extreme poverty, violence, homelessness, family breakdown, unemployment and an interrupted education.
ADRA-Australia is helping Mongolian youth-in-crisis by providing some adventure.
Adventure therapy, such as wilderness survival, is an excellent way of helping young people realise their value and worth. ADRA is using it in Mongolia to help at-risk youth increase their level of personal growth and develop essential life skills. ADRA is also training youth professionals in experiential and adventure-based learning principles, so that they can continue to help young Mongolians.
Nepal: Youth reproductive health education
In Nepal, most people don't have access to health education, so ADRA supports a project that teaches young people about reproductive health.
In the Makawanpur and Kavre districts, the project activities have included -
- mobile clinics
- school health education sessions
- drama shows
- parent-child workshops
The overall objective is to contribute to a sustainable improvement in the reproductive health status of youth and adolescents, particularly women of reproductive age.
Thailand: Sop Moei agriculture
ADRA-Australia is contributing to the development of community agricultural conditions for rural villages of the Mae Sam Lap sub-districts of Northern Thailand.
Through activities such as -
- training in growing coffee and fruit trees
- developing and building seedling nurseries
- establishing coffee, fruit tree orchards and permanent vegetable garden plots
By doing this, ADRA has provided a way for these people to help themselves.
Men, women and children in this area are enjoying improved environmental and economic conditions, and have an increased awareness regarding environmental issues and agricultural principles.
For more information about ADRA-Australia's International Programs, visit www.adra.org.au
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