ADRA

ADRA Intensifies Efforts in Katrina Response
Thursday, September 22, 2005

As residents of the Gulf Coast region brace themselves against the threat of another hurricane, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) International continues to provide aid for thousands of people whose lives were devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

To date, ADRA has committed $1 million in emergency aid for survivors that will be distributed through its implementing partners. ADRA has also created a Katrina Emergency Management Coordination Team, that is assessing needs, distributing aid, and providing emergency management support and consultation to local organizations in the affected areas. In addition, ADRA has been active supplying emergency supplies, personal care items, food, and new clothing for survivors in the Gulf Coast region.

ADRA has also implemented an estimated $400,000 of relief aid through local partners, such as Adventist Community Services (ACS), the Panama City Seventh-day Adventist Church, and the South Central Conference of Seventh-day Adventists.

Through ACS, ADRA is distributing more than $1 million worth of clothing, food, water, and emergency supplies for hurricane survivors in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama.

ACS, in partnership with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has also set up, and is managing, a multi-agency warehouse in New Iberia, Louisiana. The warehouse is serving more than 200 shelters in 26 parishes, providing more than 60,000 persons with hygiene products, food, and clothing. This project is valued at approximately $72,000.

The Panama City Church in Florida is operating a mobile kitchen that will provide more than 100 meals a day. They are also providing temporary shelter for families in need, distributing food to more than 400 individuals, purchasing and transporting food and other emergency supplies into the affected region, and restoring homes in the disaster zone to provide residents with a place of refuge. This project is valued at $50,580.

The South Central Conference, which operates out of Mississippi and Alabama, is supplying volunteers to distribute supplies at warehouses in Alabama and Mississippi, managing seven distribution centers in the affected areas, and providing personal care supplies, lunches, and groceries to hundreds of evacuees in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. They are also providing clothing for displaced students entering new schools. This project is valued at nearly $12,000.

To assist in ADRA’s response to Hurricane Katrina, please contact ADRA at 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) or donate online at www.adra.org.