Where We Work: Africa
ADRA is changing lives in 38 countries on the African continent.
More than 1 billion people call Africa home, and millions of them are in desperate need of help. Despite being blessed with many natural resources, Africa is still the world’s poorest and most underdeveloped continent.
In sub-Saharan Africa, 80 percent of people live on less than $2.50 a day—for many of the poor the number drops to only 70 cents. Deadly diseases like AIDS and malaria have left children without parents, mothers without children, and entire regions devastated. In 2007 alone 2 million Africans died from AIDS, while another 33 million are living with the disease. Africa accounts for 90 percent of malaria deaths worldwide, and poor sanitation and lack of clean water is responsible for many other health problems.
Throughout the continent education is often poor and illiteracy is extremely common in many areas. Political unrest and armed conflict in some regions have uprooted hundreds of thousands from their homes and seriously disrupted local economies.
ADRA is facing these problems head-on through projects scattered all across Africa. For more information on what ADRA is doing in Africa, read the stories and project descriptions by clicking on the tabs above.
Help a child live to see their fifth birthday
Around the world, children under age five walk a dangerous tightrope between life and death. Hunger, malnutrition, and preventable diseases cut many young lives tragically short. ADRA is fighting to save them, but we need your help.
Right now you can truly make a difference for these at-risk children. Through a special matching opportunity each dollar you give to save children's lives becomes $5. Give today and save a life!
The suffering and vulnerable need you
Wars, disasters, famine.
In an instant, families lose everything; even loved ones are taken from them.
When the unthinkable happens, ADRA is there.
Toilets save lives
Every 20 seconds, a child dies from poor sanitation.
ADRA’s sanitation programs are curtailing these unnecessary deaths. We are constructing latrines and providing basic sanitation education, and saving countless lives.
Life-threatening illnesses and dangers caused by poor sanitation are a problem. Today, you can be part of the solution.
Be an everyday miracle
26,000 a day
9.7 million a year
Children under 5 are dying in staggering numbers worldwide from preventable causes such as malnutrition and poor hygiene. For many children, reaching their fifth birthday is a miracle.
ADRA is working every day to reverse this trend. You can help us bring lifesaving remedies to children around the world.
The First Drink of the Year
When you think about drought, Falanfay is the place you’re imagining. Water has been scarce for more than a decade. There are no visible clues of recent rains. The chronic problem of this community of all southeastern Somalia has forced people to look down, instead of up, for their water.
ADRA eases the journey home for thousands in Sudan
After more than 20 years of civil war, the government of Sudan in Khartoum and the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement in the south signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement in January 2005. The peace agreement gave the 36 million Sudanese people a great deal of hope that the more than four million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 358,000 refugees1 who have moved away from their homes because of the unrest and violence.
Becoming Healthy and Prosperous in Madagascar
As soon as R. Niels Marquardt, the U.S. ambassador to Madagascar, arrived at the small village, he sensed something was different about this farming community in rural Madagascar.
Give Malnourished Children Life in Africa
The shrill cry of a baby jarred the jogger back to reality. It was the last thing he expected to interrupt his early-morning run along the blue-green Indian Ocean waters that lapped gently against the white sands of Madagascar's Toamasina beach.
Spring 2009 ADRA Works
Eco-gardening gives families a healthy, affordable route to complete food security. ADRA's NewStart eco-gardens have been so successful that they have even received funding from the South African government.
ADRA Spring 2009 World Update
ADRA's work in Africa is helping children, women, and men to live happier, healthier lives. View the map to see how we're making a difference.
The Power of Wind
ADRA is harnessing the power of the wind to change lives in Somaliland by installing the first wind powered water pump in Gebiley. Demonstrating the effectiveness of wind energy, water is now available for domestic use, livestock, and agricultural production.
How HIV/AIDS Is Redefining Family Roles In Lesotho
Standing at the doorway of her brick house, 13-year-old Anna watches her grandfather, Benedict, till the soil of the small family plot. Here is where he grows the chili, maize, squash, and beans that end up on the family kitchen table at dinnertime. Grandmother Maria Anna sits by the doorway enjoying the only bit of shade she can find.
A True Sheik
As an ADRA worker, I spent many years as a country director in Somalia, Africa. Somalia is a dominantly Muslim country, and most of my colleagues were Muslims, as well as the communities and beneficiaries we served. Over the years I learned a lot about Islam, their culture and daily life from the people I lived with. Sometimes we started theological discussions but I realized that this was not leading to a fruitful end. Sharing arguments did not bring us together.
Closer to Her Children
It is five in the morning, Djoliba, a devout Muslim, wakes up and says her first morning prayer. After a few minutes of dutiful prayer she is ready to start her day.
She is no different that most women in Segou, one of the nine regions of Mali, the largest country in West Africa, where one third of the population lives in poverty.
Challenge? What Challenge?
Students arrive at the New Waberi Primary School, located in Garowe, the capital of Somalia's Puntland state. Like most Somali children, these students face challenges such as illiteracy, war and poverty.
