Nairobi, Kenya--The Adventist Development and Relief Agency
(ADRA) has launched a new program aimed at improving access to water, providing immediate drought relief, and strengthening livelihood capabilities for 34,000 vulnerable people in Bakol, Somalia.

This Emergency Water and Livelihood Support Program (EWLSP), is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in cooperation with the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). The program's specific objectives include strengthening and diversifying the livelihoods of households and communities, as well as capacity building enabling communities to manage water systems, mitigate conflict, and improve hygiene and sanitation in their immediate environments.

According to an assessment carried out by ADRA, Bakol has been severely strained by the current drought. The project will reach out to drought-stricken where ADRA has previously implemented water projects.

"Overcrowded villages are taxed to the utmost and wells and boreholes have either dried up, or water levels have reduced by 50 percent," said Jason Nyantino, public relations officer for ADRA's office in Somalia.

Project activities include the establishment of women's groups to improve nutrition and crop production. 100 households will be taught how to diversify their diet with food from kitchen gardens. The project also increases access to water for 34,000 people, rehabilitates and chlorinates hand-dug wells, and repairs water yards, as well as a motorized, hand-dug well and water storage tank constructed at the International Medical Corps
(IMC) Maternal and Child Health Center.

In addition, the EWLSP will construct 60 latrines and conduct public education targeting 6,000 people through hygiene, sanitation, and health campaigns. Thirty-two village health promoters will be trained and 27 villages reached through the campaigns.

ADRA has operated in Somalia since 1992, implementing emergency relief and development interventions in different sectors.

Additional information about ADRA can be found at www.adra.org.