ADRA Provides Hurricane Aid in Haiti

Silver Spring, Maryland—The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) office in Haiti has been providing relief aid to those affected by Hurricane Jeanne. ADRA’s relief efforts are concentrated in the areas of Gonaïves, Chansolme, Pilate, Gros-Morne, and Port-de-Paix.

ADRA has distributed 6,000 pairs of shoes and 325 bales of linen and clothing for men, women, and children, donated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In Gonaïves, ADRA will distribute medicines valued at $506,000, donated by Medical Education Training and Development, Inc. (METAD), and has delivered seven tons of rice, 3.5 tons of peas, and 1.5 tons of water, co-funded by the Haitian Union Mission of Seventh-day Adventists.

ADRA Haiti also assembled a Post-Traumatic Disaster Intervention Team, co-supervised by the Ministry of Health, which provides psychological stress debriefing for survivors in Gonaïves shelters. The United Nations Organisation Mondiale de la Santé/Organisation Panaméricaine de la Santé (OMS/OPS) funded transportation, food, and lodging for this team of health professionals and social workers, trained by ADRA Haiti and Loma Linda University.

ADRA will also distribute ten containers of rice and powdered milk, provided by Food For The Poor-Haiti, through four central coordination points that oversee 113 distribution points and deliver food to 298,926 beneficiaries.

Additionally, when school resumes, 16,200 school and hygiene kits, provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will be distributed by ADRA to 54 schools in Gonaïves and nearby towns. ADRA Finland, ADRA Haiti, ADRA Inter-America, ADRA International, ADRA Korea, ADRA Netherlands, ADRA Norway, Help International, the Seventh-day Adventist Church in North America, and the Haitian Union Mission of Seventh-day Adventists funded this project.

“Gonaïves, the town most affected by the hurricane, is presently under three inches of mud. Nearly two thousand of its population have died, another two thousand are unaccounted for, and 298,926 have lost their homes and personal affects,” stated Fritz Bissereth, country director for ADRA Haiti. “ADRA was the first non-governmental organization (NGO) to enter this area which was previously accessible only by helicopter,” Bissereth continued.

For additional information or to make a monetary donation to assist those affected by the hurricanes, please call 1.800.424.ADRA or donate online at www.adra.org

ADRA is present in more than 120 countries providing individual and community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age or ethnicity.