Silver Spring, Maryland-In Somalia, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is helping people gain improved access to quality education by building new schools, training teachers, and providing supplies and scholarships for teachers and students in need of additional learning resources.

This project, known as the Basic Education Development (BED) project, is being implemented in 21 community schools; 16 in the Nugal region and five in the Hiran region. It was launched in November 2004.

The BED project consists primarily of two components: basic education for children, with an emphasis on improved access for girls to quality primary education and functional adult literacy for women. Currently, the project has benefited 6,746 children and 723 adults.

"ADRA has really changed my life," said 14-year-old Maryan Hassan Mohamed, a student at the Jalalaqsi Primary School in the Hiran region of Somalia.
Maryan lost a leg to a gunshot early in her childhood during Somalia's civil war. For many years, Maryan was unable to go to school because the closest school was too far from her house. "One day I saw big trucks unloading stones in an open square near our house. ADRA ...was constructing a school for our community," she continued. "I was overwhelmed with joy as tears filled my eyes; it was as if I had gotten fresh legs to run...my number one expectation is to continue with my education up to degree level and become a teacher so that I can teach other children in our community."

The project, which is valued at an estimated $1,890,072, is funded by the European Union (EU), in partnership with the ADRA offices in Germany and Somalia.

ADRA has been operating in Somalia since 1992 implementing emergency relief and development interventions in different sectors. Since then, ADRA has managed over 50 projects funded by different donors in eight sectors,
namely: water, primary health care, education, food security, infrastructure, institutional capacity building, micro-enterprise development, and emergency response interventions. ADRA is present in
125 countries worldwide providing individual and community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age, or ethnicity.

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