Silver Spring, Maryland -- The Adventist Development and Relief Agency
(ADRA) provided survival kits for families forced from their homes by last week's torrential rain, heavy flooding, and landslides in the Uttaradit province of Thailand. The four-day project was implemented May 25 - 28, 2006.

ADRA distributed more than 500 relief packages to families in the hard-hit villages of Baan Nam and Baan Nam Lee. Designed to meet the needs of a typical family of four, the kits met victims' essential needs in the first critical days after the floods, when the national relief response was not yet fully operational. An estimated 1,800 individuals benefited from the survival kits.

Each relief package contained food items, such as water, soy milk, instant noodles, boiled eggs, bread, and canned fish, as well as mosquito repellent, toothpaste, toothbrushes, a first aid kit, candles, and a lighter.

The kits also included detailed information on the dangers of water-borne diseases, how to manage diarrhea, and effective ways to mitigate potential health risks.

To help with logistics and security, ADRA partnered with the Chiang Rai Military Task Force. The local military base supplied soldiers and a ten-wheel truck to help prepare, transport, and distribute the kits.

The project was funded in partnership by ADRA International, the ADRA divisional office located in Bangkok, Thailand, and the ADRA Thailand country office.

ADRA is present in 125 countries, providing community development and emergency management without regard to political or religious affiliation, age, or ethnicity.

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