In the calendar year 2019, the Adventist Development and Disaster Relief Agency (ADRA)Deutschland e.V. was able to invest more than 18 million euros in disaster relief and development cooperation projects. According to the annual report 2019, the areas of education, food and disaster relief were focal points in ADRA's budget. The regional priorities were Asia (9.1 million euros) and Africa (over 5.2 million euros). In total, 2.5 million people were helped.
"We are infinitely grateful to our donors for their trust in ADRA. Every donated euro is an incentive and obligation for us. Without the donations of 3.1 million euros, we would not be able to raise our own contribution to our projects. Every donation saves lives," Christian Molke, managing director of ADRA Germany, commented the annual report. Molke also thanked the institutional donors. The most important donors were the Federal Foreign Office (AA) of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the European Office for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO), the European Agency for Cooperation (EuropeAid) and the alliance "Aktion Deutschland Hilft" (ADH).
Low administrative costs
According to its 2019 annual report, ADRA Germany spent 85 percent, last year, on humanitarian aid in crises and disasters and development cooperation, eight percent on general administration, one percent on marketing and advertising, and six percent on development education.
Education in Somalia
In Africa, ADRA Germany is active in Somalia, among other places. The illiteracy rate there is 42 percent, one of the highest in the world. This is why, since ADRA began its work in Somalia, 28 years ago, the relief organisation has been working to rebuild the Somali education system, which was destroyed in the civil war. In recent years, ADRA has built more than two dozen state schools in the southern part of the country, where 33,300 pupils can attend classes, free of charge. In 2019, there were also two further education projects in this region. Another 18 schools are to be built by 2022. This means that an additional 65,000 pupils could receive school education by 2023. To achieve this, the necessary teachers would have to be trained. Currently, a teacher training course is being developed for this purpose at the University of Mogadishu, which ADRA is setting up with the national Ministry of Education. The first 200 teachers are currently being trained there. By 2023 a further 700 teachers are to complete their training and be able to teach in the newly built schools. ADRA provides teaching materials and also offers psychosocial support to pupils, parents, and teachers to help them cope with the consequences of the civil war.
Medical aid in Yemen
In Asia, ADRA has provided winter relief in Afghanistan, disaster relief in India and Indonesia, vocational training in Thailand, economic development in Mongolia and medical assistance to hospitals in Yemen. In Europe, ADRA provided supplementary education to disadvantaged children in Albania, assistance to refugees in Kato Milia in Greece, support to young Roma families in Serbia, and repair and relief services to people in crisis in eastern Ukraine.
Projects in Germany
In Germany, the "Together for Refugees" project concluded at the end of 2019. Around 4,000 refugees were looked after, in over 70 groups, in the Federal Republic. Significantly more than 400 volunteers were active and helped the new arrivals to gain a foothold. Last year, the ADRA campaign "Children help Children" took place again for the 20th time. 35,513 gift packages and 3,995 large boxes were packed and distributed, at Christmas time,to needy children in Armenia, Kosovo, Lithuania, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, Macedonia, and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The seventh ADRA shop in Germany was opened by the relief organisation, in Diepholz, in 2019. The range of goods includes second-hand goods such as ladies', men's and children's clothing, household goods, and decoration articles as well as books and toys. 100 percent of the profits generated go to ADRA's disaster relief and development cooperation projects. The shops are mainly run by volunteers. In August 2019, ADRA Germany was again able to send eleven young men and women to Albania, Bolivia, Ghana, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Tanzania, and Peru with the development volunteer service "weltwärts".
ADRA Germany
ADRA (Adventist Development and Relief Agency) is an international non-governmental organization that works in a worldwide network with over 130 national ADRA offices. ADRA Deutschland e.V. was founded in 1986 by the Evangelical Free Church of the Seventh-day Adventists. True to the motto "Justice - Compassion - Love", the aid organization works in partnership to ensure that poverty and oppression in the poorer parts of the world can be overcome.
ADRA Deutschland's 2019 annual report is available for download at https://adra.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/20186_ADRA_Gescha%CC%88ftsbericht_2019_R2_P4.pdf.
