Posts tagged with: Blog
Debbie’s ADRA Appeal Story
The day starts with prayer in Berwick, Victoria as volunteers from Pakenham Church prepare for a roadside traffic collection for the ADRA Appeal. Debbie, leading her team of 22 volunteers, says she’s always surprised by the people who give. “It’s those with the battered cars that just hand you this …
Read MoreMark Webster receives ACFID award
Outgoing ADRA Australia CEO Mark Webster has received a prestigious award from the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID), the peak body for the NGO sector. Each year at its national conference, ACFID presents the Outstanding Contribution to the Sector Award to an individual or organisation that has made an outstanding …
Read MoreMinds in the Fields
In early October, the ADRA Community Centre in Macquarie Fields in southwestern Sydney held an important event. Minds in the Fields is an initiative run by the ADRA Community Centre in partnership with the local Police to help remove the negative stigma surrounding mental health. The event was particularly aimed …
Read MoreBlais’s Story
Blais sits relaxed in the plastic chair under his house. His wide grin reveals a friendly personality as he tells his story. It starts in another part of the Solomons: Choiseul Province, northwest Solomon Islands, where he was born. These days, Blais has a wife and two young girls, aged …
Read MoreMessy, Crowded & Muddy But Never Hopeless
As we drive into the refugee camp, everyone in the car falls quiet and just looks through the windows. I almost could not believe my eyes: shelter after shelter on hills, in the forest – anywhere where there is space. Everywhere. And so many people. People walking on the road, sitting in every shade or …
Read MoreRohingya Refugees Desperate for Food, Shelter
The Rohingya refugee crisis has forced more than 400,000 people to flee their homes in Myanmar and take refuge in makeshift camps in Bangladesh. Helal left Myanmar with his mother, his wife and three children. “We fled with only the clothes we are wearing. I don’t know where my father …
Read MoreDon’t show me the money, show me the truth
As Christians, our task is to be light in the darkest places. We do all that we do in service to our great God. We do it in His strength and we trust in His provision. We love people and we long to see them living full and purposeful lives. …
Read MoreTaking a Back Seat
Taking a Back Seat We all know the jokes about the meddling in-laws whose advice, even though they mean well, is often far from being helpful. So when it comes to helping people in poverty, is our well-meaning support really beneficial? Or are we just like meddling in-laws? This issue …
Read MoreThe Gift of Gratitude
The Gift of Gratitude ‘Thank’ and ‘you’ are two of the most basic words in the English language. Yet, when combined they can have a powerful impact on people. When travelling to a country for the first time, I have always found that learning the phrase ‘thank you’ in the …
Read MoreOn The Road With ADRA
Sunday, October 16: The Sunday morning traffic is sporadic at first but builds steadily across the morning. We are shielded from direct sunlight by a glary grey sky and occasional breezy gusts buffet us with the grit and exhaust of the passing traffic. With each sequence of the traffic lights …
Read More