Mar 06

ADRA responds to Vanuatu cyclones

Vanuatu declared a state of emergency as category 4 Cyclone Kevin swept through the island nation on Friday (March 3), destroying homes and leaving many in need of shelter. The country had already been hit by extreme weather two days earlier after Cyclone Judy battered Port Vila on Wednesday (March …

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Jan 20

ADRA’s Tonga Response

UPDATE: 17 February 2022 On Sunday 6 February, Tonga entered a 14-day lockdown to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. As an essential service, ADRA’s response was permitted to continue, though the roll out of services has been adjusted to comply with lockdown restrictions. Over 700 affected households on the …

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Nov 23

Keep girls in school

ā€œWe could only go to the toilet when it was dark in the evening or at 5am in the morning before the sun rises.ā€ At age 15, Mary* is the head girl at the Adventist boarding school she attends in the Solomon Islands. Her favourite subject is science and health …

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May 10

Evacuation Centres to Become Accessible

The Pacific IslandsĀ are oneĀ of the mostĀ disaster-proneĀ regionsĀ in the world.Ā As such, humanitarian organisations like ADRA work with locals to ensure that communities are ā€˜disaster ready.’  Being ā€˜disaster ready’ includesĀ activitiesĀ likeĀ identifying evacuation centresĀ using a Geographic Information System (GIS),Ā having prepositioned supplies ready to distribute should disaster strikeĀ and preparing homes and crops in the lead up …

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Feb 26

Transformative Hope – August’s Story

August sits on the round wooden stool beside her mud brick house. Her four children are running around playing games nearby. She looks down at the bare earth ground, before looking up confidently. ā€œI have my dreams for my children and what I want them to become in the future,ā€ …

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Aug 15

The future for They Are Not Alone project

The They Are Not Alone (TANA) project started a few years ago, sparked by a lecture from Avondale’s Dr Brad Watson and spearheaded by one of the students who listened to the lecture, Linda Ciric. The initial campaign had two goals: to raise $100,000 through a partnership with ADRA Australia …

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Oct 23

Blais’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 …

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Aug 28

They Are Not Alone

Miriam* is a mother in Papua New Guinea. She is also a survivor of horrific violence at the hands of her husband, who beat her with a wooden plank until she was unconscious. ā€œHe broke my nose right here,ā€ Miriam says, pointing to her face. ā€œHe hit me on the …

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Dec 19

The Difference Water Makes

November is the hottest, driest time of the year in in the south-eastern provinces of Timor Leste and, in communities that have been affected by the recentĀ El NiƱo drought, they are hoping for the wet season to begin soon. But in the village of Luca, the pump that supplies their …

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Feb 29

Fiji: Navesau Teacher can still manage a smile

ā€œAt least I have free air conditioning now.ā€ Talk about looking on the bright side. John is a teacher from Navesau on Viti Levu, Fiji’s main island. During the wild winds of Cyclone Winston, he lost his house. Not quite all of it, admittedly. Three of the four walls still …

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