Adventist Relief Agency Provides 9.9 Million Bread Rolls to School Children in North Korea Berne/Switzerland | 28.11.2004 | ADRA The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) bakery school feeding program in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) has produced and distributed 9.9 million calcium-enriched bread rolls in its second year of operation. The bread rolls were supplied to nearly 21,000 children in 396 kindergartens as part of ADRA’s Kindergarten Nutrition Project. Each child received a daily ration of two bread rolls. To produce the bread, the World Food Programme (WFP) supplied wheat flour, veg
Adventist Church Ordains First Native Pastor in Albania Tirana/Albania | 25.11.2004 | International Alban Matohiti became the first Albanian to be ordained as a pastor of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Albania. Twenty-nine year old Alban from Albania’s capital city Tirana was among the first group of Albanians to become Christians and join the Adventist church. Participating in the ordination service was Pastor David Currie, former Ministerial Secretary for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Trans European region, who pioneered the work in Albania following the fall of Communism.
Rwanda: Resurrection A Goal For Adventist University of Central Africa (AUCA) Kigali, Rwanda | 21.11.2004 | International Ten years after a barbaric genocide swept through this Central African nation, the process of reconciliation and rebuilding continues. For Seventh-day Adventist church members -- who comprise one out of every 21 people in Rwanda -- that includes the "resurrection" of a cherished institution, the University of Central Africa in Rwanda, or AUCA. "We have chosen not to sit back and mourn the genocide," said Josef Szilvasi, chancellor of AUCA. "We are opting to be instruments in God's hands, and
Adventist Health Professionals Say Smoking Cessation Requires Complete Program Loma Linda, California/USA | 21.11.2004 | Health & Ethics With many options for ending the fatal habit of smoking, millions have found that trying to quit using only one of the following methods: support groups, taking medicines, or using nicotine replacement aids such as the patch or gum, is not enough, said Dr. Linda Hyder Ferry, M.P.H., in a recent interview. Ferry is a Seventh-day Adventist pioneer in the field of smoking cessation and the primary consultant for the booklet "Tobacco: You Can Be Free," which came out in June. Ferry added, o
ADRA Offers Free Resource Kit for World AIDS Day Commemoration Washington D.C./USA | 21.11.2004 | ADRA The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) International has produced an HIV/AIDS awareness kit, a video/DVD, and red ribbons to encourage the commemoration of World AIDS Day, December 1. The curriculum is structured for faith-based groups, especially schools and churches. The kit provides a curriculum for adults and youth, including a discussion and activity guide, poster, sermon/speech outlines, announcements, activity ideas, facts, and other resources. ADRA’s red ribbons and six
ADRA Implements Innovative Agricultural Technique in Brazil Silver Spring, Maryland/USA | 17.11.2004 | ADRA In the semi-arid region of Bahia, Brazil the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is implementing polyculture, an innovative agricultural method to improve crop production and increase the income of families in the community of Uauá and surrounding areas. Polyculture is a diversified multi-crop farming practice that focuses on the interaction of crop components. The technique matches plants that complement each other – one plant’s outputs are another plant’s inputs. For example, in
Slovenia: Religious Freedom Violations Must Be Combated, Adventist Leaders Say Rogaska Slatina, Slovenia | 17.11.2004 | Religious Liberty Increasing violations of religious freedom must be combated, leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Europe said last week. Church representatives from 21 countries met in a series of meetings from November 7 to 9 in Rogaska, Slatina, Slovenia. They worked on issues of concern, including the rise of religious extremism, the problems of intolerance and discrimination, and the need to defend freedom of conscience and belief. "Today religious freedom is more important than ever," sai
Ivory Coast: Church Official Describes Life Under Siege Silver Spring, Maryland/USA | 17.11.2004 | International Returning unharmed after spending five days in the heart of a clash between French troops and natives of Ivory Coast, Roscoe Howard, an associate secretary of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, and also secretary of its North American region, told his story to colleagues at the church's headquarters on November 15. Howard said he appreciates both God's protection and the kindness of others in the midst of crisis. "I learned something about humanity" during the experience, Howard said. "
Adventist Church to Create Awareness of Child Abuse Silver Spring, Maryland/USA | 17.11.2004 | International With the annual World Day for Prevention of Child Abuse coming up on November 19, the Seventh-day Adventist Church's Children's Ministries department hopes to bring awareness to a problem that affects Adventist congregations. "In our churches [people] don't feel comfortable actually talking about abuse. ... But children are facing problems we feel that members need to be aware of," says Linda Koh, Children's Ministries director for the world church. "I suppose in our minds it's against o
Jamaica: 10,000 Adventists March Against Violence Kingston, Jamaica | 10.11.2004 | International More than 10,000 Seventh-day Adventist men, women and children marched through the streets of Kingston and St. Catherine, Jamaica, on November 6 (Saturday) bearing a message of hope and family unity. The march, said to be the largest ever on the island in the Caribbean Sea, kicked off a summit aimed at countering a steep rise in violence in Jamaica over the past 12 months. "Members from the Western and Eastern [regions] of the island came in buses, cars and motorcades to march with signs and
Adventist Church Joins Coalition Against Worldwide Human Trafficking Silver Spring, Maryland/USA | 09.11.2004 | International APD In an effort to bring more attention to international human trafficking, often equated to modern-day slavery, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has joined a coalition of non-profit organizations dedicated to extinguishing this growing practice. Members of the church's world headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, met with Ralph Benko and Kari Rai, consultants to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on November 3. "Between 800,000 and 900,000 people fall victim
Egypt: New Adventist Church Dedicated; Leaders Meet Government Officials Dahasa, Egypt | 09.11.2004 | International Nearly 18 months after excavations for a neighbouring mosque caused the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Dahasa, Upper Egypt to collapse, a new building was dedicated October 16. Sixty members will now worship in the new structure. Pastor Kjell Aune, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Egypt, dedicated the building in a two-and-one-half hour service that included the baptism of six new members and a celebration of the Lord's Supper. Sameh Doss, the local pastor, assisted the new
Ivory Coast: Adventist Leaders, Guests, Safe As Fighting Breaks Out Abidjan, Ivory Coast | 08.11.2004 | International Officials of the Seventh-day Adventist Church's world headquarters and Adventist Risk Management are safe in Abidjan following a weekend of violent clashes between mobs in Abidjan and French troops, following French retaliation for an Ivorian assault that killed nine French peacekeeping troops and an American aid worker. The church officials are expected to leave on Tuesday, November 9, to return home. Pastor Gerald Karst, a vice president of the Adventist world church, is reported as stayin
