Two of the three hospitals in the East of North Korea have started operation again after the renovation of the operating theatres and the maternity wards. The renovation in the third hospital will also be concluded soon. The rooms are now heated, have water and electricity supply and can be maintained aseptic.

"Mostly, when we pay a control visit, the rooms are off limits due to surgery in progress. In the past the rooms were unutilized and empty and accessible by visitors," says Marcel Wagner, ADRA director for North Korea. The medical equipment donated by the World Health Organization (WHO) has been installed and the personnel was trained how to use the equipment. The supply provided by the WHO besides the medical consumable material and basic sets of instruments, also comprises of sterilizers, suction pump, generator, operating lamp and operating table which allows for simple surgery.

The infection rate after the surgery was lowered dramatically, according to statistics by the practicing physicians. "They are very happy about this. We also hear that the people are very grateful about this improvement. Further hospital renovations for 2005 are in preparation. An orphanage for children age 6 to 12 years is also scheduled for renovation," reports Wagner.

ADRA projects of Bakery Shop and Restaurant in P’yonyang will be opened soon. The construction work in the bakery shop and the adjacent restaurant are finally finished and the rooms are furnished. Wagner explained: "The people in the busy street of the city centre are looking through the large windows curious what might be inside. The residents already know since quite some time that there will be a bakery shop and a restaurant."

ADRA received permission from the government to interface the electrical cables for the bakery shop and the restaurant with the close by Koryo Hotel. This ensures reliable electricity supply as the Koryo Hotel is the prime address in the capital among all government run hotels where all dignitaries stay. The personnel selection took place beginning of November 2004 immediately followed by the training. All six service personnel meet each week to practice English conversation and at the same time get used to the exposure with us foreigners.

Another ADRA project, the big pilot-bio gas plant in Genam is almost completed. Despite declining temperatures the construction of the big bio gas plant in Genam is moving ahead. The greenhouse above the bio gas plant which is supposed to protect it from the cold is soon covered with glass. Although the temperatures are below freezing point, the final work is still possible. The available space and the higher temperatures in the greenhouse will be utilized to cultivate mushrooms.

The mushrooms will be a welcomed change to the monotonous diet of the people. A gas pipeline leads from the plant to the neighbouring two villages and provides each household, including the Kindergarten, with gas for cooking and in a later phase also for heating. Besides the two initial villages we were able, thanks to generous private donations, to extend the gas supply to a third village - a total of 124 households.

A further gas pipeline leads to the animal barns and enables to warm up the frozen food. When the animals are well fed they automatically also secure the gas production in the winter. The trees on the hills and mountains around the farms have long been chopped off and there are now only bushes. The transport of coal is very expensive and the people are urgently dependent on this alternative energy. The benefits of the construction of such bio gas plants are not only in the production of gas and excellent fertilizer but also in the slowdown of deforestation.

In 2005 a third phase is planned for such bio gas plants. "We plan the compression of gas to produce electricity. Bio gas as a form of energy is well known with most farmers but the possibility to build a bio gas plant on their own is not feasible for technical, material and financial reasons," says the ADRA director.

ADRA is present in more than 120 countries providing individual and community development and disaster relief without regard to political or religious association, age or ethnicity. [Editor: Marcel Wagner, ADRA North Korea]

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