The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is launching a recovery project in Somalia to aid survivors of last December’s tsunami. ADRA is supplying livelihood support items, improving access to safe water and sanitation facilities, and training and conducting seminars on hygiene and health topics.

The project will provide livelihood support items including boats, fishing equipment, tents, and household items. The water and sanitation infrastructure component includes construction of solar-powered spring systems, shallow wells, water storage tanks, a borehole, and latrines. Through establishing and training village-based health committees, ADRA will empower target communities to manage the water and sanitation resources provided by the project. To raise awareness on health issues, ADRA Somalia will train village health promoters and conduct community-training sessions on sanitation, hygiene, and health topics. ADRA Somalia’s project will benefit 32,000 survivors of the tsunami and other disasters in the region of Nugal, in northern Somalia. The 18-month project will implement activities in four internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and 18 coastal villages.

The project is funded primarily by Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH), through ADRA Germany, with a contribution of more than $2.1 million. The Swiss Solidarity Chain is providing funding of nearly $500,000, through ADRA Switzerland, to restore livelihoods in five villages. ADRA Belgium/Luxembourg and ADRA Italy are also assisting ADRA Switzerland in co-financing the Swiss Solidarity Chain project.

The Indian Ocean tsunami on December 26, 2004 affected approximately 404 miles of the Northeast Somali coastline, according to an inter-agency assessment report commissioned by the Somalia Aid Coordination Body (SACB). The report stated that 44,000 people were affected by the tsunami, and that much more of the population had suffered from other recent disasters, such as drought, floods, and freezing temperatures. These disasters have increased the number of IDPs in the area. The SACB and local authorities have urged agencies responding to the tsunami to assist those who have suffered from other disasters as well.

ADRA has been working in Somalia for more than 12 years, and in the Nugal Region since 1996. In addition to the tsunami recovery project, ADRA Somalia is implementing an education project in the Nugal Region funded by the European Commission through ADRA Germany.

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.