Five weeks after Hurricane Katrina tore through the Gulf Coast killing more than a thousand people, and leaving more than a million others displaced across the nation, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) International remains active in the affected areas, providing clothing, food, emergency supplies, personal items, and funding to meet the needs of Katrina evacuees.

ADRA has committed US$1 million for Katrina relief and to date has allocated close to half of that amount to local partners and organizations directly involved in providing relief assistance. ADRA has also shipped more than US$1.2 million of clothing, disaster materials, food, and supplies to warehouses operated by Adventist Community Services (ACS) in New Iberia, Louisiana; Mobile, Alabama; and Houston, Texas.

ADRA is working in partnership with various organizations, such as ACS, the Southwestern Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, the Gulf Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, and others, to provide materials for the warehouses, and to purchase consumables, such as food, supplies, water, and personal items. ADRA is also funding implementing partners that are providing meals for evacuees.

Correction from the last update: Although the Panama City Seventh-day Adventist Church in Florida is preparing their mobile kitchen to provide meals for evacuees, the kitchen is yet to be functional. A portion of the funding given will also be used to either provide temporary shelter or to purchase consumables for evacuees, such as food, personal items, cleaning supplies, bottled water, and more. The church has provided more than 200 meals for evacuees to date, as well as delivered relief items in Alabama and Mississippi to more than 400 families.

The Gulfhaven Seventh-day Adventist Church in Houston has also received over US$100,000 from ADRA for feeding programs in Southeastern Texas. Soon after the hurricane hit, the church began providing up to 1,000 meals a day for evacuees. “Our goal is 3,000 meals a day,” said Carlos Turcios, pastor of the Gulfhaven Church.

Baltimore Adventist Community Services (BACS) is also providing relief supplies for 200 evacuees who are now residing in the metropolitan Baltimore area. They are donating groceries, blankets, and storage containers for the evacuees. This project is valued at US$5,000.

ADRA is present in 125 countries, providing community development and emergency management without regard to political or religious association, age, or ethnicity in all of its programs, including its response to Hurricane Katrina.

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