The Seventh-day Adventist Church concluded the count of its community impact activities carried out in the year 2023. More than 3 million people directly benefited from the initiatives carried out by different institutions, humanitarian agencies, and departments linked to the Adventist organization in eight South American countries.
Adventist Solidarity Action (ASA), for example, registered 1,990,147 people who benefited in some way from assistance projects and activities carried out in more than 29 thousand local congregations. At the same time, another relevant and prominent aid front was the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). The humanitarian agency was responsible for directly helping 1,051,079 beneficiaries from January to December 2023.
In total, ADRA counted 354 development projects (continuous) and another 100 emergency projects throughout the year. Emergency projects are characterized, most of the time, by immediate responses to climate disaster situations such as floods, earthquakes, among others.
Adventist Education
The Adventist Education Network also contributed to the 2023 social report. According to records, Adventist schools, colleges and higher education institutions in eight South American countries assisted 170,375 people via community initiatives.
Hospitals and Clinics
The report also highlighted the participation of South American Adventist hospitals and clinics. There were 60 programs that provided services, including medical and dental consultations, surgeries, exams, and therapies. This represented a total of 706,897 free medical services between January and December 2023.
The Life for Lives (Vida por Vidas) project from the Youth Ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church also collaborated in donating blood in several countries. Last year, the project closed with 142,069 donors.
Pastor Stanley Arco, president of the South American Division, states that the social movement of Adventists is the result of the commitment of thousands of women and men dedicated to serving Christ. “It is simply wonderful that we can be grateful to God for so many people benefiting and having the suffering in their lives alleviated by some initiative in which Adventists are involved,” he explains. Arco also adds that “each year, we wish to continue to demonstrate that fulfilling the mission of proclaiming the gospel includes meeting people’s needs.”
The original article was published on the South American Division's Portuguese news site.