The Adventist Development and Relief Agency has established an office in Kabul, Afghanistan, to begin meeting the needs with the country from a central location.

“It is important to develop a long-range program that will help people reconstruct their devastated communities,” says Byron Scheuneman, senior vice-president for ADRA International.

Roger Kopitzke, formerly director of ADRA Vietnam, has been appointed as acting director of ADRA Afghanistan. Additional staff assignments are being filled.

In order to avoid duplication of services, ADRA will work with United Nations agencies and other non-governmental organizations to identify areas that are most in need. Program planning will take place in cooperation with local communities, and the emphasis will be on long-term sustainability of projects.

Since October, ADRA has been providing emergency aid to refugees in camps along the borders of Pakistan and Tajikistan, distributing items such as tents, blankets, water containers, winter clothing, socks, and underwear. Preference has been given to female-headed families and those with many small children. With one of the lowest child survival rates in the world, Afghanistan faces the beginning of winter with temperatures in the mountains plunging well below zero.

Slightly larger than France, Afghanistan is a landlocked country of rugged mountains. The adult literacy rate is 31 percent. The infant mortality rate is 141 per 1,000 births. Life expectancy for women is 45; for men, 47.