Flood Survivors in Bolivia Receive Aid from ADRA ... More than 1,000 families driven from their homes by severe flooding in the provinces of Madre de Dios, and Manuripi, Bolivia are receiving help from the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). An estimated 6,500 residents in the municipalities of Gonzalo Moreno, San Lorenzo, Sena and Puerto Rico will also receive food rations that will last for two months. Record rains in Bolivia during January and February have caused excessive flooding in both the highlands and the Amazon Basin, destroying crops and livestock and forcing families from their homes. More than 33,000 families have been affected by this disaster, and thousands are still in desperate need of food, medicine, and other emergency relief items. For more information see www.adra.org.

AWR Dedicates New Europe Office ... Adventist World Radio (AWR) celebrated its new Europe office building on Feb. 25 with a dedication program and community open house. The facility is located in Bracknell, which is approximately one hour from London and five minutes from local Adventist university Newbold College. The building offers increased space for staff serving Europe and AWR’s global services, which are located in England, and room for future growth. During the dedication program, Bertil Wiklander, president of the Adventist Church in the Trans-European region, said, “Radio can be an excellent way of breaking down prejudice, by allowing people to listen to how we as Adventists express ourselves. ... Radio has helped the church to become more authentic and relevant and to understand the importance of communication.” AWR broadcasts around the world in nearly 70 languages. [Shelley Nolan Freesland/AWR]

Loma Linda University Awarded $8.1 Million Grant ...  An $8.1 million grant awarded to Loma Linda University by the National Institutes of Health allowed the university to establish a research center for health disparities.  The Loma Linda University Center for Health Disparities Research will bring together researchers from different disciplines within the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health. They will focus their expertise on this national health priority through the integration of translational biomedical research, education and training, community participation, and health-related outreach activities. The Center’s biomedical translational research program will use molecular and cell biology techniques to study genetic and biological factors contributing to health disparities.  [Julie Smith/LLU]

Five-day Work in Hong Kong  ...  Starting this summer government workers in Hong Kong, China will be allowed to have the weekend off from work. This has sparked comments from the community that it will be easier for Seventh-day Adventists to keep the Sabbath. Hong Kong is one of the last communities in the region to adopt a five-day work week.  Workers in the mainland China, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan already have two days off a week. [South China Morning Post]