Tornadoes Strike United States, Adventists Respond:

A record number of tornadoes have devastated portions of the Midwestern and Southern United States, and Seventh-day Adventists are both affected by the storms and responding to their affects. According to the National Weather Service more than 380 tornadoes have touched down in the first 11 days of May killing at least 44 people.

The Maranatha Adventist Church in Jackson, Tennessee, was destroyed when a category F4 tornado hit the southern city in the early hours of May 5. The church and several buildings on the property, including the Maranatha Educational complex were hit with sustained winds of 203 miles per hour which caused extensive damage.

Dozens of Adventist volunteers are working in warehouses and distribution centers which Adventist Community Service’s Disaster response team has established in the hardest hit American states of Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Oklahoma.

Larry Buckner, Adventist disaster response coordinator, says they are still in the early stages of locating and setting up facilities as the storms continue in other areas. [Julio C. Muñoz]

Spanish Language Seminary Lectures on DVD:

The Instituto Teológico del Sur de California (ITP) is training more than 55 students in weekend sessions that are being recorded on DVDs. The lectures, given by Seventh-day Adventist pastors and university professors, cover a wide range of topics including evangelism, theology and eschatology. Students, who will earn a bachelor’s degree at the conclusion of the multi-year program, are using the material in 27 different churches in the United States. [Betty Cooney]

Adventist Agency Helps North Korean Hospital:

Two pediatric wards in the Sariwon Pediatric Hospital, located in the North Hwanghae Province of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are to be rehabilitated by a US$27,000 project, funded by ADRA International. The project will provide warmer recovery rooms for patients, running water, reduce the amount of coal burned, and create dry, moisture-free wards. The Sariwon Pediatric Hospital is one of two hospitals in the region serving 1.6 million people. ADRA is also in the process of constructing a new surgical building at the Sariwon Pediatric Hospital, which will be completed in July 2003. [Todd Reese]

Global Health Summit Planned:

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) will hold a Global Health Summit in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Oct. 7 to 15, 2003. Objectives include finalizing ADRA’s Global Health Strategic Plan, reviewing and endorsing recognized international standards for child health, maternal health, infectious diseases and environmental health, and reviewing lessons learned from the design and implementation of health programs with particular focus on scale, quality, reach and sustainability. Participants will also review the ADRA Professional Leadership Institute (APLI) health curriculum competencies, identify ways of strengthening collaboration between health professionals in the ADRA network, and explore the necessity of establishing international health working groups as an effective mechanism to enhance communication and advance ADRA’s global health strategic plan. [Todd Reese]

Iraqi People Get ADRA’s Help:

On May 6, 2003, some 10,000 people in the northern Iraqi city of Tel Afar began receiving emergency hygiene kits from ADRA. Each hygiene kit includes soap, detergent, towels and other sanitary items. While ADRA is providing immediate aid through relief assistance, it is assessing long-term development projects in other areas, such as primary health, basic education and food security. Projects in these areas would address the lack of sanitation, water, food, and other issues affecting the ultra-poor in Iraq. [Todd Reese]