Australia: Relief Agency Receives $10 Million Grant
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) has been granted a $10 million grant over five years from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). The funds will be used for food security and home-based care for HIV/AIDS victims in Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia.
“Research indicates a new type of famine—we call it the variant famine—is hitting some countries in Africa,” says Pastor David Syme, ADRA Australia’s executive director. “A person living with HIV/AIDS has diminished strength to produce food, and the capacity of their family to do so is also diminished because of the family’s need to look after the person suffering from HIV/AIDS. Our project will help these families provide better care in the home and develop more efficient food production techniques.”
“This is the first time AusAID has made a five-year funding commitment, and the first time it is funding a multi-country program,” Syme says. AusAID selected ADRA as one of six agencies to receive funding.
Hope Channel Launched in Europe
The Hope Channel, the Adventist Church’s 24/7 satellite television channel, is now up and running in Europe on the Hotbird 6 satellite. Church leaders say this is a major step forward for the church in the United Kingdom as well as the rest of Europe. There are an estimated 1.5 million homes in the United Kingdom, and approximately 30 million across Europe, that can receive the transmissions, according to John Surridge, director of communications for the Adventist Church in Britain. For more information visit www.adventist.org.uk.
Zambia: Lightning Kills Church Member
Lightning killed one Seventh-day Adventist Church member in Lusaka’s Chaisa Township, Zambia, and injured several others Saturday, Dec. 27, according to Pardon Mwansa, president of the Adventist Church in Southern Africa. Black Smith Phiri was struck dead by lightning while other church members were admitted to a university hospital in Lusaka with burns. Worshipers were meeting at the Eklezia Assemblies of God church building after their building collapsed days earlier.
