Two years after the bombing of the United States Embassy in Nairobi, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) continues to help survivors rebuild their shattered lives.
Two years after the bombing of the United States Embassy in Nairobi, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) continues to help survivors rebuild their shattered lives.
“ADRA’s goal is that the bomb survivors will be rehabilitated to, at least, a near normal condition…and will be able to be independent,” says Ann Gacheru, an ADRA spokesperson for the bomb blast rehabilitation program.
On August 7, 1998, a terrorist bomb ripped through the U.S. Embassy building in downtown Nairobi, killing 213 people and wounding more than 5,000. ADRA Kenya responded immediately following the blast and transported survivors to hospitals, provided volunteers to assist in hospitals, and mobilized people to donate blood, food and materials.
Since then, ADRA has become one of three agencies funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) providing services to those affected by the blast. Four hundred people recovering from physical disabilities remain in the care of ADRA, receiving rehabilitation and financial assistance.
ADRA was given a grant from USAID, approximately US$57,000 to date, to work with four other organizations to assist those physically disabled by the blast.
In addition to the Bomb Survivors project, other ADRA projects in Kenya include agricultural programs, an AIDS awareness program, and education projects. Since July, at the request of the Kenyan government, ADRA is the lead agency in distributing relief food and commodities in the Kitui District in response to the current famine. In cooperation with another aid organization, ADRA also continues its drought relief project in the Turkana District, and since December 1999 has served approximately 20,000 people with food provided by the Kenyan government and the World Food Programme.