A team of volunteers left Ji-Paraná, in Rondônia, Brazil, on Saturday, May 22, and headed to Espigão do Oeste. From there, the next day, they went to the Suruí village and the Nova Esperança community, in the interior of the state. The goal was to bring health care to residents.

“Some communities in the region were going through a lot of difficulties due to the issue of rain and because they are difficult to access places,” says Pastor Clodoaldo Valentine, Adventist Solidarity Action (ASA) director for the territory. “We brought together a group of people from both the [Regional Seventh-day Adventist Church] and local churches and decided to bring food, hope, and joy to these communities.” 

In partnership with Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), 81 food baskets, 60 hygiene kits donated by the Magnólias project, 12 cleaning kits, masks provided by the Seamstresses of Hope project, in addition to dental care, Bibles and books, were delivered.

Manoel Suruí, village leader, says help came at a good time. 

“I was very happy,” he says, adding, “This community was certainly very happy with the assistance and basic food baskets we received.”

Adriana, a resident of the Nova Esperança community, expressed her gratitude, as well. 

“I thought it was very nice of the Adventist Church because here the families are very needy and they really need this help,” she says.

This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site.