wfn.org | Sierra Leone: Adventist Aid Agency Helps Families Rebuild

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@wfn.org>]

The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is providing relief
assistance to more than 10,000 displaced people and is working to reunite
families separated by years of fighting in Sierra Leone, according to Prince
Cummings, ADRA country director. The recent peace agreement that was signed
in Togo means a drastic increase in needs as relief agencies gain access to
thousands of Sierra Leoneans who have been behind rebel lines for several
months.

Many of these people are now relying heavily upon international relief
agencies to assist in some return to normalcy, says Cummings. The present
government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) are now working with
relief agencies to facilitate humanitarian assistance to all areas within
Sierra Leone.

ADRA is assisting nearly 11,000 displaced people at the Waterloo Village
camp. ADRA is the lead agency at the camp, working with the United Nations
World Food Programme, UNICEF, and other humanitarian agencies. More than
10,000 people are receiving emergency relief assistance from ADRA. Emergency
relief includes non-food items such as blankets, sleeping mats, lamps, and
eating utensils, and daily feeding of malnourished children.

ADRA also operates a daily clinic for all registered people in the camp. The
project provides for medical assistance for inmates at Waterloo Camp and
displaced people living in other areas within Waterloo. More than 120
families are expected to benefit from a program to rehabilitate 100 houses
burned by rebels in January.

Funding for relief efforts in Sierra Leone is provided by ADRA offices in
Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.

According to reports, the conflict in Sierra Leone has left an estimated
10,000 people separated from their families. Approximately 3,000 are
children who are missing or have been abducted, Cummings says. ADRA, in
partnership with UNICEF in Sierra Leone, is registering separated children
and working to trace their relatives or parents so they can be reunited.
Recently 162 children were released by their captors. These children are now
being reunited with their families.

ADRA has been working in Sierra Leone since 1986 and has been engaged in
school repairs, agriculture support, and rehabilitation of hospitals. [Rick
Kajiura - ANN]

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