Hi! My name is Ray. I am delighted to join this incredible group of passionate teammates at ADRA. I’ve been here in Ontario for about a month (I moved from Montreal), and it is invigorating to be at the cutting edge of humanitarian work right here in Canada, where the need is great on so many fronts. We are now redoubling our efforts to bring awareness to the church membership and communities at large of ADRA’s important role in emergency preparedness/response and various forms of social assistance.

Due to your support of the National Program, it has been organically growing since its revitalization in 2019.  The strength of our program comes from our grassroots which includes our amazing church volunteers from coast to coast to coast.  This also includes our outstanding conference ADRA representatives in each of our seven regions who have been a part of this growth.  We have seen multiple active projects in each conference ranging from soup kitchens to distribution centres, eco-based community gardens, health education programs and support groups.

 

Here are some of the ongoing programs you have supported:

 

  1. Eco-based community gardens (Lethbridge, Lacombe, Kingston, Marystown, St. John), o name a few.
  2. Indigenous programs across Canada (e.g. Outdoor Adventure Learning Experience on Manatoulin Island, ON)
  3. Giving Back, St. Thomas, ON, (integrating homeless/addicts/inmates who are released) into their communities
  4. Feed a Student (Mamawi Atosketan Native School), AB: The only Indigenous school in Canada operated by the Alberta Conference.
  5. Feed the homeless (Parker Street Furniture and Food Bank) which continues to meet many needs in downtown Halifax, NS.
  6. The HUB project in Oshawa, ON (helping underprivileged people with skills development and integration)
  7. Red Deer Soup Kitchen in AB for addressing the needs of homeless and addicts: The largest in AB and one of the largest groups in Canada

 

With your support, we have established, nurtured, and conducted:

 

  1. Strong relations with NGO networks across Canada
  2. Chair of the Emergency Management National Consortium of Canada
  3. Healthy relations with Indigenous communities across Canada
  4. A joint certificate for humanitarian service worker training with Burman University
  5. Disaster emergency response (DER) training with our volunteers including cultural sensitivity and psychological first aid