The people of Hinatuan, a tight-knit community off the coast of the province of Davao in the Philippines, felt the world shake in December of 2023. A 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck the village, causing widespread damage, displacing thousands of families and destroying homes, infrastructure, and livelihoods.
In the face of massive displacement, destruction, and despair in the wake of Cyclone Michaung in India, supporters of ADRA Canada’s Emergency Program have made the challenge of survival more comfortable and humane.
ADRA has aided affected families in Ukraine thanks to your support. One of these families is a husband, wife, and their son. Valentina tells her story of having to leave their home and life behind as the fighting reaches their small town of Grodivka, near the Donetsk region.
Your continued support for ADRA has been building stronger connections to families in Yemen. Recently, ADRA staff travelled to Yemen to visit project sites in person.
As a young man, Adrianne did not know or understand much about the menstrual cycle, or the particular needs girls and women have every month. The topic on menstruation can be taboo, leaving young people ill-informed and girls and women with a sense of shame.
This current month, March of 2024, will be the last month of a project started in December of 2022 supporting drought relief in Somalia. Though the beginning of this year saw some rain, it did not do much to ameliorate the persistent drought conditions in the East-African nation. A stunning 7.7 million people, almost half the Somalian population, rely on humanitarian aid and protection to survive. This has been the second extension of the project, and has seen support extended to previously unreached families, including in the state of Puntland.
Namoit’s journey began in Turkana, a region of breathtaking natural beauty marred by conflict. Born into a nomadic family, she experienced firsthand the challenges of living in a volatile area. Despite the hardships, there was a sense of community and abundance, with her father’s herds providing sustenance and connection.
Through the TOGETHER project, ADRA is coming alongside women in the Philippines to help them find ways to build their economic resilience. TOGETHER works with women to pull their families out of the corner where they must choose between essential needs. Most significantly, TOGETHER is helping women reach the point where they no longer need to sacrifice the healthcare they need in order to meet their family’s needs.
Earlier this year, the earthquake that rocked Syria and Türkiye left the world shocked and shaken. Already subject to protracted violence over many years, Syrian communities found their problems compounding as existing struggles ran up against new ones. For some families, sons bearing serious wounds and health conditions sustained during combat complicated the process of fleeing from crumbling homes and travelling across town to find new shelter. For others, the economic impacts of the long war had left some very full households with only one breadwinner.
Your support of ADRA has been felt in the east African nation of Tanzania. Shortly before the new year, Tanzania experienced torrential rainfall, especially in the country’s Hanang district. Initial reports counted over 900 homes completely destroyed, with another 400 partially damaged by the flooding and more at risk of damage from further landslides and flash flooding. National authorities quickly declared a state of emergency.
