By Paulo Lopes, President, ADRA International
There’s a verse from Isaiah that has been on my mind as we step into 2026: “See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” These ancient words capture something essential about this moment for ADRA and for humanitarian work itself. We’re not abandoning what has worked for decades. Rather, we’re allowing God to do something new through us, building on our strengths in ways that will make us more effective servants to those who need us most.
As I reflect on ADRA’s journey and look ahead to the year before us, I’m struck by how much our new year vision aligns with timeless truths. The humanitarian priorities that will guide us in 2026 aren’t really new at all. They’re about returning to what has always made ADRA distinct: our global reach combined with deep local roots, our connection to communities of faith in every corner of the world, and our commitment to investing in people and innovative approaches that create lasting change.
The Power of Connection
One of ADRA’s greatest assets is something many people may not fully realize: we’re not a single organization parachuting into crisis zones. We’re a network of 120 country offices, each bringing unique expertise, cultural understanding, and relationships built over years, sometimes decades. When crisis strikes anywhere in the world, we’re not starting from scratch. We’re activating partnerships with local leaders who know their communities intimately, who understand the context in ways no outsider ever could.
This matters profoundly. In Mongolia, for instance, ADRA initiatives addressing youth mental health aren’t designed in a distant headquarters and imposed on communities. They emerge from collaboration with local experts who understand the specific pressures Mongolian adolescents face. Through the NextGen CELEBRATIONS! project, we’re working alongside schools and communities to build emotional resilience in young people before crisis strikes, not just responding after trauma occurs.
The project reaches adolescents aged 12-15 through school-based Health Clubs where students learn about nutrition, exercise, emotional wellness, and healthy decision-making. One sixth-grade student, Bilguuntuguldur, describes how the program helped him manage anxiety that once kept him awake at night. “Through the club, I learned the value of nightly journaling, which now helps me sleep peacefully and manage my thoughts,” he shares. “I’ve also started talking more openly with my siblings. Sharing what I feel makes me calmer.”
What strikes me about this work is its preventive nature. We’re not waiting for mental health crises to emerge. We’re equipping young people with tools that will serve them through whatever challenges life brings, whether personal struggles or global emergencies. And we’re doing it in partnership with communities who will sustain this work long after any specific project ends.
This is the kind of innovation that can emerge from any of our offices, regardless of size or budget. Some of our most creative solutions come from smaller offices working with limited resources, finding ways to maximize impact through deep community engagement and local ingenuity. Every office in our network has something to teach the rest of us about effective, culturally appropriate humanitarian work.
Rooted in Faith, Reaching the World
ADRA’s connection to the Seventh-day Adventist Church isn’t incidental to our work. It’s foundational. This relationship gives us something rare in the humanitarian sector: instant access to communities of faith that exist in virtually every nation on earth. When disasters strike, we’re not searching for local partners. We’re working alongside church members who are already embedded in their communities, who share our values of compassion and service, and who will remain long after emergency response teams depart.
This network of relationships means we can respond with both speed and sustainability. The global development goals 2025 emphasizes the importance of local ownership and community-led development. ADRA has been practicing this for decades, not because it’s trendy but because it’s how the church has always operated: through committed local presence and long-term relationship.
Our church partnerships also provide something equally valuable: volunteers, institutions, and resources woven into the fabric of communities worldwide. Adventist schools, hospitals, and churches aren’t just facilities. They’re gathering places, trust centers, and hubs of community life. When ADRA works through these existing networks, we’re building on foundations of trust that may have taken generations to establish.
Investing in What Matters Most
As we look at humanitarian priorities for 2026, one theme emerges clearly: people matter more than programs. The most sophisticated intervention means little if we haven’t invested in the people who will implement it with skill, compassion, and cultural sensitivity. That’s why ADRA is committed to developing not just projects, but people, supporting professional growth, leadership development, and the kind of continuous learning that allows humanitarian workers to adapt to rapidly changing contexts.
This means celebrating innovation wherever it emerges in our network. It means creating spaces for our teams to learn from each other across borders and cultures. It means recognizing that the Filipino disaster response specialist, the Mongolian youth counselor, and the Kenyan agricultural expert all bring wisdom that can transform how we work in completely different contexts.
The Mongolia mental health project offers a glimpse of what’s possible when we invest in preventive, locally-led, sustainable approaches. Weanne Estrada, ADRA International’s Mental Health Specialist, notes that “when adolescents learn to manage stress and regulate their emotions, they are literally rewiring their brains to respond more adaptively under pressure. We are building their psychological infrastructure now so they can withstand future crises with greater resilience.”
This is the kind of forward-thinking, evidence-based humanitarian work that ADRA initiatives will increasingly emphasize in 2026 and beyond.
A New Thing
Isaiah’s promise of God doing “a new thing” doesn’t mean abandoning what has worked. It means allowing transformation to emerge from our core strengths. For ADRA, that means leveraging our global network more intentionally, deepening our roots in communities of faith worldwide, and investing boldly in people and approaches that create sustainable change.
As we step into 2026, I’m filled with hope. Not the naive optimism that ignores real challenges, but the grounded hope that comes from seeing what’s possible when diverse gifts are unified around a common mission. When a sixth-grader in Mongolia learns to manage anxiety through a Health Club supported by partners around the world, we’re witnessing the kind of connected, locally-led, innovative work that will define ADRA’s future.
This is our invitation to you: imagine what becomes possible when humanitarian work is rooted in relationship, sustained by faith communities, and focused on building resilience before crisis strikes. Imagine ADRA offices from Ulaanbaatar to Kingston learning from each other’s innovations, adapting solutions to local contexts, and serving humanity in ways that honor both cultural wisdom and cutting-edge practice.
See, God is doing a new thing. It’s springing up all around us. And in 2026, we have the privilege of being part of it.
