The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), the humanitarian agency for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, was recently awarded $500,000 by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA). This grant funding to ADRA will help provide additional emergency relief aid to Venezuelan migrants in Brazil.
“ADRA is grateful for the support of USAID/OFDA. This award is a strong testament of our long-standing partnership with USAID/OFDA and ADRA’s lifesaving emergency response to meet pressing needs of people most vulnerable. It is our hope we increase support for the well-being of the Venezuelan people, and reduce the burden on host communities,” said Imad Madanat, ADRA’s vice president for programs.
ADRA is the only NGO recipient of the award by USAID/OFDA concentrating aid efforts to 4,650 migrants in the cities of Pacaraima and Boa Vista located in Northern Brazil’s Roraima State, along the Brazil-Venezuela border. Boa Vista has accounted for more than 40,000 migrants from Venezuela, and to date, there are more than 52,000 Venezuelans who have sought refuge in Brazil according to a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) report.
In support of the migrant crisis, ADRA will work closely with the Brazilian government to finalize distribution points to implement emergency relief assistance. Additionally, to minimize the spread of diseases, ADRA will conduct hygiene promotion and awareness activities in Spanish with emphasis on basic essential hygiene practices such as hand washing with soap and latrine use. Emergency supplies such as safe drinking water and bedding supplies are also being provided by ADRA.
Since 2015, economic and political turmoil strained the Venezuelan population with high food shortages, price fluctuations, and increased crime and poverty, forcing individuals and families to leave the country.
The number of Venezuelans arriving in Brazil continue to rise with more than 800 Venezuelans entering Brazil every day says UNHCR. Among the many challenges for the arriving population are access to food, medicine, housing, work and education for boys and girls.
To support ADRA’s life-saving efforts to help Venezuelan migrants and others in need, please contact ADRA at 1.800.424.ADRA (2372) or give online now.