ADRA Insider – Details, episodes & analysis

It has been over a year since the earthquake that hit Syria and Türkiye in 2023. We have mentioned it before on this podcast, but for the ADRA team in Syria, the reality of the aftermath has never gone away. 

After a bit of a break, ADRA Insider is back to share more stories from our work in Canada and around the world. We sat down earlier in 2024 to hear the voices of the ADRA Syria team as they shared their experiences during and after the earthquake, and shared some of their perspectives on what the world outside their country might not quite be able to see. Their heart-stirring personal testimony is impactful, and their determination to help their community even in the face of loss is inspiring.

Follow us on all of our online platforms to stay up to date with ADRA Canada, and visit our website to learn how you can help make a difference. 

https://www.adra.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/adracanada

https://www.instagram.com/adracanada/

https://www.youtube.com/adracanada

https://vimeo.com/adracanada 

ADRA Insider is back! Our theme for 2024 is "Compassion In Action," and the situation around the world is certainly demanding that we dig deep for that compassion. 

On New Years Day, natural disasters struck Madagascar and Japan. Cleanup and relief responses were already underway in Tanzania due to flooding that took place just before the New Year, and the rising tensions in the Middle-East have meant more problems for Lebanon.

ADRA is on the ground working on crisis response in each of these cases. But the numerous problems around the world are a powerful reminder of how important it is for us to band together and choose to put compassion into action.

Follow us on all of our online platforms to stay up to date with ADRA Canada, and visit our website to learn how you can help make a difference. 

https://www.adra.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/adracanada

https://www.instagram.com/adracanada/

https://www.youtube.com/adracanada

https://vimeo.com/adracanada 

In this episode, Max sits down with Campbell Page - the director of Indigenous Ministries for the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada. Campbell shares about his own Cree and Métis heritage, as well as the role that ADRA and other Adventists can play in the important process of reconciliation with Indigenous people in the land now known as Canada. Campbell also discusses how his Christian faith and theological training intersect with his Indigenous identity, and how he finds intersection points shared by the Bible and Cree spirituality.

You can read more about ADRA's commitments to Truth and Reconciliation here: https://www.adra.ca/adras-commitment-to-truth-and-reconciliation/

As mentioned in the episode, you can learn more about this topic via the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation: https://nctr.ca/ 

Follow ADRA Canada on all of our social media to stay up to date about all of our projects relating to indigenous communities!

https://www.adra.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/adracanada

https://www.instagram.com/adracanada/

https://www.youtube.com/adracanada

https://vimeo.com/adracanada 

In this second part of our episode on Emergency Management, we take a look at the history and development of the ongoing armed conflict in Sudan. Who are these factions that are fighting? Why are they in conflict, and how is it affecting people? Most importantly, how are ADRA and other humanitarian agencies responding to this crisis? This episode sheds light on how humanitarian organizations like ADRA work around the limitations imposed by an active conflict zone. 

While the wildfires raging across Canada are a major point of concern for many people, they are only one of several emergency situations we have dealt with this year. In this first half of the double episode, Max examines polar opposite ends of the emergency response process: the early emerging phase where the response is sometimes undefined or in development (such as the early phase of response to Alberta wildfires), and the longer-term implications of an emergency (such as the lingering mental health effects of the war in Ukraine). A second part of this episode will cover ongoing events in Sudan, Haiti, and other areas of the world facing recent emergencies. 

ADRA's projects almost always involve some element of promoting healthy living, or enhancing people's ability to maintain, preserve, or improve their health. From food security projects, to water access, to medical responses to global pandemics, ADRA puts deeply-held Seventh-day Adventist values into practice by helping people to access their health-related human rights. 

It has been over a year since the most recent invasion of Ukraine by Russian began. ADRA workers have been active on the ground in Ukraine, as well as in surrounding nations like Moldova and Romania, and in countries around the world receiving refugees – all in an effort to save lives and give people hope. In this episode, we hear from staff members of ADRA Ukraine and ADRA Canada about their experiences amidst the devastation. We also hear from two survivors – one, a woman who was away from her family when they were forced to evacuate, and another a mother in Kiyv whose son has epilepsy. Hear the stories of survival, struggle, and hope, and get an inside look at how ADRA is making a difference.

On International Women's Day 2023, ADRA Canada's gender equality specialist Mahider Yeshaw joins the podcast to discuss some of the work we have done in Sudan - and helps us make the connection between water access and gender equality. We learn how water can become a deciding factor in women's empowerment. We also get a brief explanation of ADRA's emergency response process from our emergency programs director - Anita Odondi.

The earthquake in Türkiye and Syria earlier this month came as a shock to the world. Over the last few weeks, humanitarian agencies have been working overtime to respond to the immediate aftermath of the crisis. Now, in the final stages of emergency response, ADRA and other similar organizations are shifting more towards longer-term recovery work. The wounds are still fresh in many ways, but the broader concerns about infrastructure, healthcare, and rebuilding are becoming more salient.

How has ADRA been responding? This episode shares details about what has been done so far, and points to some of the work that is needed going forward.

On Monday, February 6, 2023, troubling news struck the world when a massive earthquake struck Syria and Türkiye. Bad news has gotten worse as the death toll climbs - in fact, between the time of recording and upload, the number of deaths and injuries reported in this very podcast became inaccurate.

In a coincidental turn of events, one of ADRA Canada's own staff members was present in Damascus. Zeny Cooper had been sent to provide finance training for the ADRA Syria team. Instead of going ahead with her workshop, however, Zeny faced the onset of the earthquake and its numerous aftershocks. You can hear her story here, as well as a summary of where the disaster response is at so far, and of course a bit more about how you can help. 

While ADRA has dispatched a team to conduct assessments in Türkiye, we have a more established presence in Syria and will be focusing our relief efforts there. 

Follow this link to donate to ADRA's emergency response to the earthquake. https://www.adra.ca/adras-turkiye-and-syria-response/