In
Southern
Somalia,
ADRA
Water
Project
Benefits
300,000
Vulnerable

Residents


Tuesday,
September
1,
2009

For
more
information,
contact:

John
Torres,
Senior
Public
Relations
Manager

301.680.6357
(office)

301.680.6370
(fax)


SILVER
SPRING,
Md.
—In
southern
Somalia,
a
combination
of
poor
seasonal
rains,

civil
insecurity,
and
the
resulting
escalation
of
food
prices
have
contributed
to
a
loss

of
economic
opportunities
in
the
region,
further
depleting
scarce
family
resources

and
deteriorating
an
already
difficult
humanitarian
situation,
reported
the
Adventist

Development
and
Relief
Agency
(ADRA).

To
aid
vulnerable
families,
ADRA
implemented
the
Emergency
Water
and
Livelihood

Support
Programme
(EWLSP),
a
multi‐phase
project
that
has
provided
emergency

relief
for
hundreds
of
thousands
in
the
Bay
and
Bakol
regions,
strengthening
their

resilience
against
chronic
lack
of
food
and
economic
instability.


EWLSP
was
originally
launched
in
response
to
a
severe
drought
that
ravaged
the

targeted
regions
in
2006.
Since
then,
it
has
benefited
more
than
300,000
people
in

the
Bay
and
Bakol
regions,
including
some
130,000
during
the
third
phase
of
the

project.


Through
EWLSP,
ADRA
rehabilitated
local
water
points
to
improve
community

access
to
clean
water,
helped
residents
improve
their
financial
situation
through

participation
in
income‐generating
activities,
and
provided
training
for
community

members
in
conflict
mitigation.
Other
key
components
included
improving
nutrition

by
establishing
new
kitchen
gardens,
and
providing
training
for
village
health

promoters.

“I
am
very
happy
to
have
learned
the
importance
of
vegetables
for
good
nutrition

and
for
economic
gain,”
said
a
project
participant
who
learned
to
grow
various
types

of
vegetables
and
fruits
through
ADRA’s
Kitchen
Gardening
Initiative.
“In
addition
to

increasing
my
income,
the
health
of
my
family
has
improved.
Thank
you
ADRA
for

introducing
me
to
kitchen
gardening.”

EWLSP,
funded
by
the
United
States
Agency
for
International
Development
(USAID)

in
cooperation
with
the
Office
of
U.S.
Foreign
Disaster
Assistance
(OFDA),
ended
its

third
phase
in
July
2009.
Throughout
the
project,
ADRA
also
worked
in
partnership

with
local
communities,
including
local
women’s
groups,
and
community
leaders.

ADRA
has
been
operating
in
Somalia
since
1992,
implementing
emergency
relief

and
development
interventions
in
various
sectors,
including
water,
primary
health,

education,
food
security,
infrastructure,
institutional
capacity
building
and
economic

development.

ADRA
is
a
non‐governmental
organization
present
in
125
countries
providing

sustainable
community
development
and
disaster
relief
without
regard
to
political

or
religious
association,
age,
gender,
race,
or
ethnicity.

For
more
information,
visit
www.adra.org.