35,000 Children from Poor Families in Eastern Europe Aided by Christmas Campaign
by AT News Team
The Adventist Develop and Relief Agency (ADRA) in Germany organized a campaign last fall that resulted in the delivery of Christmas packages to 35,000 children in low-income communities in Belarus, Bosnia, Georgia, Kosovo, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova and Serbia. The boxes contained toys and food, as well as other items.
Christmas was celebrated January 6 and 7 in many of these areas where the Eastern Orthodox Church follows the Julian calendar. Churches, schools and youth groups throughout German collected in-kind gifts as well as cash donations for the project. The campaign is called Children Helping Children.
ADRA trucked the gift boxes into the communities and worked with local non-governmental organizations to distribute them to needy families. Collaborating volunteer groups in Germany organized flea markets and bake sales to help fund the trucking expense.
One particularly creative effort this year was organized by Friendly Service, a volunteer group in Munich. On November 23 student volunteers recruited by the group gave five hours to wrapping Christmas gifts for customers at a shopping center. The tips donated by the people they helped went to help fund the campaign.
“This project puts a new spin on an old tradition among Christian churches,” an American pastor commented upon hearing about the program. “Church members and their friends in the community seem to want to do something for the poor at Christmas and ADRA Germany has channeled this into an effective project. I wonder what could happen if ADRA in the United States were to do something like this with one million Adventists?”
Information was provided by the APD Adventist News Agency in Switzerland.
I see when you sign in, the posting goes automatically to my husband's name. As a wife, I see the assumption by the church that all things are to go to the male of the household. It just so happens that I subscribed many years before he was my spouse, but when you marry all things are now the male's. Hum. These comments are not by Paul, but by his unnamed spouse! I understand ADRA is now owned by outside sources, namely the Jesuits, and that the SDA church now has little say in what happens. I understand the church leadership has sold us out just to get more funding and to get permission to enter countries that we were not allowed to go into. I also understand we no longer dictate how things are distributed and run. We are not allowed to proselytise or hand out of our literature. There are always people ready for a handout but they are not getting the gospel. Seems like the original purpose of the church has been defeated. I understand that is why we are always first everywhere in the world-free help from US gov, etc because we have sold out. Is this true?
-Wife of Paul or should I say Paul's possession?
She's got to be kidding right!
Paul Ehrlich's wife (whatever your name): (I believe you can have posting rights in your own name if you ask.)
You have presented lots of hearsay. Would you help us understand by substantiating your comments that you "understand" that ADRA is owned by Jesuits?
FYI: ADRA has never been allowed to proselytise or "hand out literature" under the terms of the government (NGO) contract which it had operated which stipulates no proselytising in order to receive government funding. The government funds NGOs as they aid in humanitarian work around the world and that loss means cessation of their work. Is that not understandable?