Ryongchon, North Korea …. [Ansel Oliver/ANN]
Following the massive April 22 railroad disaster in North Korea, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, or ADRA, is implementing a joint relief project with the World Health Organization (WHO) to bring aid and basic medical supplies to those affected by the train blast in the city of Ryongchon.
News reports indicate more than 160 are dead, more than 1,300 people are wounded, and many are still missing after two rail cars exploded. Photographs from the surrounding area show scenes of mass devastation, including a local school.
Using a truck provided by ADRA, the WHO partnered with ADRA to deliver hospital kits valued at US$83,000.
“Critical to ADRA’s capacity for a prompt response is that it has an office and established partnerships in North Korea,” said Frank Teeuwen, bureau chief for disaster preparedness and response at ADRA International. “ADRA is also conducting assessments to determine what additional assistance it may provide, as a third of the city has been destroyed.”
He added, “The medicines delivered to local hospitals this past weekend contain basic supplies to provide immediate treatment. Because of the massive increase of needs arising from this accident, these kits are imperative to complement the country’s current medical supplies.”
The country, formally known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is usually a closed society where foreign workers are rare. ADRA is one of few NGOs accepted into the country. In 1995 ADRA started project activities in North Korea that included the distribution of food, medicine and seeds. The agency has also introduced solar-powered cooking to parts of North Korea where electricity and heat are not readily available.
Since 2002, ADRA has operated a bakery that produces 50,000 bread rolls six days a week that are delivered to 25,000 children in Pyongyang. An additional 32,300 children in the north of the country receive a rice-milk blend produced by ADRA in cooperation with the World Food Programme. ADRA has also rehabilitated a hospital and trialed a project that will use biogas plants to produce a year-round energy supply. Future projects in the area as a result of the train blast are also under consideration.
For more information, visit www.adra.org.
Copyright © 2004 by Adventist News Network.
