Medellin, Colombia…[Libna Stevens/IAD]
In a matter of two hours, more than 80,000 of the neediest people throughout Colombia were served a special boxed dinner during an activity held on Sabbath, Oct. 13. The massive food distribution was carried out by thousands of Seventh-day Adventists who volunteered to prepare and deliver the boxed dinners to the poorest communities in the country, and facilitated by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). The success of the effort was based on a simple plan: enlist as many church members and volunteers as possible to donate one meal.
It was the third annual nationwide activity held by ADRA and the church in promoting awareness for the less fortunate who go hungry everyday, highlighting the World Hunger Day celebrated on Oct. 16 every year.
“Thousands of church members throughout our churches participated in donating about $1.50 to provide a meal to someone in need,” says Gabriel Villarreal, ADRA Colombia’s director. “It was such a blessing to be part of this [project] once again.”
According to Villarreal, arriving at the goal of 80,000 people was easy. Last year, ADRA Colombia and the church had a goal of distributing 65,000 dinners and ended up distributing 72,466.
“Our objective this year was to serve 80,000 people,” said Villarreal. “So ADRA printed specially marked boxes for that amount, but most of our church regions surpassed their goals, so I think that we came close to assisting 100,000 people.” He said he will announce the final figure in the coming days.
Coined by organizers as the “Day of Kindness and Compassion,” the project has had wide-ranging positive results in Colombia.
No other organization has been able to have an impact of this magnitude in the country, according to Villarreal.
“The major impact that this program has had in many of the communities and many of the cities in the country is that ADRA and the Adventist Church as an organization is committed to showing kindness and compassion for people in need,” says Villarreal.
Thousands of young people, master guides, dorcas society members and volunteers gathered at churches to box up the special dinners beginning early on Sabbath. The meals were then delivered to community centers to be distributed to pre-selected areas of the population in the poorest communities, where the residents there had already been given meal tickets.
La Sierra, Medellin
In the La Sierra community, situated in the mountains surrounding the city of Medellin, more 3,500 boxed dinners were distributed. Hundreds of families gathered to witness and collect boxed dinners while community leaders, Adventist leaders, ADRA leaders, church members and volunteers presented a special program on promoting kindness and compassion for others.
Villarreal, who was in La Sierra during the special event, said that people kept coming to him impressed with what ADRA and the church were doing in their community that day. One lady in particular told him, “We are so surprised that you are giving all of us food and you are not asking for anything in return, you are the only organization that has come here to give us something without asking for anything in return.”
“The work of the church is that we should concern ourselves with the needs of the people, not because we want something in return, but because Christ said in the Bible to help our fellow man,” said Villarreal.
In addition to distributing the meals, a special tent was set up in La Sierra to offer free medical check-ups to 60 people. Also, four stretchers were donated to La Sierra’s community leaders to help transport the sick from their homes high on the mountain to the bottom for ambulance transport to the city hospital.
Homeless in Bucaramanga
As part of the activity, ADRA and church members in Bucaramanga provided showers, manicures, pedicures, haircuts clothing and a special dinner program for 200 homeless.
The local fire department was contacted to provide the water for the makeshift showers set up in the park. After their showers, each homeless person was clothed with new undergarments, jeans, a shirt, socks and shoes, then later given a manicure and pedicure and a haircut by some 25 fully equipped student volunteers sent by a hairdressing business who wanted to participate in the activity. Later a special dinner program followed where the homeless were treated as the special guests sat by white linen tables to participate in fun games and enjoy a musical concert while they ate their dinners.
“It was so wonderful to see the transformation of these homeless people that day,” said Villarreal. “Here in Colombia there many homeless people, so this was a great opportunity to make them feel special.”
About 200 homeless people in Cali and another 50 in Cartagena were pampered in the same way, according to Villarreal.
One million dinners for one million people
“This kind of a project caught the attention of the church leaders in the Inter-American Division [IAD] last year when over 72,000 people were fed by the coordinated efforts of ADRA and church members,” said Wally Amundson, ADRA director for the Inter-American territory. A vote was taken by IAD’s executive committee earlier this year to implement the project and enlist the help of ADRA and the Youth Ministries department to distribute one million boxed dinners similarly throughout Inter-America on Oct. 11, 2008.
“So many church members and especially young people made this project in Colombia a success,” says Amundson, “that’s why ADRA and youth ministries will become close partners in accomplishing this project throughout Inter-America next year.”
It’s a partnership that has Pastor Bernardo Rodriguez, youth ministries director for the church in Inter-America, excited to be a part of. Pastor Rodriguez, who was in La Sierra for the meal distribution, said that “it was such a blessed experience to see the faces of the moms and children receiving their dinners and be part of a church that is concerned with helping those in need, giving without expecting in return.”
“Being part of this activity allowed Amundson and I to work together closely to participate in the process so that the project can run efficiently next year throughout our territory providing one million dinners for one million people in need in Inter-America,” says Rodriguez.
“It’s an activity that can have lasting benefits to everyone who will get involved,” adds Amundson. “The benefits to the volunteers in Colombia have been remarkable, it raises the awareness of their own potential to make a difference, and mobilizes each one to consider the needs in their communities close to home. This is the type of activity Inter-America is eager to embrace.”
Hearing that the IAD will duplicate the project has Villarreal excited about the possibilities of it catching on in other parts of the world.
“I think it is excellent that the IAD has taken an action to develop this project for one million people next year,” he says.
Not only will Inter-America be involved in a large scale activity such as this, but Pastor Mitsuo Chris Ishii, ADRA Japan’s director, who participated in Colombia’s event, said that Japan will also join in a similar activity next October. Pastor Ishii visited Colombia during the Day of Kindness and Compassion this year.
“I think that it would be a dream if in two or three years this could be done throughout the world, because just like we were able to do this in Colombia, and it can be done in the Inter-American Division, we can also do it worldwide because it is a project by ADRA and the church, involving every region where there is Adventist presence,” Villarreal says.
“This was such a great example of how ADRA and the church can benefit the community together in a large scale,” said Amundson. “ADRA helped in the organizational part of the project, but the church was activated by the opportunity to do something special.”
“The success of this program shows that the church and its institutions are a fantastic delivery system in addressing community needs,” he adds
For more information on ADRA Inter-America projects, visit us at www.interamerica.org or call ADRA Inter-American offices in Miami, Florida at 305.403.4700.
