Adventist Peace Radio, Episode 3: ADRA & the Refugee Crisis

Welcome to Adventist Peace Radio, the podcast of the Adventist Peace Fellowship. You can subscribe to the podcast at iTunes or Stitcher.

In this episode, Jeff Boyd interviews members of the ADRA network about the refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East. ADRA, which stands for Adventist Development and Relief Agency, is the global humanitarian arm of the Seventh-day Adventist denomination.

The episode has two segments.

In Part 1, Jeff talks with two leaders from ADRA International. Imad Madanat is Vice President for Programs, and Jessica Duffy is the Communications Specialist. Jessica tells us about ADRA’s campaign to support refugees and also about her recent experience at a refugee camp in Greece. Imad provides a broad view of ADRA’s work in the Middle East and Europe relating to refugees.

In Part 2, Jeff speaks with Maja Ahac, who is the Country Director for ADRA Slovenia. She shares about her work on the front lines of supporting refugees in Europe. Her heart-felt desire to care for people in need and to respect their dignity is quite evident and moving. You can also read about Maja on the ADRA blog.

SHOW NOTES

This first segment was recorded in the local aviary.

1:15 Jessica Duffy – Experience in refugee camp in Greece.

2:48 Imad Madanat – ADRA’s efforts at various contact points in Europe.

7:22 Collaboration? New Reality International, AdventistHelp, etc.

8:03 Volunteer participation

12:07 ADRA’s projects and programs in the Middle East

14:37 Supporting ADRA’s mission

17:20 ADRA’s Refugee Campaign

20:45 World Refugee Day — World Refugee Day Resources (June 18) [Scroll down to June 18]

24:57 Transition to Part 2 with Maja Ahac, Country Director for ADRA Slovenia

44:34 Volunteers and political divisions

50:58 Changes in the local situation

55:44 Closing the borders

1:00:12 Role of humanitarian organizations and churches

1:00:37 ADRA’s work with refugees moving forward and broader efforts

1:08:59 Concerns for social justice and sharing the gospel

I really appreciated these conversations, and yet there is still so much more on the topic we could have covered. I wanted to speak with Evie Allen, whose congregation in Canada is working to care for refugees there. I wanted to hear from Andrew and Kelila Saunders about their work in Iraq. I wanted to listen to Markus Alt share his stories from Greece (GR3). I wanted to learn from Gilbert Burnham who is with the Center for Refugee and Disaster Responses at Johns Hopkins University. And I wanted to ask my wife some questions about her previous work in North America as a social work case manager for unaccompanied refugee minors. Maybe we’ll have to do another episode on this topic!

Thank you again for joining us for this episode of Adventist Peace Radio.

DONATIONS: If you appreciated these conversations, we hope you’ll share the podcast with others. And we welcome your donations to support future episodes of Adventist Peace Radio. You can donate online at AdventistPeace.org (Link to Network for Good).

THANKS: A big thanks to Inyoung Curry for narrating this episode. She traveled half-way across the country to help us move the Adventist Peace Radio studio from Flint, MI, over to Berrien Springs. I don’t know how we could have done it without your support.

MUSIC: Our theme music is “Green Fields” by Scott Holmes, via Free Music Archive.

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DISCLAIMER: And finally, our disclaimer: Adventist Peace Fellowship is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports work for peacemaking and social justice building upon the values of the Seventh-day Adventist tradition. We are not part of, affiliated with, or supported by the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists or any affiliates known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Any content, opinions, statements, products or services offered by Adventist Peace Fellowship, are solely those of our organization, and not those of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

All pictures provided by and used with permission from Duffy and Ahac.