Silver Spring, Maryland--On the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, October 17, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) continues its work with developing communities, providing small loan opportunities, promoting training, fostering job growth, and stimulating local economies.

In the highlands of northern Peru, more than 2,300 milk producers and 111 cheese-makers received training in pasture management and conservation, dairy processing, livestock management, marketing, and business management, and participated in a micro-credit initiative that helped them start their own businesses. Through the project, ADRA also constructed 77 new artisanal cheese plants, creating more than 110 cheese manufacturing plants. Since the beginning of the project, 2,100 new jobs have been generated, while the average annual income has also increased 45 percent. In addition, 100 percent of the loans have been repaid.

"The project has made a significant economic impact on the ADRA dairy producers, transforming them into the heart of the development of the dairy industry of the province," said Santos Guerrero, director of Operations for ADRA Peru. "Now, they are considered emerging small businessmen, gaining recognition from both local and regional authorities."

In Burkina Faso, West Africa, more than 12,000 people in the Bazéga Province are benefiting from a capacity building project that is training villagers to better manage their resources through improved water management, agricultural and agro-forestry techniques training, literacy, reforestation, and environmental sanitation and sustainability.

"We are teaching these things in an integrated manner, so that the beneficiaries know how to manage the resources available," said Elizabeth de Santa Cruz, country director for ADRA Burkina Faso. "By doing this, living conditions will improve, and poverty will be reduced."

In China, where the deadly 2008 Sichuan earthquake devastated much of the region, ADRA is providing small loans to at least 20 low-income farmers so they may purchase rose seeds, and have access to training in rose horticulture. ADRA's goal is to enable beneficiaries to increase their annual income by as much as 20 percent.

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which is celebrated every year around the world, was officially recognized by the United Nations in December 1992 to heighten awareness of the need to eliminate worldwide poverty. In 2000, the Milliennium Development Goals (MDGs) were officially established, with the objective of achieving widespread development among the world's poorest countries and cutting in half the proportion of people earning less than a dollar a day by 2015. Today, an estimated 1.4 billion people are living on less than $1.25 a day, the international definition of extreme poverty, according to the World Bank.

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.

Additional information about ADRA can be found at www.adra.org.

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Author: Nadia McGill

Media Contact: John Torres Senior Public Relations Manager ADRA International 12501 Old Columbia Pike Silver Spring, MD 20904 Phone: 301.680.6357 E-mail: Media.Inquiries@adra.org