Silver Spring, Maryland-On Thursday, December 4, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Nepal marked 20 years since it first started working in this Himalayan nation. Today, it ranks among the ten largest international non-governmental organizations in the country.

More than 200 guests attended the anniversary event held in Nepal's capital Kathmandu. Among the participants were government officials, including the Honourable Secretary of the Ministry of Health and Population, Dr. Dirgha Singh Bam, and donor representatives from the European Commission, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFP).

"It was a very successful event," said Yvan Castro, country director for ADRA Nepal. "We were excited to see so many of our friends, donors, and partnering organizations turn out in support and recognition of the work that we do."

"As an organization, we are very proud of the work that ADRA Nepal has done over the past 20 years," said Charles Sandefur, president of ADRA International. "We are pleased at the office's growth, and expect great things in the many years to come."

The ADRA Nepal office first opened in 1988 with a three-person staff working from a room in the house of then-country director, Paul Dulhunty. Over the years, ADRA's development programs expanded significantly, turning ADRA Nepal into a leading national organization. Since its establishment, it has implemented more than $25 million in projects. In 2007 alone, it assisted 2.7 million people through 24 development initiatives worth $2.5 million.

ADRA Nepal's first project built nearly 200 homes, including a vocational training center, through the Leprosy Rehabilitation Project, a program designed to benefit leprosy patients in Khokana, a village in central Nepal. Also, ADRA Nepal initiated the Cleft Lip and Palate (CLP) Surgery Program to provide reconstructive surgery to people affected by CLP disorders. Through this project, volunteer physicians have operated on more than 3,100 children and adults.

Recently, ADRA Nepal also implemented an emergency health care project to benefit an estimated 25,000 people who were affected during the 2008 flooding of the Koshi River along the Indo-Nepal border. In addition, this November, ADRA Nepal launched a project to provide reproductive health care for nearly 27,000 men, women, and children in three remote districts of western Nepal. Other initiatives currently being carried out include economic development and sustainability projects, women's literacy, health camps, mother and newborn healthcare programs, and family planning.

Headquartered in Kathmandu, ADRA Nepal assists communities through holistic, integrated programming in the areas of reproductive health, education, economic development, emergency management, and governance. Comprised of three regional and 12 field offices, with a staff of 100, ADRA Nepal works in 35 districts in all five regions of Nepal. ADRA Nepal is registered with the Social Welfare Council of Nepal.

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.

Author: John Torres/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