Year End Message

The year of 2007 presented itself as a challenge to the Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Sao Tome and Principe. After a 2 year successful malaria fight program, where ADRA was able to raise awareness for the use of mosquito nets to over 90% of the population and through social marketing strategies bring mosquito nets into 52% of the households, our malaria fight objectives had been reached and even if we would continue to support to the national malaria strategy, our attention had to be refocused on other priorities.
Facing change and building on our strengths: community development, maternal and child health care and strong communication strategies, was the motto for the New Year.
Our local partners and our donors, such as the ADRA network, the American and Finish Governments, Chevron, individuals, were included in this strategic change of our operations, and we received the confirmation of their trust and nearly doubled the funding received in the previous year, and reaching the historical mark of half a million dollars for our development objectives. The agency was able to invest in training for national health personnel, NGOs and communities; provide clean water and basic sanitation for many; partner with women giving them a chance to start prosperous businesses; provide access to new and better equipped health facilities to isolated communities; strengthen local small organizations and reinforce partnerships; and for the first time in Sao Tome having a purely HIV/AIDS project in the country, in an area we believe will bring added value to the national strategy.
We are now looking ahead to next year’s challenges, knowing that even greater change is to come, but also knowing that those will bring greater opportunities to serve.

Thank you for your interest and support,







Emanuel G. da Costa
Country Director
ADRA Sao Tome and Principe