Oct. 31, 2006 Silver Spring, Maryland, United States

Compiled by ANN Staff

United States: Bass Memorial Academy Restored ... On October 14, some 14 months after the Seventh-day Adventist-owned Bass Memorial Academy in Lumberton, Mississippi took a major hit from Hurricane Katrina, students, staff, alumni, church members and friends gathered to offer praise, give thanks, and celebrate a better, bigger, restored campus. The program included a concert by the school’s band and choir, a luncheon, and a ribbon cutting, which was followed by a tour of the facility. Hurricane Katrina damaged many of the buildings on the campus except for the administration building and the newly renovated girls’ and boys’ dormitories. Power and phone lines were down, roads were blocked, and except for sporadic cell phone use there was no communication. But help came from church members near and far, including the Active Team Services, a lay-lead disaster response team from the Florida, students at Southern Adventist University and Andrews University, Maranatha Volunteers International, academy and church groups and others. Repairs to the school are about 98 percent complete.  [Rebecca Grice/Gulf States Conference/ANN Staff]

United Kingdom: ADRA Now Able to Accept Text Messaged Donations ... It is used to charge for everything from voting for reality TV contestants to downloading ring tones, MP3s and videos. It is called SMS or text messaging and can now be used for donations to charity. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency in the United Kingdom (ADRA-UK) is now accepting donations sent through “texting”.  ADRA-UK officials say small donations by SMS are appealing to younger people because it is an amount they can afford to donate via a medium they use and understand. They do not need a credit or debit card, checkbook or even cash to make a donation. All they need is a phone. To text a donation to ADRA, send a text message saying ‘ADRA’ to 84858 and make a direct donation. This service is provided through <www.justgiving.com>, the charity fundraising Web site. The messages are charged at standard rate. You will receive two confirmation messages, charged at £1.50 each. ADRA-UK will receive your donation net of charges applied by mobile network operators and a processing fee. For more information, call 020 7549 2222 or alternatively the ADRA-UK office on 01923-681723. So far this form of donation to ADRA is accepted only in the United Kingdom. [Bert Smit/BUC News]

Ghana: ADRA Speaks on Improving Food Security... At the 2nd African Nutritional Epidemiology Conference held in Accra, Ghana, in August, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) discussed its projects to improve food security in Ghana. The forum attracted approximately 150 participants from across Africa, Asia, Europe, and North America. Victoria Daaku, program director for ADRA Ghana’s food security projects, gave the presentation. Daaku spoke of several ADRA food security projects, which fall into two broad categories: projects to improve agricultural and natural resource management in the targeted communities, and projects designed to improve the overall health of participating communities. Together, the agricultural management and health projects will improve food security in 900 communities located throughout the 10 regions in Ghana, benefiting more than 300,000 farmers and their dependents. [ADRA]

Philippines: New AIIAS President Elected ... The Seventh-day Adventist Church’s graduate school in the Southern Asia-Pacific region has a new president. Dr. Stephen Guptill, education director of the Adventist church in the region, has been elected president of the Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS). The vote was taken at the institution’s management committee meeting in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 8. AIIAS consists of the School of Graduate Studies and the Theological Seminary, and has a total yearly enrollment of over 600 master’s and doctoral level students, including those studying at the school’s distance learning centers. Since 1995, Guptill has served in the Education Department of the Southern Asia-Pacific region, first as associate director, then as director beginning in 1997. He has a special interest in curriculum development for colleges and libraries, and has written a number of textbooks that are used throughout the region. Dr. Guptill will be installed as the seventh AIIAS president at a special service of dedication and installation to be held on the AIIAS campus on Nov. 11. [Gina Wahlen/AIIAS]

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