Relief
Immediate assistance when individuals and communities experience disasters or humanitarian crises.
About ADRA South Africa
A humanitarian and development organisation responding to poverty, disaster and need across South Africa.
About ADRA South Africa
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) South Africa is a humanitarian and development organisation responding to poverty, vulnerability, disaster and humanitarian need across South Africa. We are the official humanitarian agency of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in South Africa and part of the global ADRA network, which works in more than 120 countries.
ADRA South Africa was registered as a non-profit organisation in August 2000. We are locally governed and locally led, licensed and accredited by ADRA International, and responsible for all aspects of ADRA's work in South Africa. Our primary constituency is the Southern Africa Union Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which appoints our Board.
We serve people without discrimination. Our assistance reaches those in need regardless of culture, gender, origin, political or religious affiliation. Ability to help, not identity, determines who we serve.
At our heart, we seek to do more than provide temporary relief. Our approach combines immediate humanitarian assistance with longer-term development, helping vulnerable people and communities respond to crises, recover from disasters and build resilience for the future.
ADRA South Africa at a glance
- Since 2000
- Registered non-profit organisation in South Africa; part of the global ADRA network.
- 4 pillars
- Emergency Response, Health, Sustainable Livelihoods and Education.
- 321,200+
- People reached through food security and livelihoods programmes with government and donor partners.
- 60,000+
- People living with HIV reached through community counselling and psychosocial support.
- 300+
- Pastors and religious leaders trained in inclusive, compassionate ministry.
- 9 provinces
- National emergency response capacity, with programme footprints in the Free State, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Western Cape, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, Gauteng and North West.
Why our work matters in South Africa
South Africa faces a convergence of humanitarian and development challenges that fall hardest on those with the least capacity to absorb shocks:
- Persistent poverty, inequality and high unemployment, especially among young people
- Rising food insecurity and child malnutrition, particularly in rural communities
- Climate-related disasters — floods, drought, severe storms and uncontrolled fires in informal settlements
- Water shortages and unreliable access to safe water
- Displacement, including refugees, asylum seekers and people uprooted by disasters and social unrest
- Gender-based vulnerability, including violence against women and the feminisation of poverty
- Limited access to essential services in underserved communities
ADRA South Africa responds by working alongside communities, local partners, government departments, churches, volunteers and other humanitarian organisations. Our work spans two complementary approaches:
Development
Addressing underlying vulnerabilities and helping communities build capacity, resilience and sustainable solutions.
Humanitarian–Development–Peace Approach
Increasingly, we integrate the two through a humanitarian–development–peace (“triple nexus”) approach, so that emergency response lays the foundation for recovery and lasting change.
Mission and vision
Mission Statement
ADRA SA works with people in poverty and distress to create positive change and justice through empowering partnerships and responsible action.
Vision Statement
ADRA SA reaches across boundaries empowering and speaking out for the at-risk and forgotten to achieve measurable, documented and durable changes in lives and society in Southern Africa.
ADRA SA is a professional, learning and efficient organization that embodies integrity and transparency in delivering service to the poorest of the poor in Southern Africa.
ADRA South Africa seeks to provide humanitarian, development and disaster relief assistance.
Purpose
“To serve humanity so all may live as God intended.”
Every phrase carries weight:
- With people, not for people. Communities are partners, not passive recipients. People affected by poverty or disaster bring knowledge, skills and capabilities to their own recovery.
- Positive change. Assistance must produce meaningful improvement — meeting immediate needs while contributing to longer-term recovery and resilience.
- Justice. Vulnerable people have a right to dignity, opportunity, essential resources and protection, whatever their background.
- Empowering partnerships. Sustainable solutions require cooperation between communities, government, civil society, donors, volunteers and humanitarian agencies.
- Responsible action. Professionalism, accountability and careful stewardship of every resource entrusted to us.
Values
Across the ADRA network we are guided by three values:
Connected
Meaningful humanitarian work happens through relationships. Communities, donors, volunteers, governments, churches and partner organisations all have a role to play.
Courageous
Humanitarian work means entering difficult environments, responding when others cannot, and speaking up for people who might otherwise be overlooked.
Compassionate
Compassion is concern turned into service — responding to human suffering with practical action.
Our motto summarises who we are:
Justice. Compassion. Love.
What we believe
ADRA South Africa's work rests on a Statement of Ethical Foundations shared by every member of our team. Among other things, we believe:
- That through humanitarian acts we make known the just, merciful and loving character of God, and that working with those in need is an expression of our love for God.
- That equitable partnership with those in need results in sustainable change.
- In non-discrimination and respect for differences — accepting people as equals regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, or political or religious affiliation.
- In participatory development that draws on the capabilities of both women and men and offers equal opportunity to people of differing backgrounds.
- That all people have a fundamental right to care, basic goods and services, and that all persons — especially children — have the right to a life of opportunity and the freedom to choose their own future.
- That all people, in particular women and children, have the right to protection and a life free from violence, sexual exploitation and all other forms of abuse.
- That resources, opportunities and advantages are gifts to be managed responsibly, with integrity and transparency at every level.
Our Strategy 2025–2030
ADRA South Africa's strategic plan, developed in consultation with staff, Board, church leadership and partners, builds on our recognised strength — effective humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations, including in hard-to-reach locations — and pursues growth along four pathways:
Faith Pathway
Deepen dialogue with church leadership and members so that ADRA is owned and championed across the Southern Africa Union, including a network of brand ambassadors.
Funds Pathway
Build financial sustainability through diversified fundraising, stronger partnerships with the private sector, and the establishment of social ventures aligned with ADRA's purpose.
People Pathway
Strengthen governance and invest in the capacity, wellbeing and professional development of our workforce and Board.
Programme Pathway
Design integrated, community-driven, high-impact programmes across health, livelihoods, emergency and education; mainstream environmental stewardship; strengthen emergency management capacity; and digitalise programmes and operations.
Strategic goal
Our strategic goal is to design and implement integrated, community-driven, high-impact programmes for the sustainable wellbeing of marginalised women, men, girls and boys. Progress is tracked through a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation plan — because measurable, documented change is part of our vision.