Hope Channel is now available in the Cook Islands; and other world news

This week on ANN. In the Philippines, homes and villages have been dubmerged in floods brought on by the seemingly endless downpour. ADRA Philippines was alerted by the Adventist Community Services director of the North Central Mindanao Conference that there were flash floods in Cagayan de Oro City. The distribution of relief goods was initiated. According to the city government of Cagayan de Oro, the flooding was caused by the rise in the water levels of rivers and their tributaries in the neighboring province of Bukidnon due to heavy rains. There are more than 1,000 affected families in Barangays Cugman and Tablon, located near the river. Most affected families have now returned to their homes to secure their belongings and prevent COVID-19 transmission since the evacuation centers were crowded. The local residents of the island of Aitutaki in the Cook Islands were able to watch free-to-air Hope Channel on their television screens for the first time. Hope Channel has historically been available on the country's paid network Moana TV; however, only about 40 percent of Aitutaki had a subscription. Programming is done by the team at Hope Channel New Zealand and sent across to the playout server on Rarotonga. It is broadcast across Rarotonga and then sent via fiber cable to a separate playout server on Aitutaki. Northern Caribbean University President Dr. Lincoln P. Edwards was appointed earlier this month to serve as a member of the National Commission on Science and Technology of Jamaica for 12 months. His appointment was made recently by Governor-General Sir Patrick Allen. President of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica, Everett Brown, said he hoped that Edwards' tenure on the commission would be a most successful one as he leverages his training and experience in the sciences to advance the national developmental agenda. ADRA Albania has partnered with the Municipality of Kruja in a new initiative to highlight their resiliency in the face of the devastating earthquake two years ago and the recent long months of isolation and social distancing caused by COVID-19. The ADRA team invited two talented young singers to organize a concert which left a lasting impact on the young people and their parents. ADRA Albania representative and project manager of the "Every Child. Everywhere. In School" advocacy initiative, Kristi Qendro, encouraged young people to pursue their dreams and to continue their education throughout their lives. Dignity, an organization supported by the Florida-based AdventHealth health care system, helps people obtain new and corrected identification documents to get their lives back on track. See the whole report from Tom Johnson of AdventHealth here: (link) This week, ANN provides updates regarding a father-son duo on a fantastic adventure trying to raise money for the Adventist Development and Relief Agency. On July 16, 2021, Hearly and Andreas Mayr, a father and son sea kayaking team located in the U.S. state of Maryland, embarked on a self-styled expedition they've named the 'Bay 200 Challenge.' The Bay 200 Challenge is a 12-day kayaking journey to raise money for hunger, one of the most pressuring COVID-19 related issues affecting people today. The expedition is supporting ADRA's COVID-19 hunger pandemic response campaign, which aims to raise US$3 million by July 31, 2021. ADRA International sent their most recent report. (For more information on the Bay 200 Challenge, visit: adra.org/bay200/give) In Madagascar, the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) is training people to grow successful vegetable gardens, raise poultry, and make handicrafts to supplement lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic. ADRA's COVID-19 Sustainable Livelihoods Recovery Project will assist 2,000 families in and around Madagascar's capital, Antananarivo, who have experienced significant disruption of their livelihoods due to the COVID-19 health crisis and lockdown measures. Be in the know of the current events in the Adventist community. For more news and inspiring stories, visit Adventist.news Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOr_MMEuYZ0