ADRA Samoa

Celebrating the voices and skills that strengthen our communities!

It was a wonderful learning experience at the ‘Women Building Futures’ forum 🫶

𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩𝐬 & 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 🤝

ADRA Samoa was privileged to participate in two recent regional forums in Suva, Fiji. Both events put a critical spotlight on gender equality, inclusion, and the unique housing challenges faced by Pasefika people, especially women and People with Disabilities across Pacific communities. Being in these spaces ensures our local housing and disaster resilience programs truly leave no one behind.

🏠 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒖𝒎 1: 𝑾𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑭𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔 Co-facilitated by Habitat for Humanity Canada and the Fiji Women's Rights Movement (FWRM), this platform dissected the financial and cultural barriers women face regarding secure housing, particularly those who are facing economic, social and climate vulnerabilities.

🏗️ 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒖𝒎 2: 𝑷𝒂𝒄𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒖𝒎 Part of celebrating 35 years of dedicated service by Habitat for Humanity Fiji (in partnership with Habitat for Humanity New Zealand), this milestone event brought regional stakeholders together to ensure safe, affordable, and inclusive shelter remains at the forefront of Pacific development. A huge fa'amalo and congratulations to Habitat for Humanity Fiji on 35 years of incredible service! 🎉

🕊️ Building Faith-Based Networks & Alliances Beyond the forum sessions, we expanded our reach through strong networking:

✨LDS Humanitarian Services: We met with our Latter-Day Saints friends to establish closer ties and explore how we can join forces to better support vulnerable local communities.

✨TPUM: We were blessed to visit the Trans-Pacific Union Mission headquarters, reinforcing our shared institutional mission.

✨ADRA Fiji: To culminate an incredible week, we shared a beautiful gathering of fellowship and connection with our wonderful ADRA Fiji family. Fa'afetai le agalelei.

We return home inspired, with strengthened regional networks and fresh insights to further enrich our Negotiated Partnership and all our programs right here in Samoa.

🙏🏽 Thank you Habitat for Humanity Canada for making our attendance possible and to all our regional partners for the opportunity to learn, share, and grow together.

🚨 𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑫𝒀 𝑩𝑬𝑭𝑶𝑹𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝑴: 𝑬𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒉 & 𝑪𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉 🌪️

Having an emergency plan, knowing evacuation routes, preparing emergency kits, and staying informed can save lives.

🎯That is the goal of our Mission Emergency Management Plan (MEMP) Training, as we held them for Adventist Youth Ministry - Samoa & Tokelau Mission as well as Siufaga SDA Church between the months of April and May. It is to equip our church and youth with knowledge and wisdom on being disaster ready and knowing what needs to be done and who gets it done before, during, and after disaster strikes. We are confident that our Youth and Siufaga Church are and they will be able to impart their newfound knowledge onto their families, churches, and communities.

✍️As Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Preparedness is key❗️

💪🏽Prepared Communities are stronger communities.

We are thrilled to share that our Country Director, Susuga Emalaine Tuese-Masoe, appeared on Fiji One TV’s Breakfast Show earlier today alongside our regional colleagues from Fiji and Tonga to discuss the transformative impact of the Negotiated Partnership Project. Representing the Samoan context, Emalaine joined this panel of Pacific representatives to emphasize that inclusive and climate resilient housing is the backbone of community safety, a goal made possible through the steadfast support of our donors and development partners Habitat for Humanity New Zealand. The discussion highlighted the Pacific Housing Forum as a vital platform for innovation and reaffirmed that regional collaboration is our greatest strength in addressing shared challenges across our islands.

It was also a special opportunity to celebrate Habitat for Humanity Fiji 35 years of service, honoring a partnership that continues to drive sustainable housing achievements throughout the Blue Pacific. 🇼🇸 🇹🇴 🇫🇯

🌿✨ This morning on the Fiji One Breakfast Show, we had the opportunity to share speak about our five-year Negotiated Partnerships project with Habitat for Humanity New Zealand, and talk about the upcoming Pacific Housing Forum happening this Thursday at Holiday Inn, Suva.

We were also joined by representatives from ADRA Samoa and Live & Learn Tonga, who shared insights from the programmes they are implementing in their respective countries—strengthening the regional dialogue on housing and community development.

This project has seen many successes over the years, and we are looking forward to bringing together all our key learnings at the Pacific Housing Forum. The Forum will continue important discussions on inclusive, climate-resilient housing and how we can work together to strengthen housing solutions across the Pacific through collaboration and partnership. 🏠🤝

🌟𝑨 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑾𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑽𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 🌟

🫶 We were truly blessed to have our ADRA Regional Technical Advisor, Ana Alburqueque, with us in Samoa this past week. It has been a season of deep collaboration as she worked alongside ADRA Samoa and the Samoa-Tokelau Mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

🤝From proposal writing and strategic planning to sharing her wealth of regional experience, Ana’s presence has been a vital support during this important transition period for our leadership. Beyond the technical work, she led our staff in powerful morning worships, grounding our professional goals in our spiritual mission.

👏 As she concludes her mission here in Samoa and returns to her post, our hearts are full of gratitude. We pray that with God’s guidance and continued blessings, she will go from strength to strength in her ministry at the Trans-Pacific Union Mission (TPUM) and across the wider Pacific Islands.

🙏Fa’afetai tele lava, Ana, for being the hands and feet of the mission this week. We look forward to our continued partnership in serving our people!

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 (𝗗𝗥𝗖) 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘃𝗮 & 𝗔𝘀𝗮𝘂, 𝟭𝟯𝘁𝗵 - 𝟭𝟲𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 🤝

We are thrilled to share that we have successfully completed our Disaster Ready Churches (DRC) trainings at Iva and Asau to equip our local church leaders and members with the vital skills needed to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.

Key areas covered during the sessions included:

✅ Disaster response & coordination

✅ The importance of strong leadership and clearly defined roles

✅ Providing psychological support for those affected

✅ Expanding knowledge on financial literacy and hygiene practices

The participants were incredibly engaged and eager to learn, asking insightful questions about how they can protect their families and congregations. We are proud to announce that every participating church successfully drafted their own Church Emergency Management Plan (CHEMP). We are confident in saying: Iva and Asau, you are !

To further strengthen our selected churches, we are excited to share that each church will receive a package of seedlings and agricultural tools. We hope these resources will help foster food security and aid in long-term recovery efforts for our churches and the wider community.

We extend our deepest gratitude to the South Pacific Division for their generous financial support, which has made this project and these resources possible.

Together, we are building a safer, more resilient future!

📣The ADRA Samoa staff joins the Samoa-Tokelau SDA Mission in announcing the appointment of Emalaine Tuese-Masoe as our new Country Director.

As we welcome Emalaine to this new chapter, we wish to acknowledge our former Country Director, Vui Levaai Pereira, for her time and service to the organization. We wish her God’s richest blessings in all her future endeavors.

Emalaine’s journey with the ADRA family spans over a decade, having served in various programmatic and financial roles, and in the last 5 years as CFO. Her transition to this leadership position is a testament to many years of mentorship by Su’a Julia Wallwork and her own long-standing dedication to our mission, both factors resulting in Emalaine’s deep understanding of, and empathy with the communities we serve. Known for her steady and thoughtful approach, Emalaine brings a heart for servant leadership and a sincere commitment to the growth of her team.

As she begins this new season of service, we hold the promise of Joshua 1:9 over her: “𝑩𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔... 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒐.”

Please join us in welcoming her as she takes on this responsibility, leading ADRA Samoa in its continued work to make a meaningful difference one life at a time, to serve humanity so all may live as God intended.

Ma le fa'aaloalo,
Asiata A Wright
Associate Country Director

𝑻𝒘𝒐 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 🥥✨

It’s been a privilege hosting our ADRA Regional Director for the South Pacific, Matthew Siliga over the last two days! 🌏 This visit was extra special as it marked his first official trip in the role.

It was a time to reflect on our journey - acknowledging the tough days, celebrating the wins and the lives changed through our past and current projects, and sharing on renewed focus and how we can serve our people better 🫶

Thank you for your leadership and for seeing the heart of the work we do here! 🤝