A Really Useful Gift

For Christmas, Cynda and Dave gave me an unusual and very interesting gift. How many people can say that they got a gift for Christmas that changed lives? (A new PS3 doesn't count).

The gift was gift cards from the ADRA's Really Useful Gift Catalog. The catalog is full of projects that you can use the gift cards to donate to.

The basis for ADRA's existence, its reason for being, is to follow Christ’s example by being a voice for, serving, and partnering with those in need.


ADRA seeks to identify and address social injustice and deprivation in developing countries. The agency’s work seeks to improve the quality of life of those in need. ADRA invests in the potential of these individuals through community development initiatives targeting Food Security, Economic Development, Primary Health and Basic Education. ADRA’s emergency management initiatives provide aid to disaster survivors.


The project that I chose to use my gift for is to provide a food box and family assistance visit in Moldova. The Republic of Moldova is one of the poorest countries in Europe, with a poverty rate of 48 percent. By giving to the project ADRA will give a struggling family a food box containing essential food and hygiene items. This box will be delivered to their home by a social worker, who will assess their needs and connect them to service agencies.

Moldova is a newly independent country that declared it's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. The Soviet Union annexed Moldova during World War II. After the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, energy shortages contributed to sharp economic declines. During the last decade little has been done to reduce the country’s vulnerability. After a severe economic decline, social and economic challenges, energy uprooted dependencies, Moldova continues to occupy last place among European countries in income per capita.



Think what we could accomplish in the world if instead of giving gifts that will gather dust or add useless clutter to someone's life, we would give gifts like this that will make a difference in the world.