In the span of just two months, the Yellowknife Seventh-day Adventist Church has distributed nearly $150,000 in financial support to local families who were impacted by last year’s wildfires.
The church made its first round of donations in December, distributing $73,800 to 102 households. It then did so again in January, for a total of $147,600 split among more than 200 families. Only 9.9 percent of recipients were members of the church.
The funds were provided by the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), an international humanitarian agency operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The agency specializes in community development and disaster relief.
“We were pleasantly surprised,” said Pastor Courage Nyathi, who organized the donation program. “We are happy that it turned out to be such a huge success.”
Funds were available for any Yellowknife families who were struggling financially after last year’s wildfires, which forced residents to evacuate the city for several weeks.
Interested families were encouraged to apply for support using an online form. Nyathi and his team then collected information on the number of people in each household, and after verifying the identities and addresses of applicants, distributed funds via e-transfer or cheque.
“There was no selection process, as such,” said Nyathi. Funds were awarded on a first come, first served basis.
“We were able to get a lot of cooperation from the media, and cooperation from the mayor’s office – we called them to let them know we were embarking on this project, and they gave us the green light,” the pastor said.
“There was a bit of scepticism at the beginning. Some people had the sense to call us and ask if it was a scam or not, and we said, ‘No, this is not a scam, we’re working with ADRA, and it’s an internationally reputable humanitarian organization.’”
With the donation project complete, Nyathi said he believes Yellowknife is a place where people rally together and support each other in times of hardship, and he’s pleased his church was able to contribute to that.
“It is gratifying that we’ve impacted our community in a positive way,” he said. “I’m happy for our community. I’d do it again, given the chance. Helping people as an organization, we’re here for that. If we achieve that, we’re achieving our goals.”