DEVELOP SPRING 2020 [ ISSUE 04]
A PROBLEM
SHARED Transforming the lives of marginalised women
A JOURNEY IN DEVELOPMENT
RESPONDING TO HURRICANE DORIAN
Helping women achieve their freedom from sexual exploitation
The Salvation Army’s response to Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas
salvationarmy.org.uk/ID
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CONTENTS 06
07 EMBRACE
RED CARD TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING
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GLIMPSE
RESPONDING TO HURRICANE DORIAN
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CORPS TO CORPS CONNECTIONS
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A PROBLEM SHARED
A JOURNEY IN DEVELOPMENT
Helping women achieve their freedom from sexual exploitation
All photographs are used with the permission of the photographer
WELCOME TO DEVELOP A message from our Team Leader Benjamin Gilbert
Yet, if I am truly honest, how connected do I feel to the plight of the poorest in this world? Even working in The Salvation Army and being in constant touch with my friends and colleagues working in projects that are supporting marginalised communities, I have to be careful not to allow my heart to get calloused to the reality of those people we are seeking to reach. We all can allow our empathy to slip away if we get disconnected.
I haven’t seen my work colleagues for weeks... well, I’ve seen them on a screen but none of us have met face to face since the 17th of March, the date we’ve been urged by the government to work from home. In these days we’ve all had to be much more proactive in connecting with our colleagues – hence our teams WhatsApp group has been extremely active in recent days! The material for this edition of Develop was written prior to the Coronavirus pandemic which is why you may not see dedicated articles outlining our response to it. We will ensure that the Develop edition later this year will highlight some of the stories about how TSA has responded to COVID19 in different parts of the world.
In this Develop edition you can read about Hadijah, a mother of 6 children whose husband died some years ago; having no access to formal financial support, she relies on her own entrepreneurial skills to provide a living for her family. You can also read about Anna, the story of a teenager who was trafficked to Thailand and rescued through the work of The Salvation Army and our partners A21. Richard and Heidi Bradbury (UK officers now serving in Bangladesh) also give us a great insight into the 13+years they have worked abroad with the Army – well worth a read!
Sitting here at home writing this has made me think about how easy it is to become disconnected at times, especially when something seems distant. Yet in today’s global society are we really disconnected from anything anymore? One thing this pandemic has shown us is how connected we actually all are. A minor news item about an unknown virus in Asia suddenly becomes my own reality in Kent when my neighbour, who is elderly and vulnerable, can’t leave his own home to get basic supplies.
So I would urge you to read the stories in this edition of Develop, taking perhaps a little more time than usual, to think more deeply around the contexts of those that The Salvation Army is serving in other territories. After all, we are often more connected than we realise!
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Next to some of our articles you may see symbols that demonstrate how The Salvation Army is contributing to The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These were adopted by all United Nations Member States in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030. This is a small way to illustrate how The Salvation Army’s work around the world contributes to a much larger global agenda to end poverty in all its forms!
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NEWS
DEVELOP: THE PODCAST As an extension to Develop, this magazine, The Salvation Army International Development UK has released the new “Develop Podcast” which goes deeper into conversations about how a faith-based organisation tackles poverty around the world. The UK with the Republic of Ireland territory fund extensive programmes ranging from anti-trafficking, water & sanitation, education, health (and more) as well as emergency relief in several territories. You can listen to our host Ben Gilbert (Head of International Projects in the UK) speak with practitioners from around the world as they grapple with the complexity of tackling poverty and injustice.
The Salvation Army’s local programmes in countries such as Bangladesh and what a difference OTHERS can make in the lives of people who make these products. The main goal of OTHERS is creating employment - but how easy is it to make that a reality?
Episode 3: Are We Perfectly Positioned to Respond to the Pandemic? The Salvation Army is currently present in 131 countries. The breadth of work and contexts in which it operates is enormous. So how do we stay connected and true to our core mission values despite having to operate in a multitude of cultural contexts and languages? Listen to Elise Belcher reflect on the role of the International Headquarters in coordinating the territorial responses around the globe. And especially during disasters - can we utilise The Salvation Army networks which are deeply embedded in local knowledge and understanding to respond effectively to communities that are most effected?
Episode 1: Should Clean Water be Free? A project in Kenya that started by simply building some toilet blocks in schools soon expanded into a far reaching programme involving the children, their parents, their communities and even government officials getting involved. Richard Bradbury and Ngolia Kimunzu reflect on what they have experienced in Kenya and what this means for the wider Salvation Army.
Episode 2: Should Charities do Business? Behind every product you buy is a story. A story of people who were linked to your purchase through a supply chain. In today’s global market the constant drive for profit can lead in many instances, to people being exploited by low wages and poor working conditions. OTHERS is The Salvation Army’s response to this. Listen to Bo Chris Brekke explain how producers are recruited through
You can find us on all podcast platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Castbox.
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NEWS
GLIMPSE Have you felt inspired to organise a trip to another country to do something good for other people? The Salvation Army International Development (SAID) UK team can help!
Leader’s Guide
We recently launched GLIMPSE, a set of resources that can help you plan a trip with maximum positive impact for all involved, offering advice and useful tips for you as team leader and tools to inspire your team and help them reflect on the learning experience of their lives.
Whether you have experience leading such trips or have never done anything like this in your life, the Leader’s Guide has been created to give you the latest best practice and tips to maximise your trip’s impact – on both your team and the people you are going to serve and learn from. The GLIMPSE Leader’s Guide is intended to help you turn your ideas or flash of inspiration into the most amazing, exciting and fruitful adventure you and your future team members will have ever been on, and view the trip within the wider context of life as a disciple of Jesus.
Journal The Journal is a resource to help team members reflect during their GLIMPSE journey – as you prepare, while you’re on your trip, and when you get back home. It’s designed to be like the kind of product you’d find in any high-quality stationer’s store, and team members can use it however they see fit. We’ll send a copy with each Leader’s Guide for you to check out, and if you agree that it would be a helpful resource for your team we can send you enough Journals for each of your team about six months before the trip, for a small fee.
Get in touch for your free Leader’s Guide! Email: id@salvationarmy.org.uk Phone: 02073674777 www.salvationarmy.org.uk/id/glimpse
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NEWS
EMBRACE The Salvation Army International Development (SAID) UK has been supporting children around the developing world through our Embrace fund for many years. One of the projects that we are currently supporting is the anti-child trafficking residential and community project run by The Salvation Army in Tanzania. With high rates of domestic and international trafficking, the Global Slavery Index 2018 estimates that 60 per cent of the population is vulnerable to being trafficked. Child trafficking in Tanzania can mean that families have little or no access to employment, limited knowledge about what trafficking is, limited or no access to an education, while family members might be ill and have no access to healthcare, or the child could be an orphan. These factors of their life place them in a position where they are more likely to be deceived into accepting a false offer from a trafficker.
they have been rescued. This is to provide them with a safe place to live and a full recovery programme in their initial recovery phase. Our Family Tracing team are also available to help them find their families, and community and family education and planning is set up to ensure the children have a safe place to return to and follow-up support as they resettle into their community and lives. With the world experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic, and all of us in this together, Tanzania too is needing to adapt its programme to the current government restrictions of travel and physical distancing while keeping children in our care safe. The girls who are currently in our residential home will receive education and training inside the compound. Fortunately the compound has a beautiful big outdoor space for the girls to run around and play. It also has a large farm with vegetables and animals which form part of their life-skills training as well as a tailoring training centre. They won’t be bored!
We, as The Salvation Army, see the sad reality of this. Typically we work with children who come from remote villages around the country. Although their stories are unique, they usually follow a similar pattern: someone approached their community or family offering them education in the city in exchange for some household chores in the evenings. The reality is far from this. Children are forced to beg on the streets, to sell food all day from little street stands, they can be forced into sexual exploitation and/or forced to work 24 hours a day cleaning and caring for children in people’s homes.
At present our staff cannot travel in order to do family tracing, family education or family reintegration. Moreover we cannot do follow-up visits with the girls who have already reintegrated. But the team are quickly adapting and ensuring that they have regular phone calls with everyone in our care. They are eager, once it is safe to do so, to continue with their life-changing and life-saving work.
Our team of trained and professional social workers, guards, house mums and the centre corps officers are working with children once
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Tribeni Gurung
RED CARD TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING With the upcoming Qatar FIFA Club World Cup in December 2020, read how The Salvation Army tackled human trafficking in Russia for the World Cup in 2018.
A large-scale event such as a FIFA World Cup, whether for nations or clubs, draws an influx of sports fans and tourists, provoking various forms of services. But beneath the celebrations and hidden from public view, some of these services are provided using cheap and easy labour. From sex workers to construction workers, victims are trafficked exploited and forced to live the life of a modern-day slave. For traffickers, an event like a World Cup is a good platform to earn high profits.
issue can be difficult and there are very few anti-trafficking organisations responding to it. The Salvation Army in Russia became a command in 2015; there are currently 14 corps and 27 officers and leaders. The command was concerned that during the football World Cup the number of people trafficked would significantly increase, especially in the five major cities where the games were held. In order to address this, the command implemented a human trafficking awareness project across the five major cities, utilising the Salvation Army community across the country. The project was twofold.
In 2018, we observed the FIFA Nations World Cup in Russia. The five major cities – Moscow, St Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd and Samara – welcomed athletes and spectators for what is truly one of the greatest competitions in the world.
Working in partnership with other antitrafficking organisations, The Salvation Army delivered seminars and lectures to corps officers and students graduating in social work, on how to to spot the signs of human trafficking and modern slavery. In the community, during match days Salvation Army volunteers targeted sports bars, pubs and cafes with information on helping trafficked victims, printed on coasters
However, Russia is known as one of the top ten countries with high rates of people trafficking, and is a source, transit and destination country for this inhuman trade; there are currently no anti-trafficking laws there to combat this issue. Even talking about this
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and leaflets. The project also utilised social media to reach a wider audience through online flash mobs and campaigns.
Army continued to pursue raising awareness of the problem. This was through film screenings for community members, talks with people experiencing homelessness, seminars for young people and involvement in sports events and flash mobs in local spaces. Now every fortnight, Salvationists and their partners travel to the outskirts of Moscow to conduct outreach support for women in prostitution. The women are offered hot drinks and snacks and a listening ear as they share their stories and the volunteers share the message of God’s love for them.
The challenges of doing anti-human trafficking work in Russia were beginning to show when The Salvation Army realised that many people were in denial that such a problem of human trafficking and modern slavery existed in their communities. The project team explains: ‘Many victims are lured by attractive job offers which turn out to be fake. But the public believe that it is the victim’s own fault for getting into that situation in the first place. This lack of information about the issue means that the public don’t have much knowledge of the story behind the victim’s fate.’
Having developed relationships with other anti-human trafficking organisations in Russia, the project has been able to generate a referral system and is responding to the issue in close coordination and collaboration.
This refusal to recognise the issue often stemmed from the scarcity of information on human trafficking and modern slavery filtered down from the national level to the local level. It was a real ‘blind zone’ for Russian citizens. Getting the message across was a challenge in itself, but getting the message to those already blind to it created additional obstacles.
One of the girls helped by the project and their partners is Anna*. At the age of 17, she was trafficked to Thailand and forced to work as a prostitute. For five years Anna was exploited and had her rights taken away; she became a commodity for her traffickers. Eventually, Anna was rescued by the organisation A21 who supported her with accommodation and basic necessities. When Anna was ready to return to Russia, A21 collaborated with The Salvation Army for her
After the 2018 World Cup however, prevention of human trafficking was deemed a significant issue in Russian society, and The Salvation
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repatriation. Salvationists met Anna at Moscow Airport when she returned, and it was obvious then that Anna was deeply traumatised and feared for her fate. She was reassured by The Salvation Army that she was now safe. Back in Russia, The Salvation Army provided Anna with a listening ear. She was taught about her rights and where she could receive further support. The Salvation Army put her in touch with Nevoli Net who provided Anna with a safe place to stay. After living in Moscow for six months, Anna decided to move to the Netherlands as she did not have any relatives in Russia and wanted to be close to family members. With support from The Salvation Army, Nevoli Net and Captivity Net, Anna was able to arrange her documents and move to the Netherlands to be with her relatives. The Salvation Army and their partners are still in touch with Anna, and in the Netherlands Anna attends her local Salvation Army corps. Now in the second phase of the project, The Salvation Army in Russia has become a leading organisation in the fight against human trafficking. The second phase builds on prevention and partnership, and has widened the target group to include young people, especially those moving to urban areas in search of opportunities. The project seeks to continue addressing the ‘blind zone’, identifying that without acceptance of the problem at the community level, it can be a challenge to change attitudes and behaviours both at local and national level. If you would like to support The Salvation Army’s anti-human trafficking projects, complete and return the donation form at the back of this magazine or visit www.donate.salvationarmy. org.uk/anti-trafficking/
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‘Since society does not recognise human trafficking as an issue, we have a duty to continue informing people of the dangers associated with it, especially for those innocent, young, active people who have high aspirations and expectations to “make it” in life.’ – Project Team.
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Jason Emmett
RESPONDING TO HURRICANE DORIAN Jason Emmett (Project Adviser, The Salvation Army International Development UK) shares how The Salvation Army is responding to Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas.
Comprised of 700 islands located in over 100,000 square miles of ocean, The Bahamas is home to nearly 400,000 people. On the afternoon of Sunday 1 September 2019, one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, Hurricane Dorian, made landfall in the Bahamas. With the eye of the hurricane moving over the Abaco Islands and with a sustained wind speed of 185 mph, Dorian became the strongest hurricane on record to affect the islands. On 2 September, the eye of Dorian continued to move over the eastern end of Grand Bahama, bringing extensive flooding that damaged both homes and infrastructure and causing widespread power outages. 70,000 people were made homeless due to the storm, with an estimated 13,000 homes suffering severe damage or complete destruction. This constitutes 45 per cent of the homes on the Abacos and Grand Bahama islands.
divisional headquarters (DHQ), led by Majors Clarence and Karen Ingram alongside their staff and volunteers, were able to support the response in four main areas: overall logistics and co-ordination throughout the islands; coordination with the USA mainland; support to shelters throughout Nassau; and relief support for the Abaco Islands. Divisional relief efforts started almost immediately in Nassau, working alongside other organisations to avoid duplication. The Salvation Army team members attended numerous government-run co-ordination meetings taking place for various aspects of the relief effort, including logistics, washing, food, shelter and psychosocial assistance. The Salvation Army’s Grants Town Corps (church) and the DHQ Salvation Army shelters were prepared to receive evacuees arriving from the Abaco Islands, providing shelter, meals and necessities, alongside processing 1,903 pallets to date of goods in kind, and distributing essential items to those in need.
In the days that followed, as many as 6,400 people from Abaco and Grand Bahama were evacuated to Nassau. On the island of New Providence, Nassau, The Salvation Army’s
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With a lack of access to safe drinking water, The Salvation Army in Nassau was able to support local people during school registration at a sports stadium by providing drinking water. Water distribution has continued to take place at the corps centre and will be continued until the water supply in Freeport is declared fit to drink. In Freeport, food, cleaning supplies, baby supplies, hygiene items, water and clothes are the main focus of The Salvation Army’s response supporting mass care for survivors in the immediate impacted area distributed through Freeport Corps. Essential goods have been supplied to other distribution points and through community networks, and to partner organisations with a more regular presence in the east of the island (such as the UK charity Team Rubicon). In addition, emergency personnel have begun regular distribution to communities to the east of Freeport, where door-todoor visits were undertaken to offer practical and emotional support to the affected communities. Six months on, the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has reported that the official death toll from Hurricane Dorian had risen to 70 – 60 on Abaco and 10 on Grand Bahama – with no published numbers of missing people. As of November 2019, 584 persons still reside in official government shelters and 46 in children-only facilities. The inhabitants of the Abaco Islands, most of whom were evacuated after Dorian, have been slowly returning to the island, with some only returning for short periods to salvage belongings. With no established Salvation Army presence on Abaco, team members have made numerous trips to the island to co-ordinate with the local community and partner organisations for essential relief items and identify large-scale needs. Partnering with numerous groups (government and nongovernmental organisations), Salvation Army teams continue to distribute relief supplies including food, water and hygiene items throughout the islands, with bulk relief supplies being transported via World Food Programme-chartered vessels and stored in Marsh Harbour in preparation for when larger numbers of people return to the islands.
With an estimated $3.4 billion of damage, and insured losses confirmed to total $1 billion, focus now turns to transitioning from immediate response to thinking how The Salvation Army can support the ongoing recovery and longer-term operations. As the territory reflects on all that has passed, and gives thanks for the support given by people all over the world, it is truly evident that in reality the work has only just begun. In situations such as the Bahamas, longer-term recovery and its impact is often not widely shared by international media, yet is crucial and lays the foundation for communities in rebuilding their lives. Whether it is rebuilding homes, providing vouchers for food, or working with communities to build resilience and safeguards, this new phase more than ever provides an opportunity to rebuild livelihoods and to strengthen local economy, focusing on the communities’ needs and priorities.
If you would like to support The Salvation Army’s International Emergency Response Projects, complete and return the donation form at the back of this magazine or visit http://www.donate.salvationarmy.org.uk/emergency/
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CORPS TO CORPS CONNECTIONS
INDIA SOUTH-WESTERN
CZECH REPUBLIC
EASTERN EUROPE: ROMANIA
ESTONIA
MALI & BURKINA FASO
GHANA & TOGO
CARIBBEAN: JAMAICA & HAITI
BRAZIL
SOUTH AMERICA WEST: BOLIVIA
KE Y Social Programmes Education Support General TerritorialS upport Corps Activities
Health Support
Every month the International Projects Office in THQ processes individual donations and small projects which are funded by UKI corps (churches) across the territory. These are not part of our long-term community programmes but still form an important part of the bigger picture of how UKI territory is involved in supporting territories around the world. Although this is just a record of some of the funding transfers in the last few months, what it illustrates is the strong corps to corps connections across The Salvation Army world - something that we celebrate as being part of a worldwide church!
PAKISTAN
INDIA NORTHERN
INDIA CENTRAL
INDIA EASTERN
SRI LANKA
BANGLADESH
SINGAPORE, MALAYSIA & MYANAMAR
PHILIPPINES
INDONESIA
KENYA EAST
KENYA WEST
UGANDA
SOUTH AFRICA
ZAMBIA
MALAWI
TANZANIA
Violet Ruria
A PROBLEM SHARED‌ Read how The Salvation Army is transforming the lives of marginalised women in Tanzania through shared community banking.
In both urban and rural communities of Tanzania, most women are excluded from accessing formal financial services. In the urban set-up, social norms and the economic structures prevent women from accessing and benefiting from local commercial growth, while in rural areas the effects of climate change are limiting the opportunities that subsistence farmers have to provide for their families.
able to effect wider social change as well as increase the income levels of the households. In Tanzania, the savings and loan groups are based in Kahama, Katoro, Tarime and Bukine and work from the Salvation Army corps (churches) based within these communities. The project works with 756 women who have joined up in 41 savings and loans groups. With the knowledge gained through the groups, 631 women have established varied small businesses including livestock keeping, grocery, poultry keeping and small-scale farming.
The Salvation Army is responding by supporting communities in Tanzania to improve their business skills, literacy and resources, to enable them to effect change and lift their families out of poverty. The women are grouped in 10 to 25 self-selected members who save together and take small loans from those savings. Savings are maintained in a loan fund from which members can borrow in small amounts, up to three times the amount of their individual savings. Loans are repaid in flexible instalments at a monthly low interest charge determined by the group. Using this very simple system, the groups are
Hadijah Saidi (pictured left) is a 48-year-old widow and a mother of six children and she also cares for two of her grandchildren. She lives in Mzambalani in Kahama in north-western Tanzania. The majority of the men in this urban district are employed in mining activities while the women depend on small businesses.
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To provide for her family, Hadijah had been buying and selling vegetables at her local market. With minimal capital, it was difficult to run a profitable business. However, she heard about The Salvation Army’s savings and loans project. Hadijah and nine of her friends joined up to make a group and started saving together back in 2018. Over the last two years they received training on how to run their savings and loans group, entrepreneurial skills training to better their businesses, and mentoring support. Hadijah reflected on why she became involved in the group saying, ‘I joined the group to make some progress. I needed to be able to expand my business and provide for the needs of my children.’ Hadijah and her group members continue to meet, learn and support each other. Hadijah says her business has now expanded and she is able to make more profits which she puts towards school fees for her children and grandchildren.
For most women like Mariam Gitaru, a 42-yearold mother of seven children (pictured above), being part of a savings and loans group has enabled her to meet her family’s needs. On reflection, Mariam stated, ‘Because of the group, I was able start a business of selling farm produce from one region to another. I was able to make profit which I saved with the group and have taken a loan to construct a house and also pay fees for my child to undertake a nursing course.’
Hopeful of the future, Hadijah said, ‘I want to continue expanding my business capital to also include selling of fish which will make more profit for me.’
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The saving group meetings have improved the social networks among the community members. They are now able to discuss various social cultural issues that affect them, like female genital mutilation and domestic violence among others. Through this project, The Salvation Army has played a vital role in the community by providing meeting spaces and coaching for the groups. This has raised the profile of The Salvation Army and has resulted in an increase in corps membership in these communities. If you would like to support The Salvation Army’s Income Generation Projects, complete and return the donation form at the back of this magazine or visit www.donate.salvationarmy.org.uk/income/ Naomi (pictured above), a 42-year-old woman and mother of five children, explained the benefits of joining a savings and loans group. ‘I have learnt how to save and have accumulated a total of TSH 500,000 ($200) all by myself. I am now able to contribute to the family budget and this has brought me respect from my husband and family.’ When reflecting on her time with the savings and loans group, Esther Magake (pictured right), a 28-year-old mother of five children, says, ‘Initially I thought the groups were for those who have regular incomes, but I was invited to join. I started saving and took a loan and invested in buying some inputs for my small farm. I was able to get a good harvest and sold the surplus. With the money, I was able to repay my loan and pay school fees for my children. I later took a bigger loan which I have invested in my small business of buying farm produce during harvest season and selling at a profit.’ Within the groups, women are encouraged to take leadership positions as they manage the groups. This enables women’s confidence to rise as they acquire leadership training and practise leadership roles.
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Richard and Heidie Bradbury
A JOURNEY IN DEVELOPMENT The story of Salvation Army officers Richard and Heidie Bradbury, and their journey with international development.
In early 2005, we set out as young and naïve newlyweds living in central Scotland and headed for… Well, honestly we didn’t really know where we were going or what to expect. The rural and rugged setting of Chikankata Hospital in Zambia became our home for the next few years and was the start of a journey that has led to us working for The Salvation Army in Zambia, Kenya, UK and now Bangladesh. Now, 15 years later and with two children, we live in Dhaka, the most densely populated city in the world, where colour and chaos is everywhere, where we are privileged to be part of The Salvation Army’s work in this majority Muslim country. It has been a unique experience to live in other cultures and to experience the richness of life in another country.
friends in the UK. However, things are different now. As I sit in Bangladesh, I can FaceTime my parents at any point in the day, send an instant message to friends and colleagues and connect with anyone in the world via The Salvation Army’s email. The world is definitely a smaller and more connected place, and this can be seen in the evolving nature of development work in The Salvation Army over the years. Throughout the 13 years we have worked overseas, we have been closely connected with The Salvation Army International Development (SAID) UK Project Office. Things have definitely changed to a much more connected and joinedup approach as we have grappled together with differing and diverse projects. For us, we’ve realised that development work is not about ‘fixing’ or ‘sorting’ things – an attitude we were perhaps guilty of when starting out. Instead we are here to learn from others and journey together with people. We have constantly become more aware that, despite the economic differences between those people from countries funding projects and
When we arrived at Chikankata we had no phone connection, no internet connection, no email connection and no social media connection. Each month we would travel for a scheduled shopping trip to the capital city, Lusaka. As soon as we were within touching distance, the mobile signal started to kick in and trigger a day of joyful connection and conversations with family and
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those people implementing projects, we are all made in the image of God, all equals, with no conditions and no caveats. As we read through the Bible we are continually reminded that Jesus worked hard and told many stories to set people free – including even his own disciples – from an ‘us and them’ attitude. So over the years, development work for us has become increasingly less about what we are doing by helping others, or us fixing the problems for them, but much more about finding a better and healthier way of working together to find solutions that we, in our shared humanity, have created together. We have had to become more humble, to readjust our world view and to take on a stance of participating rather than helping. As we changed our attitude, we discovered more and more that people who are tremendously economically challenged have a relational wealth and intentional community that is both radical and inspiring.
One of the privileges of being connected with international development over the years has been to meet so many amazing people working as project and development officers, both in the implementing offices like Kenya and the supporting offices like the UK. I have learnt from others that often Salvation Army project officers around the world preach not from a platform but often from sitting and listening in a community meeting or walking through the squalor of abandoned areas. We were fortunate to partner with the UKT on many exciting projects in Zambia and Kenya including water and sanitation projects, community-based orphan and vulnerable children support projects and community health projects. But there’s one that stands out. For many years micro-finance projects have been developed in rural communities around the world, but for some reason you rarely find the same projects in the highly urbanised areas
Nairobi, Kenya.
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We have had to become more humble, to readjust our world view and to take on a stance of participating rather than helping.
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What an absolute joy it was to watch as, together with the corps officer and community leaders, our team were slowly able to build a project that encouraged vulnerable people to be thinking about long-term planning through savings and loans groups and to come together to work through solving their own problems with their own resources. Being able to work with those living in the most extreme poverty on a finance-based project was undoubtedly a risk, and we were so indebted to the SAID UK Projects Office for having the courage to journey with us as we tried to develop longer-term thinking and long-term benefit for some of the poorest and most marginalised. Despite all the challenges, this project is now in its third phase, people have saved and loaned thousands of pounds. Small businesses are thriving, school fees are paid on time, and welfare funds have been set up to support those who encountered difficulties. The project is expanding every year.
of sprawling cities. In Proverbs 15:15 we’re reminded, ‘All the days of the poor are hard.’ Their future is so uncertain and the need in the present is so pressing (my translation). Perhaps the complexities of the areas and crisis thinking of people living there has put off many other organisations and churches. So together with the dedicated community members and the skilled development workers in the UK Territory, we set about designing and implementing a project in the informal settlements (known locally as slums) of Nairobi, where poverty metaphorically and literally stinks! I have never witnessed anything like the squalor of open sewage lines and crammed houses we witnessed in many of these areas, so much so that it is difficult even to describe. Yet like so many places around the world, The Salvation Army has a beautiful and intentional incarnational presence in many of the slum areas, with officers and soldiers daily choosing to be Christ’s presence amongst the difficulties.
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Here in Bangladesh, the UK Territory is funding work with women who are sexually exploited, many working in prostitution but also young girls who are at risk of early childhood marriage and human trafficking. It is a cycle that is difficult to stop. We often have the opportunity to walk around the brothels of Jessore, with our colleague Captain Champa, to speak with and listen to the women. This is a privilege only afforded to The Salvation Army’s officers and staff. I was struck that the owners of brothels welcomed The Salvation Army, even though they knew that ultimately our aim was to help the women achieve their freedom from this sexual exploitation. Those kinds of relationships and that level of trust take a long time to develop and require constant care and presence. Captain Champa has an amazing daily ministry, but we are also grateful that the UK Salvation Army has committed to a long-term partnership with Bangladesh for this project work, so that these kinds of important relationships can be developed and harnessed over a longer period of time. On one occasion as we walked round, a young lady stopped us and talked to us about how she desperately wanted to escape prostitution but did not know how she would survive without her income. Prostitution provided her with a modest income and it was preferable to a life of destitution and rejection that would be hers if she walked away just now. She carefully showed us the rose plant she was growing outside her room, and picked the only flourishing bud on the bush and gave it to us as a gift, telling us that it was only The Salvation Army that truly cared about her, and that through us she had realised there was still some hope. It is one of the most precious gifts we have been given, a reminder of the light that shines in the darkness. The project is working closely with her and other women to build up her literacy skills, develop her selfconfidence, teaching her life skills and training her in other trades that hopefully, one day, will help her to walk away from the brothel. It also serves as a reminder that Salvation Army projects do make a positive difference – sometimes the difference between life and death, sometimes the difference between joy and misery, and sometimes the difference between hope and defeat – but always a difference.
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To support these projects or find out more information, visit www.salvationarmy.org.uk/id
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A woman learning new life skills for additional income in Bangladesh. Nairobi, Kenya.
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Do something amazing – Fundraise for The Salvation Army
FUNDRAISE FOR THE SALVATION ARMY Fundraising Events are a fantastic and fun way for people of all ages and abilities to help raise valuable funds for the work of The Salvation Army. Whether you want to achieve a life-long ambition or simply do something to help others, taking part in a Fundraising Event really will make a difference to the work that we do. There are hundreds of ways to support the work of The Salvation Army, from pounding the 26.2 miles of pavement in the London marathon to trekking up North Africa’s highest mountain (in Morocco) over a long weekend, to swimming the great Serpentine. We also organise more sedate activities from a sponsored silence held by a school, a tea party held by a group of friends, a donation to our work instead of birthday gifts, to maybe taking on an extreme mud run or even hair shaves to raise funds we have an event for you. And every mile you cover and mountain you climb will help The Salvation Army be there for those that need us most.
Whatever you decide to do, we will be here to support you throughout your fundraising journey. From our Fundraising Pack that is filled with top tips and materials, to our administration support, we’ll be here to motivate and guide you and make sure you have the best experience possible, creating some lifetime memories. By becoming part of #TeamSallyArmy you will be helping the most vulnerable people in society and providing hope to those who need it. Would you like to learn about our events? Visit https://www.salvationarmy.org.uk/ challenge-events If you want to get involved or have any questions email us challenge@salvationarmy.org.uk or call us on 020 7367 4819. Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ teamsallyarmy Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook. com/TheSalvationArmyFundraisingEvents/
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I want to make a donation TITLE:
FIRST NAME:
URN
OFFICE USE ONLY
SURNAME:
ADDRESS:
POST CODE:
TEL NO:
EMAIL:
Credit Card
Please tick which area of work you would like to support:
Fill in the details below
Please charge my card with the following amount:
Type of card (unable to accept Amex):
Card number:
(Maestro only)
Anti-trafficking Clean Water Emergency Response
Valid from:
Expiry date:
Security code:
Food Security
Cardholder’s Signature:
Gender Justice Income Generation
Direct Debit
Wherever it’s most needed
Fill in the details below
Please pay The Salvation Army the following amount:
Cheque
Please indicate how often you would like to pay: Twice yearly
Monthly
Preferred payment date: First of month
Boost your donation by 25p of Gift Aid for every £1 you donate.
Last work day
In order to Gift Aid your donation you must tick the box below:
To The Manager
I want to Gift Aid my donation and any donations I make in the future or have made in the past 4 years.
Name and postal address of your Bank/Building Society: BANK/BUILDING SOCIETY:
ADDRESS (CONT):
ADDRESS:
I am a UK taxpayer and understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains Tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year it is my responsibility to pay any difference. POSTCODE:
NAME(S) OF ACCOUNT HOLDER(S):
Signature:
Please notify The Salvation Army if you: • want to cancel this declaration • change your name or home address • no longer pay sufficient tax on your income and/or capital gains
Bank/Building Society Account Number:
Branch Sort Code:
Cheques should be made payable to The Salvation Army.
Reference Number (Bank use only):
If you pay Income Tax at the higher or additional rate and want to receive the additional tax relief due to you, you must include all your Gift Aid donations on your Self-Assessment tax return or ask HM Revenue and Customs to adjust your tax code.
THQ
Instruction to your Bank/Building Society. Please pay The Salvation Army Trustee Company Ltd Direct Debits from the account detailed in this instruction subject to the safeguard assumed by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with The Salvation Army Trusted Company Ltd and, if so, details will be passed electronically to my Bank/Building Society. Signature:
Date:
URN
Date Initials
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Connect with us: @salvationarmyid
@salvationarmyid
@salvationarmyid
@thesalvationarmyid
id@salvationarmy.org.uk
The Salvation Army International Development UK 101 Newington Causeway London SE1 6BN 020 7367 4777
salvationarmy.org.uk/ID The Salvation Army is a church and registered charity in England (214779), Wales (214779), Scotland (SC009359) and the Republic of Ireland (CHY6399)