Caritas Bakhita House Annual Report 2020

Caritas Bakhita House 2020 End of year report

One of the 2020 babies at the creche we created in the house.

Caritas Caritas Bakhita Bakhita House House 2017 2019 YearEnd Endof report year report

Caritas Bakhita House is a safe house for women who have been trafficked, and exploited in any way. Opened in 2015, it is owned by the Diocese of Westminster and managed by Caritas Westminster.

Our values and principles are drawn from the Catholic faith.

• Love is shown in compassionate support and long-term commitment.

• We respect the dignity of every individual.

• Our community creates friendship and belonging.

• We nurture spirituality in creative activities that can bring joy and lift the spirit.

People of all faiths and none are welcome at Caritas Bakhita House.

We depend on the generosity of supporters giving donations and volunteers giving their time to run this unique service for women.

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Caritas Bakhita House 2020 End of year report

A year in review

Karen Anstiss, Bakhita House Service Manager

Dear Friend,

‘You have walked with me all along.’

These words, which describe so well what we do, were part of a message you can see on p8 from a woman who stayed with us for more than a year, having been trafficked and sexually exploited.

Thanks to our incredible team, supporters and volunteers, we have continued walking alongside women, during this year of unexpected challenges.

The global pandemic has had, and will continue to have, a huge impact on all our lives. As you’ll discover on p5, we had to move fast to keep our guests, including mums-to-be and newborn baby safe.

At a time of fear, we welcomed three babies into the world (see p6). As the weeks went by, we saw their first smiles – a reminder that new life always brings new hope.

Despite everything, there were many moments to remember with gratitude.

• During lockdown, we celebrated our fifth birthday with women from the house releasing balloons and messages of hope.

• A new painting went up in our living room, thanks to Sophia Kisielewska, an art student. Every part of it has a meaning unique to Caritas Bakhita House, from the chair being brought to the table for our next guest, to the presence of our patron, Saint Josephine Bakhita, who was kept as a slave herself (p7).

• Marley, who joined us at the start of 2020, gives every new guest a warm welcome as only a cat can (p6).

• During lockdown, our guests found comfort in the garden, growing vegetables, flowers, eating, dancing and building a bee hotel (p5).

• The evidence of one of our guests imprisoned her traffickers for 31 years (p7).

Most of all, I’m grateful to everyone who has made our work possible – our friends, supporters and volunteers. You’ve helped give women, who have had everything taken from them, the chance of a new beginning.

Thank you to all our partnering agencies who fight to make this a world free of exploitation, and for the support of the Caritas Team and The Diocese of Westminster.

Thank You

Karen Anstiss

Karen Anstiss Caritas Bakhita House Service Manager

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Caritas Bakhita House 2020 End of year report

Bakhita House Guests: Facts & Figures

127

Guests have come from 40 countries: Afghanistan Albania

women aged 15-70 have stayed at Caritas Bakhita House.

11 babies have been born to women staying with us.

We have helped secure prison sentences totalling

132.5

years for those who traffic and exploit women.

Volunteers generously donated

800

hours this year. During the pandemic, many moved online to continue interpreting and running classes for our guests.

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1 16

Bangladesh

1

Brazil

3

Bulgaria

2

Cameroon

1

China

4

Colombia

1

Czech Republic

3

Ethiopia

6

Gambia

1

Ghana

1

Georgia

1

Grenada

1

Guinea

1

Honduras

1

Hungary

4

India

2

Indonesia

1

Jamaica

1

Kenya

2

Liberia

1

Mali

1

Mauritius

1

Moldova

1

Morocco

1

Nepal

1

New Zealand

1

Nigeria

9

Poland

5

Philippines

4

Romania

Exploitation faced:

Sexual Exploitation

82

Domestic Servitude

38

Serious sexual assault

8

Sham Marriages

6

Benefit Fraud/Crime

7

Forced Labour

3

Unknown

1

24

Sierra Leone

3

Slovakia

1

South Africa

1

Sri Lanka

3

Thailand

2

Vietnam

11

United Kingdom

2

Zimbabwe

1

Caritas Bakhita House 2020 End of year report

A place to call home. A chance to heal. Support to become independent again.

During the pandemic, we had to move fast, adapt and change the way we work to continue offering an essential service for women who have escaped human trafficking.

Shortly before the first national lockdown began, one of the women staying with us gave birth. At that early stage, the threat to newborn babies and pregnant women wasn’t fully understood. So we reluctantly took the decision to close our doors to new referrals and ensure the eight women with us at that time (two of them mums-to-be) were safe.

Our core members of staff came to live on site. Our volunteers, where they could, moved their support online, offering English, Drama Therapy and Music Therapy. And our interpreters have continued their work throughout the pandemic.

Many of our guests were forcibly kept indoors before they came to Caritas Bakhita House so we understood how hard lockdown would be for them. And we organised our week with a view to keeping our guests safe and busy.

Monday-Friday: Activities from 10am-8pm, including English, sewing, baking and gardening. At 6pm, dinner together.

Saturday: Exercise in the afternoon. At 6pm, dinner together. Pampering evenings Sunday: 2pm, lunch in the garden (if possible). Dancing and card games.

7pm, planning the meals and shopping for the week ahead.

“ We are lucky at Caritas Bakhita House because we have a lot of things to do every day to keep busy.”

Comment from one of our guests.

Usually, we encourage our guests to go out, shop for food, and become more independent. But during lockdown we took on the task of shopping for all meals, picking up prescriptions and running any errands outside the house. We supported each other through these difficult weeks, until our doors reopened.

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Caritas Bakhita House 2020 End of year report

‘ You turned to the only people who will never turn their backs on you.’

The global pandemic meant we had to think fast and do things differently to support our mums-to-be. In 2020, three babies brought new hope to women living in Caritas Bakhita House.

Babies born to women living in Caritas Bakhita House are often the result of exploitation. We arrange birth partners to support mothers-to-be during labour and giving birth.

But during the pandemic, this was no longer possible.

Pamela, an experienced member of our team, stepped in when one of our guests was taken into hospital to be induced to save her baby. With her birth partner no longer available, she felt scared and let down.

Here is an extract from a poem Pamela later wrote for our guest and her daughter.

‘You turned to the only people who will never turn their backs on you. Bakhita House told you not to be afraid that they will be with you every step of the way.

‘And off went your emergency birth partner and holding your hands and pushing as well as you did until that little beautiful amazing creature popped out!

‘She cried as she was placed on your chest skin-to-skin, making her warm, you kissed her and she felt your heart beat and became quiet, she opened her eyes.’

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Anna, House Manager at Bakhita House, didn’t expect to become a birth partner either, but her seven experiences caused her to reflect on another kind of birth that happens when a woman is ready to leave Caritas Bakhita House and live independently.

“The image of a midwife kneeling on the floor thoroughly examining the placenta struck me. Isn’t Bakhita House for our guests like a placenta for an unborn?

“Its structure provides the nutrients and oxygen for the growing baby. Just like we try to offer all the help for a woman to overcome their negative experience, the placenta removes the waste products from the babies’ blood. We see them develop and grow and, at some point, it’s time to move on from this life-giving and comforting place. Another kind of birth.”

Pamela has undergone Doula training, so we now have a birth partner as part of our staff, which means we’re now better placed to support our guests in the future.

Caritas Bakhita House 2020 End of year report

Thirty year jail sentence for traffickers…

This year, we supported one of our guests to bravely give evidence against the men who trafficked her to the UK and sexually exploited her.

Our guest came to the UK eager to take up the job in a factory that was promised to her. But the two men who collected her from the airport were traffickers. They seized her passport and made her change clothes. Then they handed her condoms and wipes. She was forced to start work that night.

For months, this young woman, who was 20 years old, was kept in a house – unable to leave alone. She was regularly beaten and had to see 10-15 clients every day.

She became pregnant when a condom split.

By supporting Caritas Bakhita House, you help offer women a safe place to stay at a time when they most need it. It takes incredible courage to give evidence against the men who took away your freedom and stripped you of your dignity. But with your help, women who’ve been sexually exploited have a chance of justice.

When she was seven months pregnant, our guest could not feel her baby move after an attempted forced abortion. A concerned client gave her a small mobile phone, which she was able to hide and use to contact her family in Romania.

Romanian police worked closely with colleagues in the UK to arrest the men and bring our guest to safety.

The traffickers, who were brothers, were sentenced to a total of 30 years.

‘You are there…’

At Caritas Bakhita House, we provide our guests with a safe place to recover before restarting their lives. One of our guests wrote this poem about her stay in 2020.

You are in there when I was reborn When I needed help When I needed a thread of hope For a shoulder to put my head on For a tearful hug You are there when my bad dreams of the night returned to the smile of the daylight When I was thinking I’m going crazy When I was thinking my life doesn’t have any more sense You are there teaching me the first steps in front of my wishes To decide for my life You are there like an older sister for advice You are there like a brother for support You are there like a mother for protection You are there like a beautiful dream that doesn’t require awakening I didn’t have anything before, just myself Now I have every hope to start my life.

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Caritas Bakhita House 2020 End of year report

Bella’s friendship has meant the world to our guests…

Bella, one of our wonderful volunteers, has played a special role in helping some guests take their first steps towards independence. Now, aged 13, she’s retiring and shares her thoughts on how walking with a furry friend can be a healing therapy.

For those who have not met me, I am a beautiful cocker spaniel close to 13 years old. Over several years, I have been visiting Caritas Bakhita House, going on walks with the residents.

Just like there are many different types of dogs, I have found there are many different Caritas Bakhita House residents – fast-paced, stick-throwing individuals, as well as those who stroll along and are more contemplative of life. Both groups pay me the attention I feel is due to me. Do you know there has never been an outing that hasn’t been fun?

It is sad to think my walks with my friends at Caritas Bakhita house are coming to an end. I have loved being outdoors, battling the elements or just enjoying the serenity of a beautiful day.

I shall miss everyone.

With love, Bella.

My first ever birthday cake With your help, we do everything possible to make Caritas Bakhita House to feel like a real home for the women who stay with us. When Anna baked a birthday cake for one of our guests, she didn’t realise how much it would mean to her.

You took me in when I had lost hope. You gave me a roof over my head, food on the table and a smile on my face.

You have walked with me all along. I have learnt so much. I no longer cover my head in order to hide my shame, because you have taught me that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

I say special thanks to Anna who made my first ever birthday cake when I turned 40. No words can explain how much I appreciated that.

God bless you all and thank you. Through you so many women can have a second chance in life.

Building a greater understanding of modern slavery This year, we contributed to two pieces of research that will help build a better understanding of human trafficking, sexual exploitation and modern slavery.

A framework for training people to identify, care and support victims and survivors. www.skillsforcare.org.uk/Learning-development/ ongoing-learning-and-development/Modernslavery/Modern-Slavery.aspx A report on the exploitation of women trafficked from China. www.stopthetraffik.org/resources/improvingresponse-modern-slavery-exploitationsupporting-chinese-women/

THANK YOU TO ALL OF OUR FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS!

GADS1505/01.2021

If you would like to find out more about Caritas Bakhita House, or to make a donation, please contact Helen Bright via email on: helenbright@rcdow.org.uk or you can visit www.caritaswestminster.org.uk/bakhita-house.php Tel: 020 7798 9353 Donate Online: www.rcdow.org.uk/donate and select Bakhita Initiative

Page 8 Westminster Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust – Registered Charity Number 233699