RESPONSE Winter edition 2018
Nshoouclhdild be a
slave in this issue page 4 HUMAN TRAFFICKING
page 5 WHY HAVE CHILD PROTECTION POLICIES? page 7 MYTHS OF SLAVERY
CEO from our
WAY N E U L R I C H
E M POWE R E D AND PROTEC TE D Asian Aid has a vision of a world in which all children, and their communities, are empowered, protected and have full access to their rights.
W
e believe in Jesus and in his
violence, abuse, exploitation and neglect is
love for others. Through our
essential for them to have full access to their
work we aspire to provide
rights.
this love and compassion
This year, Asian Aid will be looking more at
while also striving for the highest standards of honesty, stewardship and accountability.
these issues. We will examine critical factors that are now
We remain committed to helping all who need
rapidly exacerbating the number of children
it, regardless of their religion, ethnicity, culture
being harmed and mistreated.
or gender, and empowering the poor. Our work is based on human rights principles and standards, particularly the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and through adherence to these we believe that children will attain the right to survival, development, protection, and participation. Abuse, neglect, violence and exploitation are serious human rights violations that occur in all parts of the world. This includes within the home, in schools, in institutions, in the workplace, in the community, in armed conflicts and in natural disasters. Violence against children is increasingly linked across countries and regions and includes child trafficking, child exploitive pictures and images
We will share stories about how your donations help to address these issues and help to further empower children to become change agents in their own communities. We will also offer new child-focused opportunities where donations can further keep children out of harm’s way and to be better protected from all forms of exploitation, neglect or abuse. I look forward to engaging with you on this journey and thank you for your ongoing loyalty and commitment to sponsor children. I pray that God will continue to bless you as we work together to share God’s love while equipping children and their families to live better lives.
and unsafe behaviors and practices. Many
FORCED LABOUR EXPLOITATION
15,400,000 FORCED MARRIAGE
4,100,000
4,800,000
protection issues they face.
FORCED SEXUAL EXPLOITATION
Young children are trafficked and sold into
2 Response by Asian Aid Winter 2018
16,000,000
STATE-IMPOSED FORCED LABOR
children drop out of school because of the
captivity and slavery. Protecting children from
B R E AKDOWN OF G LO B A L S L AV E R Y
Wayne Ulrich
Source: 2017 Estimates of Global Slavery
e v a l s D BE A L U O H S D L I H NO C
F E AT U R E S T O R Y B Y M O N I C A P O R T E A S I A N A I D C O M M U N I C AT I O N S A N D E N G A G E M E N T M A N A G E R
What do you think of when you hear the term slavery?
A 2017 joint report by the International Labour Organisation and anti-slavery campaigner Walk Free Foundation, found Until recently, my imagination projected there are now almost 46 million slaves images of African Americans from the across the world. Of these, 10 million are pre-abolitionist 1800s, working in fields children. More than 58 percent of them or as domestic servants and suffering at are in just five countries – three of which the hands of cruel, wealthy masters. I are our regional neighbours - India, China suspect Hollywood had a lot to do with my and Bangladesh. While sexual exploitation perception. often takes the limelight, But the reality is it represents just a small modern slavery is a percentage of the overall Modern slavery lot more insidious. It impact of slavery. is defined under is hidden from view. For children, the most And, according to the 1956 UN common forms of slavery the United Nation’s supplementary are in fact forced and early International Labour convention as ... debt marriage. Children make Organisation (ILO), bondage, serfdom, up around 37 percent of there are more slaves forced marriage and those forced to marry, worldwide today than the delivery of a child as well as 18 percent of at any other point in for the exploitation of forced labour victims and history.
that child …
Modern slavery is defined under the 1956 UN supplementary convention as ...
debt bondage, serfdom, forced marriage and the delivery of a child for the exploitation of that child… Modern slavery encompasses human trafficking, servitude, forced or compulsory labour and early marriage.
21 percent of victims of sexual exploitation. And the primary reasons children end up in these situations is poverty. How can we help end child slavery? The good news is – we can do something about it. Asian Aid has been working hard over the past 18 months to establish and grow our child focused development programs which are aimed at breaking the cycle of poverty and
thereby reducing risk of harm to children. Our projects include community-based education, vocational skills and income generation as well as programs to support children and their families. We are appealing for an additional $1M this end of financial year - specifically to help keep children free from the risk of slavery. According to the most recent census data there are more than 65,000 Adventists in Australia. While our target seems ambitious, the reality is that if every Adventist gave just $15 to this campaign, we could protect 1500 children from the risk of slavery this year. That’s just $650 to help one child for a whole year. That’s less than $2 per day. It seems such a small price to pay for freedom. I pray you will join with us in: • Learning more about the prevalence of slavery across the world, particularly the impacts on children • Praying for the victims and that governments will intervene to stop these crimes • Supporting the work of Asian Aid by making a one-off donation to our ‘No Child Should be a Slave’ campaign.
Why? Because no child should be a slave. Response by Asian Aid Winter 2018 3
human TRAFFICKING
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE
H
uman trafficking is a complex problem. According to the US State Department Trafficking in Persons report (2009):
“Trafficking has a broad global impact. It weakens legitimate economies, fuels violence, threatens public health and safety, shatters families, and shreds the social fabric that is necessary for progress. And it is an affront to our basic values and our fundamental belief that all people everywhere deserve to live and work in safety and dignity.” So why is human trafficking one of the most profitable offshoots of modern day slavery? How can some people dehumanise others for their own personal gain? And why don’t governments, corporates and individuals step in to do more? For many, I think it is because the problem is so overwhelming. But - like eating an elephant - human trafficking is best tackled one bite at a time. At Oasis India we are trying to take down the beast through prevention rather than cure. I firmly believe proactive early encounters and intervention (not just rescuing and rehabilitating) are key to curbing this crisis. PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in.” - Desmond Tutu In the communities where Oasis India works, we place a lot of emphasis on prevention.
4 Response by Asian Aid Winter 2018
M AT T N AT H A N I E L R E G I O N A L H E A D , S O U T H - O A S I S I N D I A A S I A N A I D PA R T N E R S W I T H O A S I S I N C H E N N A I A N D B A N G A L O R E
We engage with the communities through street awareness programmes, one-on-one mentoring, community group activities, regular sessions on child rights and safety as well as specialised counselling sessions. All of this is aimed at empowering communities and thereby creating a safer and better future for our children.
How could we let evil get so tight a grip?
We are trying to “swim upstream”. But many people ask us - what can I do? Here are my tips for those wanting to make an impact.
Let this be the stand that gets your blood running.
UNDERSTAND THE ENTIRE PROBLEM If you haven’t seen the movie Nefarious: Merchant of Souls I highly recommend it! It shines a light on the complexity of trafficking. Based on extensive research, it clearly depicts how the issue is linked to belief systems, cultures, politics, economics, the underworld, porn industry and poverty. I would also encourage everyone to undertake some independent learning - there are a lot of online resources. If you travel a lot, find out what to look for in a potential trafficking victim so you may be able to identify them. If you are a keen shopper, learn how to become a more informed consumer so you can avoid purchasing products that may have been made by victims of trafficking or slavery.
Watching while the world falls apart How did we let this stuff begin? We’re not bothered if this offends Cuz you got people that can defend But they ain’t got that, they got nothing Sometimes we gotta stand for something
This brings to my mind Mahatma Gandhi’s famous and oft-used saying
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Yes, unless we start with ourselves, and propagate our values, we won’t be able to create a wide and sustainable impact. EDUCATE THE YOUNGER GENERATION By sensitising young people and children, we can create a proactive generation that will take responsibility for protecting and developing safe, thriving communities. Transformation starts at home. It starts with dinner time conversations, at primary school, youth gatherings and through faith communities. Support and intervention at an early age leads to protection and development.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
BE PATIENT
Matt Redman and LZ7 wrote this song posing an important question on our collective lack of responsibility:
Change is never easy. It takes time. There are no quick fixes. Most importantly, it requires sacrifice. But I believe it will come when we all do our bit.
27 million are you joking?
8 years of
This graph represents so much more than numbers. It represents
ANTI -TR AFFICKING E FFORTS
people
people with dreams, hopes and desires just like you and me.
Number of women and girls rescued per year 7000
5833
6000 5000 4000
2233
3000 2000 1000 0
1057 115 2008
1950
2198
2141
2528
2590
398 2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
It has been 8 years since we began supporting 3 Angels’ mission to rescue women and children trafficked along the Indo-Nepal border. Staff rescued victims from communities, restaurants, hotels and even across the border in India. The number of victims, most of whom were children, has shot up in the last two years due to the devastating earthquake in 2015.
why have Child Protection Policies? B Y VA N D A N A S H A R M A M A N A G E R - C H I L D W E L FA R E , HELPING HAND WELFARE SOCIETY, INDIA
As a child, above all, I remember having freedom. Freedom to play outside without fear; freedom to go out with siblings, cousins, and neighbours without adults worrying too much about it.
B
ut I also remember fear - fear of the clock turning to 6 PM. We all knew to be inside the gates by then. The dusk brought dangers
to girls.
At the age of seven, when I was out with my sister, who was eight, a six-foot-tall man pushed and fell on me. He then got up and walked away as if nothing happened while I screamed my heart out. We ran home crying and narrated the whole incident in one breath to our mum and aunts. A group of more than five adult ladies could do nothing but instruct us to be careful in the future and not talk about this to anyone. I couldn’t understand it then, but today, I get it. I know exactly what went amiss. Today, working at Helping Hand Welfare Society (HHWS) in Bangalore, India, I have become that adult who receives incident information. And that’s why I am grateful for the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offence) Act in India that makes it mandatory for organisations to have a Child Protection Policy which covers all the processes and procedures in case of any unexpected, unwanted or unwarranted events. We all know that accidents are not planned. Issues come up when they are least expected and once an issue occurs we have very little time to discuss and spend time thinking about how to address it. Having a Child Protection Policy in place helps us design a Plan of Action without any delay.
Every state in India is very different from its neighbouring ones. At first sight, India may seem chaotic, disorganised and confused; however, as we dig deeper, we find a method in all the madness that’s around us. India has one of the largest written constitutions in the world, and if you read it, you will be left surprised and wondering why we still have some of the major problems that we do. It’s mainly because many people perceive the procedures differently. Helping Hand’s Child Protection Policy ensures all of our schools irrespective of the region they are in - have a consistent approach to these incidents. When the POCSO Act came into effect in 2012, Helping Hand along with Asian Aid felt the need for a dedicated team to manage the welfare and protection of the thousands of children we support across India. With HHWS moving from merely sponsoring the education and care of children to now developing programs for children and their communities, child protection has taken even higher priority for us. Having a Child Protection Policy ensures children understand their rights and have an opportunity to exercise them. The children now have an assurance that we are there to take their safety seriously. Though the dream of having each child exercise their rights is still far-fetched, having a Child Protection Policy ensures that efforts are made to make it a reality! Response by Asian Aid Winter 2018 5
A DAY I N T H E L I F E
Jason r aj u
HELPING HAND WELFARE SOCIETY P R OJ E C T CO - O R D I N ATO R
B Y P U D E N S I S A B E L - A S I A N A I D C O M M U N I C AT I O N S C O - O R D I N AT O R I N I N D I A
W
Jason’s enthusiasm for life is obvious from the moment he walks into a room. He moves purposefully, his energy obvious in his bouncing gait and the way he greets each person with enthusiastic handshakes and smiles.
hen we finally get a chance to catch up, I am amazed to hear he has been up since 4am - having driven several hours from his family home to Madhavaram where he is the project co-ordinator for Asian Aid’s program.
education. I also interact with participants in the skill development program and regularly meet with local government officials to build stronger partnerships.
“It’s certainly not a 9 to 5 job,” Jason says when I marvel at his energy. “But I love working in the field and it’s worth it to see the impact we are having in this village.”
What kind of activities does the project offer? Our main focus is working towards equipping the school to provide quality education. That involves a number of different activities including:
What is it like living here? The village has undergone significant change in recent years as the government has been offering assistance for the construction of houses. This means most of the villagers get to stay in a proper house with concrete ceilings. These houses have replaced the huts you would have commonly found earlier. However, it is important to note that the village is segregated into two communities, and those from the so called “higher caste” have better-constructed and more spacious homes. How often do you travel to Madhavaram? Every day from Monday to Friday and many times during the weekends too. It takes half an hour to travel from where I live. I use a motor bike because of the low frequency of buses on this stretch. What does a typical day at work look like for you? Our program here is delivered from a local school. During the day, I help with teaching English, music and physical 6 Response by Asian Aid Winter 2018
In the evening, I lead child clubs and monitor the tailoring sessions.
• English training for teachers. • Child clubs, which are a means to involve children in decision making and take up leadership roles. Under this, we run sessions on gender sensitisation, sports and hygiene. • Parent Teacher Association meetings: to strengthen parents’ participation in the school and engage them in improving student retention especially for their daughters. • Reading program through classroom libraries. Other initiatives are • Skill development: We are running a tailoring program that the women in the community are thoroughly enjoying as it offers them additional income and at the end of the program we help them create a co-operative. • Community meetings.
I have so loved being part of the change in the community and that has been the most interesting aspect of my journey. So many fascinating things have happened but some of the most profound are like the first time the children were able to access a library - to see the excitement on their faces reading those books - while we take things like that for granted. What do you find the most challenging? The most challenging thing here would be the heat! Apart from that, breaking barriers between the two communities (higher and lower castes) is tough. Your motto? Persist towards being a change agent and just spread some happiness around. Do you have a morning routine? Something I try to do consistently would be my worship. What do you do in the evenings after work? I make sure I have a nice delicious street snack, do some household chores, and a little bit of exercise if I manage to find the time. I also note down events of the day which will help me while writing project reports. Then I make dinner or eat at one of the little hotels in town – the food is seriously spicy here! After which I plan for the next day.
• Monitoring of the toilet construction.
What do the kids call you? They call me “Jason sir”.
What is the most interesting thing that has happened since you have been there?
Describe your job in three words. Challenging. Influential. Meaningful.
B Y P U D E N S I S A B E L - ASIAN AID COMMUNICATIONS CO-ORDINATOR IN INDIA
change THE ARC OF
School sports days are an ingrained part of Australian and New Zealand culture and something we all take for granted. By the time children are in high school here, most will have participated in hundreds of sporting events.
F
or 14-year-old Riya, a participant in Asian Aid’s child focused program in Nepal, last month was her first chance to participate in a sports day ever. In fact, it was the first sports day for all girls in the region in which she lives.
Riya’s school is one of the several that runs Asian
“Girls don’t normally get the opportunity to play sport.” she told me. “If it wasn’t for this program, it is probably not something I ever would have done.” Riya comes from a village in Surkhet, Western Nepal. Poverty forces many young men to leave the village in search of work, often leaving behind young children. Early marriage is therefore common for young girls as families seek to relieve themselves of the burden of an extra mouth to feed. According to the human rights organisation, Human Rights Watch:
Aid’s child focused program, and Riya is one of 24 children selected from the region to be a peer educator.
MYTH Slavery is a thing of the past. FACT Slavery still exists today in many contemporary forms and manifestations.
MYTH Modern slavery happens only in the developing world.
FACT Modern slavery occurs in every single country in the world. However, according to the Global Slavery Index, the countries with the highest numbers of
extra-curricula activities and life-skill training will
people in modern slavery are India, China,
keep young boys and girls in our region in school
Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Uzbekistan.
and safe,” she said. The sporting events were designed to help girls break free of societal
“37% of girls in Nepal marry before age 18 and 10% are married by age 15, although the minimum age of marriage under Nepali law is 20. UNICEF data indicates that Nepal has the third highest rate of child marriage in Asia, after Bangladesh and India.”
Asian Aid’s partner - Centre for Agro-Ecology and Development (CAED) - is working to educate and empower young women to avoid becoming one of these statistics.
Myths of Slavery
“I am hoping that events like these, as well as
stereotypes and get
“37% of girls in Nepal marry before age 18 and 10% are married by age 15, although the minimum age of marriage under Nepali law is 20. UNICEF data indicates that Nepal has the third highest rate of child marriage in Asia, after Bangladesh and India.”
The
involved. “Girls took the initiative throughout the event, from talking to schools and selecting which games they would compete in to fixing the date, venue and
MYTH Sex trafficking is the largest form of modern slavery.
FACT Most people in slavery work in industries such as agriculture, fishing, construction, manufacturing, mining, utilities and domestic work, or are forced into early marriage. Around one in five are victims of sexual exploitation.
MYTH Profits from forced labour are reaped in the developing world.
FACT The annual profits per victim of
logistics,” CAED program
forced labour are much higher in developed
organiser Dipika Shrestha
economies than anywhere else in the world.
said. Riya elected to have a go at high jump, long jump, volleyball and football.
The truths are shocking and unacceptable! Asian Aid is committed to raising $1M this year to keep an additional 1500 children
“Practicing for these and participating on that day
from slavery.
taught me a lot about fitness,” she said.
It takes just $650 to keep 1 child out of slavery for a year. $55 for a month and $15 for a week.
“It felt good to run and train and to have a strong, healthy body.” Asian Aid’s programs are designed to help children like Riya get involved in extracurricular activities and life-skills training which encourage holistic development.
Will you help us? Response by Asian Aid Winter 2018 7
Help us keep an additional 1500 children safe from slavery. You can donate online at www.asianaid.org.au/nochildshouldbeaslave or complete and return the form below.
I WISH TO MAKE A DONATION OF: (please tick)
m $650 to help one child for 1 year m $165 to help one child for 3 months m $55 to help one child for 1 month m $15 to help one child for 1 week m $_____ towards Asian Aid’s goal of keeping 1500 children safe PAYMENT OPTIONS (Please choose one) 1. CHEQUE (Make payable to Asian Aid Organisation and post with this form) 2. FUNDS TRANSFER call us on (+61) 2 8586 4250 for banking details 3. CREDIT CARD Name on Card___________________________________________________
YOUR DETAILS Name_____________________________ DOB____ /____ /____ Address___________________________ Postcode__________________________ Email______________________________ Phone_______________________________ ID_____________________________________ (if already a supporter)
Expiry_______ /____________Amount $_____________________________ Signature_____________________________________Date____ /____ /____ If you do not wish to receive updates or promotional materials from Asian Aid, please tick this box. This excludes our quarterly newsletters. Promotional materials will be sent by email unless otherwise requested.
For more information, visit www.asianaid.org.au/nochildshouldbeaslave call (+61) 02 6586 4250 or email contact@asianaid.org.au
8 Response by Asian Aid Winter 2018
POST TO PO BOX 333 Wauchope, NSW 2446, Australia
Asian Aid Organisation ABN 98 002 286 419