DEVELOP Magazine - Autumn/Winter 2018

DEVELOP AUTUMN 2018 [ ISSUE 01 ]

COMMUNITY

SHARES

Introducing the 2019 Helping-Hand Appeal

INNOVATION FOR TRANSFORMATION

WALKING ALONGSIDE REFUGEES

An innovative response to the injustice of human trafficking

Our response to the Rohingya Crisis in Bangladesh

International International Development Development UKUK

salvationarmy.org.uk/ID

I SS U E 0 1 ~ AU T U M N 2 0 1 8

CONTENTS 05 BRING LIGHT CAMPAIGN

12 IMPROVING HEALTH AND WEALTH

28 WALKING ALONGSIDE REFUGEES

06 FAIR CHRISTMAS FAYRE

18 FARMING THROUGH THE YEARS

33 FINANCIAL BREAKDOWN

07 COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

22 INNOVATION FOR TRANSFORMATION

35 FUNDRAISING FOR THE ARMY

All photographs are used with the permission of the photographer

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COMMUNITY SHARES Introducing the 2019 Helping-Hand Appeal

WELCOME TO DEVELOP A message from our Team Leader Benjamin Gilbert

It’s often by taking a fresh look at a situation and keeping up with exciting breakthroughs in technology and innovation that we can apply these to the areas in which we work.

In this edition you will read about how The Salvation Army has been pioneering a new approach to supporting survivors of human trafficking in Nigeria. You will also read the latest on how The Salvation Army is helping families in Bangladesh through the ‘Bring Light’ campaign by providing solar lighting in refugee camps. We also introduce Helping-Hand 2019 which focuses on our income generation projects and the self-help groups we support in countries such as Kenya and Burkina Faso.

The work we do is only possible through your support and so I would like to thank everyone who has prayed for us, retweeted us, shared our stories and given so generously!

I hope you will enjoy reading this edition of Develop and be inspired by the tireless work of our colleagues and partners around the world.

I love watching my daughter (1) and son (3) experience something for the first time; like the sound of a passing ambulance, or watching a squirrel dart up a tree. Their delight and enthusiasm for everything around them is a constant reminder to me to keep a fresh outlook on things I often take for granted. I would argue that not only is it healthy to take the time to step back and have a fresh perspective from time to time, but it’s essential so we don’t become jaded about things that are important to us.

For those of you who have read Develop over the years, you will see that the format and design look different in this edition.

Having listened to comments and suggestions from many of our supporters, we hope this new look will be engaging as you continue to follow our work.

Although our look may have changed, the essence of our work continues as we engage and empower communities to find lasting solutions to break chronic cycles of poverty around the world.

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NEWS

BRING LIGHT CAMPAIGN Since 25 August 2017, over 700,000 Rohingya people have crossed into Bangladesh, fleeing violence in Myanmar.

Most are now based in the crowded camps near an area known as Cox’s Bazar. The total Rohingya population in these camps is now more than 919,000 people.

The influx of refugees has caused a humanitarian crisis that affects around 1.3 million people in Cox’s Bazar, with assistance needed by both refugees and host communities.

The Salvation Army in Bangladesh is working with the local government as well as international and local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide a co-ordinated

and shared response to this humanitarian crisis and avoid duplication of efforts.

As part of a wider response, The Salvation Army is providing solar panels with LED lights and accessories to 2,800 families in the camps.

The lamps will enable people to perform tasks at night without the need for batteries or dangerous open fires. It is also hoped that this new source of light will reduce crime and increase safety as people use them to navigate treacherous pathways through the camp.

Corps in the United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland have been invited to support this campaign through prayer and by donating the equivalent to the cost of one lamp, £72.

At the time of writing, more than 1,700 lamps have been distributed to families. Read more about The Salvation Army’s response to the Rohingya crisis on page 28.

NEWS

FAIR CHRISTMAS FAYRE London’s longest-running ethical Christmas market is back on Oxford Street for 2018! community development projects around the world.

Fair Christmas Fayre is being held on Saturday 1 December, 11 am to 6 pm, at Regent Hall Salvation Army, 275 Oxford Street - just a few metres west of Oxford Circus.

Come along to stock up on ethical goodies and get your Christmas shopping all ‘wrapped up’ under one roof!

Fair Christmas Fayre, now in its 11th year, includes over 25 unique stalls selling ecofriendly, Fairtrade, upcycled, recycled and charity gifts and fashion. Fair Christmas Fayre gives shoppers a chance to create a Christmas for themselves that is fair for the world’s poorest people and the planet.

The Fayre is organised by The Salvation Army International Development UK with proceeds being used to support our

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NEWS

COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE The issue of trafficking/slavery is a growing global crisis, with recent estimates of 30-45 million people oppressed in slavery across almost every part of the world. to trafficking, in particular of the children.

Due to the low employment opportunities in the slum, parents accept jobs that have long hours and are far away from home. Their children are often left unsupervised and at risk of being offered opportunities of school and employment. The DC is going to continue working in the community to reinforce the learnings and to help the community find protection measures for their children when they are unable to supervise them.

The Salvation Army believes in igniting a passionate movement through each of these zonal Communities of Practice. We want everyone to ask: ‘How can we have people enslaved when this is so against the will of God that we must respond?’ As such, delegates at all workshops have been tasked to start a response against trafficking in each of their territories.

The Salvation Army as an international organisation is committed to working for an end to this injustice.

Over the past two years, we have held six Community of Practice workshops for anti-human trafficking in The Salvation Army’s administrative zones of the Americas, Africa, South Pacific and East Asia, and South Asia.

The Europe and North America zones each have anti-trafficking networks which are selffunded. These workshops have strengthened our capacity as churches and practitioners for an effective response to human trafficking.

The workshops defined best-practice principles in the three areas of Prevention, Protection, and Participation of the Church.

At our recent South Asia workshop in Colombo, Sri Lanka, we developed creative ‘tools’ to raise awareness in our local corps about trafficking. Some of these tools included dramas, posters, dance and song.

After rehearsal, we were supported by a local divisional commander (DC) to raise awareness in the community of a local corps.

We were all encouraged by the enthusiasm of the community to listen and learn about trafficking. However, we were equally disturbed by how obvious was the vulnerability

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Hayley Still

COMMUNITY SHARES Through the 2019 Helping-Hand Appeal, you are invited to support communities as they work to overcome poverty together.

Training individuals in business management, accounting, marketing, healthcare and anti-human trafficking helps to improve opportunities, grow confidence, generate income and strengthen resilience within the whole community.

It is the epitome of empowerment, equality and accountability.

Kibera slum is one of the largest in the world, and the challenges people face there are extensive. It is overcrowded and dangerous.

There is violence and theft on a regular basis.

The Salvation Army compound in Kibera is based in the heart of the slum. In the midst of the chaos, the Kibera Mamas group provides safety and solace to the women who take part.

There, they can talk and laugh with friends, leave their challenges outside or choose to discuss them in a safe environment.

In the urban slums of Nairobi, Kenya, every day is a struggle for survival.

It is harsh. It is squalid. It is unfair. It is neglected. But it is not hopeless.

Not content with life as it is, people are coming together and taking their future into their own hands. Together they are pursuing life as it could be, as it was intended to be.

As part of a community self-help group, members regularly contribute small amounts of money to build up a communal fund. They can then each take loans from this shared pot to start or expand their business, or pay for unexpected costs.

The Salvation Army is already working and walking alongside these communities. Money raised through Helping-Hand 2019 will help to provide training, facilities and support to equip and enable these self-help groups to thrive.

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“ The group has helped me in many ways

” Like Miriam, Cecelia also lives in a one room dwelling with her family in the Kibera slum.

Cecelia heard about Kibera Mamas from the group leader Nfrieda and was interested in attending so she could learn a new skill.

‘The group is nice because it helps us and I can talk with the other mamas. It makes us grow our minds, instead of just sitting [and doing nothing].’

In the slum, everything has a price; water, toilets, showers, even a place to throw rubbish. Yet, as Cecelia explains, ‘Most people in the slum are jobless’.

Before joining the group Cecelia would get occasional work washing dishes for her neighbours.

Group members learn to make bead animals which are sold and the profit shared between the members.

Miriam lives in Kibera where she shares a one room dwelling with her husband, three children and niece and nephew. Miriam knows too well the difficulties of living in the slum.

‘We are struggling’ she said ‘it is not good… but we are just used to it.’

As part of the Kibera Mamas group, Miriam has learnt to make bead animals. She said, ‘[The group has] made a difference because I have got some new friends… When I’m there, I don’t have stress. I have learnt a lot of things there… and it has helped me in many ways.’

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This would bring in a small amount of money which she could use to pay for food for her children. But the unpredictable nature of this meant Cecelia would not know, from one day to the next, if she would be able to earn enough money to provide for her family. Some nights they would have to go to bed hungry. She said, ‘Life before was difficult. I would look for something to do like cleaning clothes and I would get just 100 shillings (approximately 76p) to feed my children, but I would not know about tomorrow.’

Now, Cecelia and her children do not go hungry. As part of the Kibera Mamas group she has learnt to make beaded animals and can share in the profits with the other group members.

Cecelia said, ‘I no longer say that I am jobless because I am doing beadwork.’

Through The Salvation Army’s income generation project, 30 self-help groups like Kibera Mamas have already been established and 30 more are planned.

Through these groups, members receive training to help them start or grow their businesses, and a safe place to save money with their fellow group members. Alongside the opportunity to overcome material poverty, is the chance to build relationships and create community. The Kibera Mamas laugh and talk together, comforting one another in their sorrows, and celebrating their successes.

In these seemingly desperate surroundings, community has flourished and potential is being fulfilled.

In community, life can be about more than mere survival.

When a community shares, it can thrive.

How can I help?

• £75 could provide the resources to teach someone to read • £150 could provide business training to a self-help group • £620 could support a savings group to lift themselves out of poverty

How can I access the resources?

• Visit www.salvationarmy.org.uk/ communityshares to watch the videos and download the resources • Order your FREE Community Shares fundraising pack by calling 020 7367 4777 or emailing id@salvationarmy.org.uk

How can I donate?

• Give a donation to your local Salvation Army corps or Family Ministries group • Donate online: salvationarmy.org. uk/communityshares/donate

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Violet Ruria

IMPROVING HEALTH & WEALTH Soap-making is providing an alternative source of income for women in Burkina Faso.

as many are married at a very young age.

Poessin is located approximately 50 miles from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. It is in this small village, characterised by mud houses and dry dusty roads, that The Salvation Army has started a project aimed at empowering women to become self-reliant through income-generating activities.

In 2017, The Salvation Army in Burkina Faso constructed a Literacy and Skills Training Centre in the village. This serves as a space from which this local Salvation Army outpost can build relationships within the community, the majority of whom are Muslim. The Centre is also home to numerous activities such as providing literacy training to women who have never attended formal schooling, as well as health education and livelihood skills including soap-making.

The Mali and Burkina Faso region is one of the newest extensions of The Salvation Army in West Africa with the work in Burkina Faso having been officially opened in August 2018. There are now seven corps and eight outposts in the region.

Both Mali and Burkina Faso are recognised as two of the poorest countries in the world according to the United Nations Human Development Index. Of 189 countries listed, they ranked at number 182 and 183 respectively.

Burkina Faso is a low-income, landlocked sub-Saharan country with limited natural resources. The communities that The Salvation Army is working with identify their biggest challenges as malnutrition due to high costs of foods in the marketplace and lack of clean safe water, and food insecurity caused by recurrent droughts. In addition, women also highlight their lack of access to educational opportunities

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start their income generation businesses’.

Upon completing her Level Three literacy classes, Delfhine joined the soap-making and gardening classes. She has learnt how to make soap, how to grow different types of nutritious vegetables and how to make compost.

According to Delfhine, these skills have given her hope to sustain her family. She said, ‘I am now hopeful that I can soon start making soap at my home and sell in the market to earn some income to support my family’. An alternative source of income is a lifeline for families living in Poessin as minimal rainfall means providing food for the children is often a huge challenge.

Like Delfhine, Aminata joined the project to acquire literacy skills since she did not have the opportunity to attend school as a child.

Once she was able to read and write, Aminata

Quedrougo Delfhine is one of the women I met when I visited Poessin earlier this year. She is a mother of a three-month-old daughter whom she brings along to the centre while attending her literacy and skills training classes.

Delfhine told me that she joined the project because she needed to learn how to read and write her name. During my visit to one of the literacy classes, Delfhine confidently demonstrated that she was now able to do this.

According to one of Delfhine’s teachers, Sarambe Rodrique, the functional literacy training has been very successful because it has provided an opportunity and freedom for women to learn how to read and write. He said, ‘The literacy skills provided have enabled over 80 women to know how to count money and sign receipts. This will help them when they

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“

I am now hopeful that I can soon start making soap at my home and sell in the market to earn some income to support my family

”

was elected to be the record keeper for her group’s income-generation activities.

Having realised that soap was very rare in her community, Aminata saw the opportunity to learn a useful skill, and so she began attending the soap-making class at The Salvation Army outpost. Approximately 80 women in her community have now learnt how to make soap which is used for bathing as well as cleaning laundry and utensils.

During markets days, women take the soap balls from the centre and sell them in the market for a small profit. They keep this profit and reimburse the capital cost back to the centre. This initiative has given women the opportunity to engage in a small business and also earn some money.

According to Captain Nana Fatouma who provides project management support to this

project, soap-making was a natural choice for this community. She said, ‘We are training women to make soap as it is not locally available in this village. In the nearby shops, the price of soap is very high because most of it is imported into our country.’ Captain Fatouma explained how the project had enabled The Salvation Army to develop relationships within the community: ‘This project has enabled us to relate with the families here.’

Since the women have learned to make and sell soap, life in Poessin has improved.

Aminata told me, ‘Our soap making has helped improve the health of our community since we sell it at a lower price and thus many families can afford it. Since we learnt these skills, women have started earning some income from the sale of the soap. This has enabled them to afford to buy food for their children.’

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Aminata hopes that more people will be able to afford soap and that the health of those in her community will be greatly improved.

If you would like to give financially to support The Salvation Army’s income generation projects such as this one in Burkina Faso, please choose ‘Income Generation’ at the back of this magazine or visit: www.donate.salvationarmyappeals.org.uk/ income/

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Give a gift to tackle poverty and injustice around the world.

International Development UK

www.salvationarmy.org.uk/justgifts

Violet Ruria

FARMING THROUGH THE YEARS We revisit our conservation agriculture project in Zimbabwe to see how transforming farming methods can transform lives.

mulching crops, soil moisture is retained, which is vital in an area of low rainfall such as this.

In the first phase of The Salvation Army’s project, a group of 29 small-scale farmers received training on how to use conservation agriculture to improve their yields. I first visited the project back in 2014 and met with some of the participants.

Honest Gudu was one of those farmers, and even in the early stages he had experienced the benefits of using these methods. He said: ‘My yields have doubled since I started using the conservation agriculture method. I used to expect 10 tonnes, now I get over 20 tonnes of maize which is more than enough to feed my family.’

Earlier this year I revisited the Chiweshe district, more than 100 km outside of Harare, and met once again with the farmers who have been part of the project since the beginning.

More than 80 per cent of Zimbabwe’s population is dependent on local subsistence farming to earn a living. However, consistently poor harvests mean food insecurity is increasing and the majority of households live below the poverty line.

The Salvation Army has a long-standing partnership with Zimbabwean organisation, Foundations for Farming, which has been training farmers in conservation agriculture to ensure they can produce plentiful crops despite the challenge of inconsistent rainfall and drought.

The central premise of this method is farming the way God intended – to make the best use of the land in a respectful and careful way. This approach takes advantage of natural ecological processes to conserve moisture, enhance soil fertility and improve soil structure.

By reducing the disturbance of the soil and

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In the years that have past, all 29 farmers have continued to apply the methods they had learnt, such as mulching their fields to preserve soil moisture from evaporation, planting on time and using holes in straight lines during planting.

They each excitedly told me the benefits they have reaped since they adapted to using the conservation agriculture methods. These include the fact that they are now assured of greater harvests despite the prolonged dry periods, and they are less reliant on adding costly fertilisers. This is due both to their soils becoming healthier, and that they are now more able to predict when to plant their crops as a result of their training.

An important element of this project was the responsibility of the first participants to teach others in their villages – promoting community cohesion and ensuring a greater impact. The farmers shared how they have continued to train their neighbours and how they too are now experiencing the benefits.

One of the farmers, Stembille Machemedze, said, ‘We are now able to send our children to school since we are now selling the surplus maize harvest.’ As a member of her local Salvation Army corps, Stembille was also pleased to share that she can now help support her church financially with some of the money gained after selling her crops.

During this visit, I returned to Honest Gudu’s homestead. He led me to his onehectare land on which he still lives with his elderly parents, children and grandchildren.

The mud-bricked and grass-thatched huts scattered within his land were a familiar sight I remembered from my visit four years earlier.

Honest is now 58 years old and has six children in school. They depend on him for

“

I have become the teacher in my village and have helped all my neighbours learn how to use these methods

” school fees, food and clothing. He relies on his small plot of land to provide for his large and growing family, and must harvest enough to provide for a full year of food to eat, as well as surplus to sell and gain some money for other necessities.

When I stood on this same land four years ago it was full of healthy maize which towered overhead. This time, my visit followed a plentiful harvest, and as Honest generously shared with me some recently harvested cobs, our conversation took place beside a farm now

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Unsurprisingly, Honest is keen to share the impact that switching to these methods has had, and to ensure that others can benefit too: ‘Once I realised that my one hectare of land could produce more bags of maize when I applied these methods, I could not turn back. I have become the teacher in my village and have helped all my neighbours learn how to use these methods.’

With the success of this initial phase, we are currently in the process of scaling up this project so it can reach hundreds more farmers across ten new areas of Zimbabwe.

clear and prepared for the next planting. Whilst the landscape was different, Honest had the same cheerful enthusiasm for the project and the method of conservation agriculture that was now second nature to him.

During this visit, he proudly told me, ‘I harvested 43 bags of maize during the last season.

I plan to sell 23 bags of maize and spare 20 bags of maize for my family consumption.’ When I asked how he would use the money from the sale, he explained, ‘I will use part of it to pay school fees for my children and buy seeds for the next season.’

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Paska Moore

INNOVATION FOR TRANSFORMATION The Salvation Army in Nigeria and the Philippines pilots an innovative response to the injustice of human trafficking.

Across four states in Nigeria, and on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines, The Salvation Army’s innovative community awareness and recovery (CAR) project aims to transform community attitudes and behaviours around human trafficking as well as support survivors to reintegrate into their home communities and overcome their experiences.

Funded by the Modern Slavery Innovation Fund (administered by the Home Office), the CAR project began in 2017 and has already received more than 100 referrals and has supported more than 50 survivors with recovery and rehabilitation services. Capacity continues to be built to meet the continuous growth in demand, and referrals have already more than doubled in the second year of the project.

In Nigeria most referrals were for adult women who were victims of sexual exploitation, although there were also referrals for children

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and men and some who were trafficked for domestic servitude and forced labour.

Survivors of trafficking who are referred to the project receive care and accommodation with specially trained host families, and are linked up to long-term community reintegration and support programmes run through Salvation Army churches and centres.

The Salvation Army in Nigeria, through this project, is piloting new approaches to transforming the lives of people vulnerable to trafficking or recovering from exploitation.

This project moves away from shelters and institutions towards traditional African responses of providing support within family and community settings. This has a focus on equipping communities to care for their own vulnerable people in the long term and empowering survivors to develop sustainable self-reliance to reduce the risk of re-trafficking.

One of the women the project has supported is Hannah*.

Hannah is 33 years old and grew up in a small village in Benin, in southern Nigeria.

At the age of 19, whilst training to be a hairdresser, Hannah was invited to work in a salon by a lady from her village who was based in Italy. As her family were extremely poor, Hannah and her parents were delighted with the offer of a well-paid job abroad.

The lady took Hannah through juju1 rituals, processed and kept hold of all the travel documents (which turned out to be fake), and took Hannah to Italy by air.

When they arrived in Italy, the lady told Hannah she would actually be expected to go into prostitution. Hannah was beaten, and threatened that she would be killed by the juju1 if she didn’t comply. She was also told she had to pay 40,000 euros to the lady, and over time managed to pay her 19,000 euros.

*Name has been changed & stock image used.

1 A juju ritual is a belief in the spiritual world that binds women to human trafficking. Victims are made to believe that if they escape from their exploitation or disobey their trafficker, the ‘curse’ will be broken and they will face terrible consequences.

“

Hannah was beaten, and threatened that she would be killed by the juju if she didn’t comply

”

and referred to the Prison Ministry Team of The Salvation Army in Norway which runs a ‘Safe Way Home’ project. When she was released from jail in November 2017, The Salvation Army in Norway referred Hannah to the CAR project in Nigeria for further support.

When Hannah returned to Nigeria, she discovered that her trafficker had threatened her family who were now living in fear of reprisals and a debt of 20,000 euros should they accept Hannah back home. Whilst Hannah stayed with her aunt in Lagos, The Salvation Army helped the family to understand the situation and Hannah’s experiences, and prepare for her to be to reintegrated back home.

Hannah was also supported with access to counselling and psychological support and to consider her future options. In August 2018, Hannah was finally reintegrated with her

Eventually, Hannah escaped but was homeless.

Whilst living on the streets, Hannah met some people who advised her to migrate to Norway.

Whilst attempting to enter Norway, Hannah was intercepted for illegal immigration and detained for eight months in a Norwegian prison. During this time, Hannah was identified as a victim of human trafficking and referred to the Prison Ministry Team of The Salvation Army in Norway which runs a ‘Safe Way Home’ project. When she was released from jail in November 2017, The Salvation Army in Norway referred Hannah to the CAR project in Nigeria for further support.

Whilst attempting to enter Norway, Hannah was intercepted for illegal immigration and detained for 8 months in a Norwegian Prison. During this time, Hannah was identified as a victim of human trafficking

“

In August 2018, Hannah was finally reintegrated with her family in Benin and is now being helped to start a grocery business.

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the impact of UK Government funding on people vulnerable to trafficking whose lives have been transformed by this project which draws on our expertise in this field and strong community networks across Nigeria.

‘She also met some individuals who spoke frankly of the terrible exploitation they have endured, and how, now they are successfully reintegrating into their communities, they can face the future with renewed hope.’

As an international organisation, The Salvation Army is well placed to take action against the injustice of human trafficking. Working as a global network alongside other organisations engaged in tackling modern slavery, The Salvation Army is building a unified response, developing and sharing best practice, which can lead to better prevention and improved support for those affected by human trafficking.

family in Benin and is now being helped to start a grocery business that she identified as a potential source of income.

In August 2018, The Salvation Army in Nigeria welcomed British Prime Minister, Theresa May, as she visited the country during her three-day trip to Africa. At a Salvation Army centre in Lagos, the Prime Minister met staff and volunteers from the community as well as survivors of human trafficking and their families who have been supported through the CAR project.

Project Manager for the CAR project in Nigeria and Philippines, Paska Moore, said: ‘It was a privilege to introduce the Prime Minister, as a long-term champion of the fight against trafficking, to the people whose communities The Salvation Army has been able to support through the CAR project. ‘She was able to see first-hand

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“AT ONE POINT, I FOUND MYSELF STANDING ATOP THE HIGHEST HILL IN THE CAMP, TURNING FULL CIRCLE, DESPERATE FOR A GLIMPSE OF THE EDGE – A SIGN THAT THIS CHAOS HAD AN END. I COULDN’T FIND ONE”

Samuel Shearer

WALKING ALONGSIDE REFUGEES Samuel Shearer (International Emergency Services) unpacks The Salvation Army’s response to the Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh.

well-considered assessment. It happens like this: a disaster occurs – in this case, the AugustDecember 2017 influx of an additional 600,000 refugees from Myanmar to the southern tip of Bangladesh. The world notices (or sometimes doesn’t, but I won’t go into that now) and if there is a Salvation Army presence in the disaster’s location then International Emergency Services (IES) offers its skills and support to help mitigate as many of the effects as possible.

On rare occasions, The Salvation Army is the sole international humanitarian presence.

But in most situations, especially ones as large as a refugee crisis, we work as part of a larger coordinated response with a multitude of other nongovernmental organisations (NGOs).

The first steps are often the hardest. Take the Rohingya refugee crisis, for example. Almost one million refugees (80 per cent of whom are women and children) in the largest refugee camp in the world, in a barren and inhospitable landscape, with food the people don’t understand, barely enough water to survive, and what can only be described as questionable access to latrines. And this is before the rainy season, when the monsoons will destroy homes and spread cholera and diphtheria.

Into this situation comes The Salvation Army, to provide valuable, balanced, and discerning support. The first steps are often the hardest. But we find our feet eventually, with the ‘first steps’ in this instance being a

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This was the case in February 2018, when I travelled with Damaris Frick (Deputy Coordinator, IES) to the coastal area of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The purpose of our trip was to accompany the team from The Salvation Army’s Bangladesh Command to Kutupalong refugee camp and assess how The Salvation Army might best support the needs of the Rohingya people living there.

I have never seen anything like it in my life – not on TV nor in a book, not in school nor anywhere on my travels. I have never, not once, seen anything like these refugee camps. As it currently stands, they provide a temporary ‘home’ to more than 710,000 refugees in an area 10 times the size of London’s Hyde Park.

At one point, I found myself standing atop the highest hill in the camp, turning full circle, desperate for a glimpse of the edge – a sign that this chaos had an end. I couldn’t find one.

When a disaster is smaller in scale, or if the local Salvation Army project teams are large, it is most likely that they will conduct an assessment visit without the assistance of IES. This will usually involve visiting the location of the disaster and meeting with other stakeholders (NGOs, businesses, organisations and teams that are interested or already involved in the emergency response) to discuss a coordinated response which effectively and efficiently meets the most needs of the most beneficiaries.

Meetings will be held with government officials to discuss The Salvation Army’s role in the relief effort and gather any permissions necessary for the work to begin.

When a disaster is larger, more complex, or the local project team is smaller, then IES can make an assessment visit to bolster and support the efforts of the local Army presence.

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“

I have never, not once, seen anything like these refugee camps. As it currently stands, they provide a temporary ‘home’ to more than 710,000 refugees in an area 10 times the size of London’s Hyde Park

”

The tents, and some of them could barely be called that, stretched unyieldingly to the rippling line of the white-hot midday horizon and disappeared beyond it. The need was great. It still is, and I found myself feeling wildly and unequivocally unequal to the task. As I say, the first steps are often the hardest.

The benefit of including an IES visit in the assessment process is that it means the project proposal is borne of two minds. Firstly, you have the local Salvation Army personnel, who take the lead, providing cultural context, background information and local connections.

They are integral to the assessment process, as they are the ones who will see the relief work through its implementation.

What IES brings to the table is something broader and less specific, but certainly no less valuable: experience and international perspective. With a presence in more than 130

countries, many of which are prone to disasters, the work of The Salvation Army is vast and the demand on resources is high.

It is therefore important that we always work within realistic means and never promise money or resources which we are unable to provide.

It is for this reason that project proposals will often go through multiple changes before they are approved, financed and implemented – a constant battle between what we want to do, what we should do, and what is within our power to achieve.

Fortunately, the outcome is almost always a stronger project which has roots in both the soul of the country in which it will unfold and the core mission of The Salvation Army.

Of course, any number of factors, not just internal ones, can shift the trajectory of relief work as it is being formed.

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When we were in Bangladesh, we considered several options, including the provision of shelter and food. The important aspect was to come up with a plan that would work with local authorities and partner organisations to fulfil the most important needs.

The project that is now underway went through innumerable changes before it began implementation. In this case, we finally agreed to oversee the distribution of solarpowered lights and outlet sockets for the Rohingya to charge their phones (a vital tool in maintaining contact with family back in Myanmar and any government or aid bodies on whom they rely), supporting more than 19,000 people.

Many countries have strict guidelines about how international humanitarian funds may be spent and by whom, causing changes and delays if an NGO bureau is unconvinced by a proposed project Equally, with a situation as large and multi-faceted as a refugee crisis there are so many international players that – even with transparency between NGOs – we can accidentally ‘step on each other’s toes’, causing projects to be rewritten. But eventually we find our feet and – once a project proposal is complete – it is discussed

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by a number of boards for approval and then the work of implementation begins.

The assessment process is a vitally important part of humanitarian work. It is the stage where we mitigate potential issues before they arise, manage risks, gather finances and recruit local workers. It is a time when we are in constant communication with our brothers and sisters around the world, planning, creating and building something together to aid those in need. We don’t always get it right, sometimes we miss things, and sometimes it can be deeply frustrating with delays due to political processes and even our own internal systems. But the reality is that nothing would be done without the assessment process, even with all its hurdles.

We sometimes find it easy to shake our heads or roll our eyes as we rewrite or restructure a project over and over again. But all this work is made invaluable if it means that a Rohingya mother can walk back from the market with her children without fear of getting lost, robbed or worse.

A great project – one that saves lives, reduces fear and builds human dignity – is never achieved by good intentions alone.

Without the dedicated and often gruelling work of those on the ground and in the office, this vital work would remain undone.

The first steps are often the hardest, but they are also often the most important.

Support this project, and The Salvation Army’s refugee response in the UK, by donating to our Bring Light campaign. Find out more: www.salvationarmy.org.uk/id/ bring-light This article first appeared in the October–December 2018 issue of All the World, The Salvation Army’s international magazine (salvationarmy.org/alltheworld)

FINANCIAL BREAKDOWN INCOME 2017/18

Our Vision:

General £33,153.69

A world without poverty and injustice.

General

Our Mission: To equip, empower and enable communities around the world to defeat poverty and injustice and work with them to build a better life and future. We engage people to comprehend injustice and take action to restore our world as a place where justice, dignity and equality are a reality for all people.

Anti-Trafficking

Clean Water Food Security Income Generation

Gender Justice Mission Support Allocation

Monthly Release

Clean Water £42,728.99 Food Security £5,574.79 Gender Justice £114,885.79 Income Generation £19,947.62 Monthly Release £53,508.20 Legacies £116,956.11

Legacies

How We Work The Salvation Army International Development UK is an umbrella term for the community development work that The Salvation Army United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland supports around the world.

This work is divided into five themes, three of which sit within the International Projects Office (Clean Water, Food Security and Income Generation), and two which sit within Anti-Trafficking Modern Slavery (AntiTrafficking and Gender Justice). We are also responsible for overseeing the transfer for funds for the UK’s Mission Support Allocation (money donated through the annual Self-Denial Appeal) as well as Emergency Response projects.

By providing financial and technical support to projects within these five themes, The Salvation Army in the UK and Ireland is helping people all over the world to tackle poverty, fight injustice and build a better life and future.

The following pie charts show a breakdown of the money that was donated to The Salvation Army’s international work during the 2017/2018 financial year, and in which areas this money has been spent.

If you would like to make a donation to support The Salvation Army’s international development work, please use the donation form on the back of this page or visit the link to the right.

Anti-Trafficking £39,008.63

Restricted Reserves

Restricted Reserves £357,870.65 Emergency Emergency Response and Recovery £37,370.78 Mission Support Allocation £525,675.34

Emergency Response and Recovery

EXPENDITURE 2017/18

Anti-Trafficking £180,722.19 Clean Water £183,103.38 Food Security £162,585.91

AntiTrafficking

Mission Support Allocation

Gender Justice £9,612.59

Clean Water

Food Security Emergency Response & Recovery

Income Generation £51,738.28 Monthly Release £35,477.07 Emergency Response and Recovery £197,765.77 Mission Support Allocation £525,675.34 Gender Justice Income Generation Monthly Release

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Would you be interested in raising funds for our international community development projects?

Angela Carlucci

FUNDRAISE FOR THE SALVATION ARMY The Salvation Army’s Events Team has a variety of activities you can choose from to support our international work.

You could undertake the challenge of an overseas trek, run the Virgin Money London Marathon and enjoy some of the famous landmarks of the capital; or experience the exhilaration of doing a skydive. We can offer you the opportunity to get involved in these and other exciting activities and be part of #TeamSallyArmy. But if this sounds too energetic, you could take part in Doughnut Day or the Big Tea Party.

We can also support you if you want to arrange your own fundraising, be it shaving your head, arranging a charity football match – or whatever else takes your fancy!

Whatever you decide to do, we will be here to guide you

throughout your fundraising journey.

From our Fundraising Pack filled with top tips to our admin (and moral!) support, we’ll be here to help you every step of the way. Running or cycling? No problem – we will send you a specially designed top which can be personalised with your name. We will help ensure that your training and fundraising journey is successful, and in the meantime you will create some memories for a lifetime.

By becoming part of #TeamSallyArmy you will be helping the most vulnerable people around the world, providing hope to those who need it.

Learn more about our events by visiting the website address below or emailing the Events Team at: challenge@salvationarmy.org.uk

www.salvationarmy.org.uk/fundraise-for-us

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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)