SNAPSHOT OF Anti-Trafficking With high rates of unemployment, only exacerbated by COVID-19, the region of Mizoram in northeast India has high vulnerability to human trafficking. Boys and young men are particularly vulnerable to labour trafficking, whilst women and girls are most commonly trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The Salvation Army in the India East Territory has worked to increase its capacity to respond to the issue of human trafficking. This has involved volunteer training for more than 280 people from 15 corps, awareness campaigns and workshops reaching over 7,000 people and the repatriation and support of 23 survivors of trafficking.
Clean Water In Kilome, Kenya, people were struggling to access clean water. The Salvation Army worked alongside the community to construct a sand dam across their local riverbed. Rainwater is collected in the dam and naturally filtered. It can then be accessed year-round. Grace Mutiso, a member of the project, said: ‘Through The Salvation Army we have gained water. I have saved a lot of time and money not having to search for water. We have also improved health and hygiene in the community. Now we have safe and clean water to drink so we are less vulnerable to diseases.’
Emergency Response At the end of December 2021, the Philippines was hit by Typhoon Rai (known locally as ‘Odette’). Hitting communities in 11 of the Philippines’ 17 regions, the typhoon damaged 2.1 million houses, initially displaced nearly 3 million people and claimed the lives of 409 people. The Salvation Army in the Philippines was quick to respond to the humanitarian need. The United Kingdom and Ireland Territory provided funding for three rapid response projects in different areas of the country. Amidst the ongoing challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Salvation Army provided grocery items, drinking water and hygiene kits to more than 3,000 families.
