All The World (April 2010)

APRIL–JUNE 2010 VoL 48 No 2

food for thought from

Haiti

Contents

same difference

F

OR some reason the earthquake in Haiti seems to have had less of an effect on the public than the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. I can’t really understand why. The bare facts and figures – getting on for a quarter of a million deaths, with hundreds of thousands of people left homeless and without access to basic necessities – seem similar but it seems the tsunami resonated in a way that the Haiti situation hasn’t.

Extreme poverty in Haiti has made this earthquake into probably the worst humanitarian disaster of modern times. As the many agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) look to the long term they are having to start from scratch because what existed before the earthquake is not worth rebuilding.

This situation was emphasised by a colleague who had visited Haiti about six months before the earthquake and seen how desperate the situation was even before this disaster. ‘I heard about the 230,000 deaths,’ she said, ‘and I thought, “How terrible”. But then I thought about the conditions facing the people left and I realised that the ones who were killed were in many ways the fortunate ones.’

Which takes me back to my earlier point – why did the Indian Ocean tsunami affect the public more than the terrible Haiti earthquake?

Unfortunately, the only reasons I can think of are not good ones. Do people find it worse when devastation is wreaked on a beautiful coastline rather than a city that was already extremely grim? Perhaps worse, did the tsunami strike a chord because there were so many tourists affected?

Contents

There’s something strange about human nature that seems to place more value on people ‘like me’. The national media plays on this, giving attention to a major disaster in proportion to the number of its own people affected.

I recall becoming extremely cross on my journey home from work when I saw a newspaper headline: ‘British girl, 2, swept to death’. The girl’s death was a tragedy, no doubt, but I knew that at least 300 people had lost their lives in that particular disaster, yet the only newsworthy part of the story – according to this paper – was the death of one person ‘like me’ or like its readers.

Perhaps my job means attitudes like this stick out like a very sore thumb. My aim is to provide stories and features that people from anywhere in the world will relate to. As far as I’m concerned, everyone is ‘like me’, no matter where they’re from or what their culture is.

I believe I’m in excellent company regarding this attitude. Jesus, telling the now-familiar story of the Good Samaritan, made it clear that loving your neighbour – as instructed in the Ten Commandments – included loving people of a different race and a different culture. It’s like he was saying: ‘Samaritans are people too.’

As you read in this issue of All the World about The Salvation Army’s work in Haiti, it’s worth remembering that Haitians are people too – as are Chileans, Canadians, Moldovans, Zambians ... you get the message!

In the News

3

Recent happenings around the Salvation Army world

Haiti 1

5

Not just another disaster

Haiti 2

7

Setting up a Salvation Army camp

Haiti 3

12

A first experience of a major response

Chile

13

Giving help after an earthquake and tsunami

Canada

14

Making the most of the Winter Olympics

Moldova

16

Projects with a biblical basis

Zambia

18

Reflections on a change in culture

– Kevin Sims, Editor

Visit All the World online at:

www.salvationarmy.org/alltheworld

Editor: Kevin Sims Artwork, illustrations and design: Berni Georges Editorial Office: The Salvation Army International Headquarters, 101 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4EH, United Kingdom Tel: [44] (0)20 7332 0101; fax: [44] (0)20 7332 8079 Email: ihq-alltheworld@salvationarmy.org (please note new email address) Founder: William Booth General: Shaw Clifton Editor-in-Chief: Major Laurie Robertson 2 ALL THE WORLD APRIL–JUNE 2010

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in the news

planting seeds of hope for returning villagers DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO THE Salvation Army in the Democratic Republic of Congo is helping people affected by years of war. Salvation Army officers and personnel from Goma and Kinshasa are working with repatriated families in Masisi and Rutshuru territories to recommence agricultural activities to provide food and income to the most vulnerable people.

The Democratic Republic of Congo has been at the centre of what has been described as Africa’s ‘world war’. The conflict has claimed an estimated 5.4 million lives, either as a direct result of fighting or because of disease and malnutrition. It is possibly the worst emergency to unfold in Africa in recent decades, although the international media coverage has been negligible.

The recent signing of an agreement between some of the warring factions has brought hope that the country is entering a time of greater stability. In some areas, families have begun to return to their villages and homes to try to rebuild their lives.

The Salvation Army has trained a team of 20 volunteers and obtained the services of two agronomists (agronomy is the science of soil management and crop production) to live in two villages and

assist 750 repatriated families – around 3,750 people – to increase their agricultural productivity.

Families are trained and supplied with seeds and equipment to produce a crop and encourage sustainability. Priority has been given to households headed by women or children.

Working in two teams, each under the guidance on an agronomist, the volunteers are trained to help set up

Above: returning villagers and a Salvation Army officer show their new crops

associations consisting of between 10 and 15 families. These associations will share their expertise, develop seed banks, encourage greater representation and help stimulate income generation and community development for the long term.

Each family was given a three-month supply of beans and rice to sustain them through the growing season before they can harvest their first crop.

‘sitting room will soon need elastic walls’ SIERRA LEONE A FOUR-BEDROOM apartment is the first home for The Salvation Army in Sierra Leone, west Africa, and – in spite of limited funding and the unreliability of electricity and water supplies – Captains John and Rosaline Bundu are full of faith and enthusiasm for the future.

The captains, officers (ministers) of The Salvation Army’s Liberia Command, have returned to their homeland of Sierra Leone to open the work of The Salvation Army there.

The first holiness meeting and Bible study was held in the sitting room/meeting room of the captains’ apartment, which is big enough for around 60 people. Lasting three hours, it was attended by 10 adults and eight children. A regular Sunday Bible study and holiness meeting have now been established and the captains are engaging in intensive house-to-house evangelism in the local community. On continued on page 4 APRIL–JUNE 2010 ALL THE WORLD 3

in the news continued from page 3

New Year’s Eve 2009, 39 adults and 16 children attended a special meeting – the sitting room will soon need elastic walls!

The Bundus are organising prayer meetings, weekday Bible studies and a Sunday school, determined to lay a firm spiritual foundation for the work. In January three children were dedicated to God. When the captains arrived in Sierra Leone in December 2009 they initially stayed with family members but within two weeks they found a suitable place, which they secured by paying a year’s rent in advance. The apartment has a spacious kitchen, pantry, two toilets and bathrooms.

The Bundus spent a week cleaning, painting and making the building secure,

as well as reporting to local government offices to begin the process of obtaining official registration of The Salvation Army in Sierra Leone.

On Sunday 20 December 2009 the Salvation Army flag was flown for the first time in Sierra Leone as the captains and their young son marched through the streets of the capital city, Freetown (see photo on previous page). This new opening brought the number of countries in which The Salvation Army is at work to 119. (Editor’s note: The number has now increased to 120, with the official opening of work in Nicaragua.)

In the words of Captain John Bundu: ‘The light is on, the flag is up. We are moving forward. To God be the glory!’

Right, from top: making a joyful noise; lively worship; the captains and congregation members

presentation offers 1.4 billion reasons to end poverty UK AN audience of more than 800 people attended the launch of the Global Poverty Project’s 1.4 Billion Reasons presentation at St Paul’s Cathedral, London, UK. The launch was co-hosted

by The Salvation Army’s International Development Department of the UK Territory.

Hugh Evans, chief executive officer of the Global Poverty Project, appealed to hearts and minds with the groundbreaking presentation which – through words, pictures and film – graphically

illustrated the need to eradicate extreme poverty.

Hugh urged viewers to look beyond stereotyped views of trade and aid to help the 1.4 billion people who are living on less than US$1.25 per day, claiming that tackling extreme poverty is ‘this generation’s greatest challenge’. He drew attention to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and warned that, despite pledges on the issue, the global community is in danger of falling considerably short of the objectives it hoped to achieve by 2015.

The presentation will be rolled out across the UK in 2010 to universities, schools, different faiths and businesses.

The Salvation Army International Development Department in the UK Territory is a key faith partner of the Global Poverty Project. It hopes to deliver the 1.4 Billion Reasons presentation throughout the territory in 2010 and beyond.

Graeme Hodge, the department’s assistant director, said: ‘We are really proud to be a part of the Global Poverty

4 ALL THE WORLD APRIL–JUNE 2010

Speakers at the launch included Hugh Evans (above) and the Archbishop of York (left)

Project – it is a great, simple way for us all to learn why there are still so many people living in poverty, but also what we can do to take action and end extreme poverty once and for all.’

Other speakers at the event included the Anglican Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, and Douglas Alexander, the UK Government’s Secretary of State for International Development. In addition, actor Hugh Jackman recorded a special message showing his support for the cause in which he stated: ‘It’s time to re-energise this movement.’

For more information, visit www.globalpovertyproject.com

Damaris Frick, an experienced emergency services worker, reports how The Salvation Army came to take responsibility for a camp of 20,000 people – the first time in its history that the Army has taken on such a task. What she is too modest to say, as manager of the camp, is that outside agencies who assessed the site took away footage of The Salvation Army’s camp to show others the good practices in place there.

For Major Kelly Pontsler, Haiti was her first experience of a major disaster. She writes about being placed into a situation that was totally unfamiliar but one that she feels she was meant to be part of.

First, though, Major Cedric Hills – a former International Emergency Services Coordinator – reports on his experiences in Haiti, where even somebody as experienced as he is had much to learn.

P

REPARING to fly out to Haiti a few days after the 12 January earthquake, I was asked whether I was ready and emotionally prepared for the sights I would see and the situation I would encounter. My reply seems rather blasé now – I politely thanked the enquirer for their care but reminded them that as an experienced aid worker I had deployed to earthquake relief efforts in Turkey, Pakistan and Peru and that I had seen and experienced it all before.

Arriving in Haiti I quickly discovered just how wrong I was!

Thankfully, I have never experienced a major earthquake. I have usually arrived in

Photo by Jeremy Watt/The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory

HISTORY WILL RECORD the earthquake that hit Haiti on 12 January 2010 as the most devastating natural disaster of modern times. More than 230,000 people are known to have died and the figure keeps rising. The Salvation Army reacted swiftly to this huge disaster and much of this issue of All the World is devoted to the Army’s response, as recalled by three workers coming from very different perpectives.

Haiti

a disaster like no other

by Major Cedric Hills the field just days after the event, but I don’t mind admitting that aftershocks I have experienced over the years have frightened me, and that certainly played on my mind.

It didn’t help that on my first morning in Port-au Prince we were rudely woken by a large aftershock which had us jumping from our beds and running for open ground.

For the next few weeks none of the team slept soundly – anxiety for the unpredictable tremor helped me empathise with those who had survived the horror of the initial earthquake and who remained too frightened to sleep inside their homes.

I had expected to be camping in a tent so our hotel was a pleasant surprise. The exotically named Coconut Villa had survived remarkably unscathed – something which seemed all the more surprising when confronted by the completely flattened homes in its immediate vicinity. The sight of homes reduced to rubble was not new to me but I quickly became aware of the extent of the damage. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 Above: a Salvation Army worker with local boys in Port-au-Prince

caused suffering on a huge scale but the roads, homes and infrastructure just two miles from the shore had been unaffected.

Haiti was a different situation altogether – the damage seemed to go on for mile after mile.

Haiti was impoverished before the earthquake. Facilities were limited with everything focused in and around the capital city of Port-au-Prince. This situation added to the challenges being faced by aid agencies.

Port-au-Prince dock was damaged and inaccessible. The airport was closed to commercial passenger flights. Aid agencies, search and rescue teams, United Nations (UN) personnel and military units all jostled for the very limited airspace and tightly controlled landing slots.

Warehouse space was never plentiful but many buildings had fallen victim to the quake. Aid agencies had little choice but to stage incoming relief goods in the open, fringe areas of the airfield. With limited space and a shortage of logistical facilities we found ourselves under pressure to move goods out immediately. continued on page 6

APRIL–JUNE 2010 ALL THE WORLD 5

Photo by Jeremy Watt/The Salvation Army Canada and Bermuda Territory

Haiti

a disaster like no other continued from page 5

The Salvation Army around the world has developed many positive relationships.

Within North America we are widely recognised, appreciated and supported. As we endeavoured to find a way forward in Haiti we found ourselves giving thanks for this positive standing in the USA. Senior officers from the US 82nd Airborne Division approached us to offer their help.

Their willingness to provide security support for distributions and essential logistical assistance with freight at the airfield came as an answer to prayer.

We were quickly engaged in huge-scale Above left: Major Cedric Hills helps unload relief supplies; above right: a Haitian officer translates at the Salvation Army health clinic; below: military support was vital in providing security

6 ALL THE WORLD APRIL–JUNE 2010

relief distributions, often with up to cluster meetings and coordinated properly 300,000 meals being handed out at each with them and our colleague aid agencies. distribution point. We joked that ‘The Logistics specialists were deployed to Salvation Army only works in 6 figures’ – the field to ensure the smooth reception and but the support of the transmission of relief 82nd and the efficiency of Those in the field commodities. In addition the food supply pipeline the field-based are only as effective to created by our colleagues command centre, a at the Salvation Army as the team providing similar centre was World Service Office the logistical backestablished in The (SAWSO) in the USA, up and supply chain Salvation Army’s USA made such huge figures National Headquarters. possible. I’ve witnessed Salvation Army Specialists ensured that warehouse relief operations all around the world but operations operated efficiently, with flights the scale of our programme in Haiti was chartered to get relief supplies to the front something new. line as smoothly as possible. It was a The enhanced relief activities required a reminder to me that those in the field are new approach to management too. For only as effective as the team providing the some years the nine-position logistical back-up and supply chain.

‘Incident Command System’ As I look back over five long and has been employed as a way demanding weeks in the field I am of managing American immensely proud of the team effort that domestic emergencies. At an resulted in more than 2.5 million meals, international level we had hundreds of pallets of water and thousands often discussed the virtues of of tents and other relief supplies reaching this structure and Haiti the people who so badly needed them. seemed an ideal operation to Having witnessed the Army at work in implement it.

Haiti, can I now say I’ve seen it all? Ask me The system needed again next time! adapting to suit the needs of a UN-driven event.

Specifically, we needed Major Cedric Hills is corps officer at three team members working Portsmouth Citadel in The Salvation full-time to ensure we Army’s UK Territory with the Republic attended the various UN of Ireland

Haiti A young girl carries food for her family

T

HE night before I left Haiti the emergency camp’s committee arranged a surprise farewell party.

They had decorated our camp office and brought soft drinks and a cake with ‘Je t’aime’ written on it. They had even brought a tape player and, thanks to the generator we and our partner organisations had repaired to provide light for the camp, we had music and sang and danced happily along to ‘We are the World’. People from the camp looked through the window and

by Damaris Frick the open door, and the whole atmosphere was cheerful and celebratory.

A few weeks earlier I couldn’t have from the adjacent football arena was broken other non-governmental organisations, imagined a moment like this. The and so the shelters spread onto Salvation usually filling the gaps that ‘bigger’ earthquake that hit Haiti on 12 January had Army land. agencies could not deal with. devastated large parts of the country Major Lucien Lamartiniere, The Now here we were in Haiti with one of including its capital, Port-au-Prince. As of Salvation Army’s divisional commander for the biggest camps in the city next door to 27 January, the Haitian Government was Haiti, had decided against rebuilding the our compound while the shelter and camp reporting that 112,392 people had died and wall and moving people off the land. management cluster led by IOM 196,501 people had been injured by the ‘These are the people from our community,’ (International Organisation for Migration) earthquake. But there were still countless he said. ‘We need to put the signal out that was struggling to find NGOs willing to take people missing and some estimates put the we are there for them.’ on the role of camp managers. After death toll as high as 250,000. The number The camp was a mess. More than 3,000 consulting my line managers I raised my of displaced people could be as high as families lived in small makeshift shelters. hand at the camp coordination and camp a million.

There was no water and no sanitation. The management meeting and The Salvation More than 400 spontaneous settlements area was covered in all types of debris – Army was officially accepted as the camp had emerged all over Port-au-Prince. One including human waste. Food was in short management agency for ‘Place et Parc de of the biggest ones was right next to The supply, people were desperate and all over la Paix’.

Salvation Army’s divisional headquarters Port-au-Prince the situation was tense.

I had little idea what I had got myself compound. In fact it was The Salvation Army has into but a few days later I was appointed the actually on the Salvation We need to put the assisted in many emergency camp manager – responsible for an Army compound because signal out that we camps all over the world, overcrowded camp that was home to a the wall that used to working alongside the are there for them U n i t e d N a t i o n s a n d continued on page 8 separate the compound

we are the world

APRIL–JUNE 2010 ALL THE WORLD 7

Haiti Far left: registration in the camp office; left: photos were taken so that ration cards could only be used by the people they were assigned to; below right: in front of the destruction a small sign of hope as goods start to be sold again; below left; the first ration cards were Salvation Army envelopes; bottom left: Damaris Frick uses the innovative UPS Trackpad system

we are the world continued from page 7

yet-to-be-discovered number of people. It was a scary thought!

We had carried out an initial food distribution but to do it properly and on a regular basis we would need exact names and numbers. Without that information, how would we ensure we didn’t miss the most vulnerable people, the ones who were too old or too weak to push their way to the front of the crowds that gather when a truck is spotted?

Young people connected to the local Salvation Army volunteered and an assessment team of 40 was trained and then sent to the camp. In pairs, they walked from

8 ALL THE WORLD APRIL–JUNE 2010

shelter to shelter and registered each family, giving them a ration card.

At this point these vital cards were simply Salvation Army envelopes with a stamp and number so we could tell they were genuine. In time they would be replaced by more conventional ration cards and then laminated cards, of which more later.

For now, even these envelopes would enable each family to receive the food or non-food items they needed. It took the team nearly a week to register all the people in the camp.

By the time we finished we had discovered that 3,216 families – 15,716 individuals – lived in our camp.

The problems in the camp seemed

overwhelming. Food was a priority and we tried to deal with that immediately.

Healthcare was also vital. Fortunately, The Salvation Army’s pre-existing motherand-child first aid unit on the compound could be extended to a proper field clinic.

With the help of another medical group which volunteered to partner with us, more than 300 patients were treated there every day.

Under very basic circumstances the local and international medical staff had to do surgeries but were also able to assist in

I literally spent many nights worrying about the desperate situation

giving birth to several beautiful babies. So that was one need ticked off my list.

But then there was the lack of water and sanitation, the need for more-durable shelter, waste removal, protection issues, children-related issues ... the list of needs seemed endless. I had meetings with the camp committee, a group of 10 men and one woman that had been formed out of their own initiative in an attempt to deal with the needs in the camp.

These meetings were intense and the people were angry and frustrated with the situation but also with the humanitarian community. Aid just didn’t seem to get into the communities fast enough.

My heart felt heavy and my head ached after these meetings. How do you explain to Above: the Salvation Army camp; below: obtaining water was a priority for the camp

desperate people all the logistical challenges?

Captain Agnes Wahli, a Swiss Salvation Army officer, was working in the camp with me. We spent many nights worrying about the desperate situation, trying to find solutions and making plans. Many days we worked till late at night and sometimes I even got up in the middle of the night to get back on my computer because of urgent thoughts or things to do.

Fortunately we don’t have to do everything by ourselves. We found really good partners. Two agencies took on the responsibilities for water, sanitation, waste management and hygiene promotion.

Another group wanted to do supplementary feeding for children. UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) came and discussed education topics. Every week we met with these partner agencies to share the present situation, the needs and the plans for the next few days.

And things started to change. After a short time we had a water supply in the camp – at least enough to cover the need for drinking water. By the time I left the first latrines were under construction, 12 preexisting washing facilities were cleaned and ready to be used, the generator had been repaired so there was light in the evenings, a mother-and-child breastfeeding tent was set up and a child-friendly space was almost finished.

We added four women to our camp committee to slowly reach a more genderbalanced group and installed 10 people from the camp to keep an eye on security day and night. We had also received a donation of a Trackpad barcode system from the delivery company UPS,

which really helped our distributions and record-keeping.

The Salvation Army’s logistics officer, Craig Arnold, an American Salvationist, was employed by UPS and through him we established a great relationship with his company. Not only had they released him for three weeks to assist in the immediate disaster relief, they also transported lots of supplies for free.

A discussion about how to improve the distribution arrangements led to the idea of adapting UPS’s Trackpad system – designed to track parcels – so it could be used to monitor the families in our camp.

Every family was then invited to re-register at our camp office. That gave us the chance to add some more data and also verify the information for families that had reported their cards being stolen or lost.

Each family got a new laminated card with a barcode that could be read by the handheld devices supplied by UPS. We took photos so that we could be sure the person who turned up at a distribution really was who they claimed to be.

The new plastic cards replaced the previous paper ones that broke and got wet and had to be replaced frequently, taking up valuable time and energy. With the new cards it was also much easier to record and report the data, using a laptop also supplied

by UPS. This was an important step to be even more accountable to beneficiaries, the UN cluster and coordination system and eventually to donors.

With the people from our camp coming to re-register we got to know them much better. Behind the huge numbers there were suddenly all these individuals, all their sad stories, all the tragedies.

I met Natalie, a 20-year-old who lost two family members and is now all by herself.

She told us she slept in the camp, on the floor under a piece of sheet. In spite of all the safeguards we put in place, it worried continued on page 10

APRIL–JUNE 2010 ALL THE WORLD 9

Haiti we are the world

Left: Kris Allen, 2009 winner of ‘American Idol’, plays with a child in the Salvation Army camp; right: putting faces to the numbers – some of the thousands of people registered as living in the Salvation Army camp in Port-au-Prince

continued from page 9

me to think of a young, pretty girl being alone in the camp.

Another woman we met was Desilma, who lost all her belongings and four members of her immediate family in the earthquake. With nine other family members she had made a small makeshift shelter out of some bed linen. This might offer at least some privacy but no protection from the rain. When it rained Desilma sat on a bucket with her baby on her lap. Her family was assigned the number 1121 and with her card she had so far received food on a weekly basis, a hygiene kit, a jerry can, a bucket and a tarpaulin. The tarpaulin would provide at least some protection against the rain.

Natalie and Desilma were just two of the thousands of people who came to our office to get their new cards and have their photos taken. You can see in the photos (see facing page) the grief in their eyes.

Over time, our camp became a place where the UN and other groups came to visit and bring visitors. Our most famous visitor was probably Kris Allen, last year’s winner of the most popular TV show in the USA, American Idol – although being slightly ignorant when it comes to shows like that I had never heard his name before!

His visit lasted an hour but I reckon his appearance may well have raised awareness of the ongoing situation in Haiti. If some of

Below left: Damaris Frick (right) and Captain Agnes Wahli (left) with some members of the camp committee; below right: a child plays between the shelters in the camp

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We are the world We are the children We are the ones who make a brighter day So let’s start giving ...

It’s true we’ll make a better day Just you and me From ‘We are the World’ by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie

the money raised through his visit goes to help people in camps like ours then I will be pleased.

By the time I left Haiti life in the camp had improved but it was still tough. There were by no means enough toilets and hardly any privacy for bathing. We had distributed tarpaulins to give some protection from the rain – there was not enough space for everyone to have tents – but we still had worries about the upcoming rainy season and potential flooding. Most people were

without livelihoods and had little hope of returning to their own homes.

Every day brought new challenges. But every day also brought some small steps in our attempts to improve the situation, some tiny rays of hope and a growing friendship with the committee and the other people we interacted with.

Singing along to the cheesy song ‘We are the world, we are the children’ with them at my farewell party was fun, but it was also a symbol of people from different parts of the world uniting in their attempts not to give up but to make a change. In the many farewell speeches – one by every member of the camp committee and the security team – one person said: ‘Our community is blessed because we have The Salvation Army living in the neighbourhood.’

I pray that I and The Salvation Army can try to carry on acting in the way the Army has acted in Haiti – not putting up walls or closing our eyes to the unpleasant and at times scary situations we see, but being a radical, life-changing blessing to the people around us.

Damaris Frick is a member of The Salvation Army’s International Emergency Services team

Haiti

where I needed to be

by Major Kelly Pontsler

O

UR small nine-seat airplane swayed back and forth as it descended through the strong breeze into Portau-Prince. It had been a long day of travel from the USA. As we touched down, the pilot rolled the plane off the tarmac and onto a patch of open field.

Stepping down from the small cabin and into the hot and humid night, I wondered for a moment what I’d gotten myself into. But in the next instant I sensed the quiet confidence that this was where I needed to be.

My journey to Haiti had begun a week earlier. I don’t have the credentials of formal disaster training, although my service as a Salvation Army officer has taken me to many countries. In response to the breaking news of the earthquake’s destruction, I would have been content to make my donation and let others do the hands-on work. But the Lord had other plans! The Above: Major Kelly Pontsler with a baby born at the Salvation Army clinic in Port-au-Prince; below: Major Lucien Lamartiniere, commander of The Salvation Army’s Haiti Division, with his family.

Their home was destroyed in the earthquake

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welcome from the team was warm and I felt quickly at home in the strange surroundings.

As the group met together the next morning, my own role began to formalise,

Those who survived the destruction were still too afraid to go inside the buildings left standing with tasks assigned to me relating to administration, finance and public information. While the operation of the disaster response was new to me, organising and documenting are skills that come pretty naturally. And so I hit the ground running, picking up where others had left off.

Viewed from a distance, the work of any disaster team may appear to be chaotic and confused. People seem to be running in every direction at once, but it is more like a complex but well-orchestrated dance, every element of movement needing to be in coordination with all the rest.

And I have to say, the view of the action from my chair in the admin office was impressive!

I landed in Port-au-Prince just two weeks after the 12 January earthquake. Nerves were raw and people still in shock. Those who

survived the destruction were still too afraid to go inside the buildings left standing.

Some of the scenes etched in my mind are almost beyond description – buildings of historical importance or national pride now toppled over or flat as pancakes; the crowded conditions of the camp near our property as families of five shared space enough for one; the stench rising off the piles of waste as they baked in the hot Haitian sun; the signs posted everywhere, saying: ‘We need help’.

Too much to be done, hard decisions to be made, where do you start? A few days before my arrival, Lieut-Colonel Danny Morrow prayed on behalf of the team: ‘Let us do no harm,’ and it became a focus for decisions in the days that followed. The team strategised and solved problems. And as they did, they ministered God’s grace with confidence and compassion. By divine appointment, I was privileged to be a partner in that process. That was perhaps the most impressive part of all.

I will remain eternally grateful for my experience in Haiti. As I boarded the flight home I was thoroughly exhausted but content. I’d been where I needed to be!

Major Kelly Pontsler is Divisional Secretary for Business in the Golden State Division of The Salvation Army’s USA Western Territory

Chile

Left: Salvationists working to clear debris pray with local people in a tsunami-hit community

scenes of devastation After an earthquake and tsunami caused devastation in Chile, Tamara Sepulveda volunteered to help The Salvation Army, along with her university friend Mariela Alarcon, a Salvationist. Tamara ended up travelling to Concepción and saw some of the places that had been worst hit by the disaster, as she reports here:

I

N the week after the earthquake, aid was packet of macaroni, a packet of powdered collected in Santiago. I offered to be part milk and some hygiene items such as a of the team that took the donations to toothbrush, toothpaste and soap.

Concepción, known as ground zero because The next day we carried out our first it was the place closest to the epicentre of emergency operation in Caleta Tumbes, a the earthquake. We could see clearly the fishing town on a beautiful bay, which was massive structural damage suffered by the devastated by the tsunami. One person told town. us the earthquake had caused no damage The plan on our first day, Saturday 6 but that 30 minutes later the wave arrived, March, was to offer help in the seaside sweeping everything away. town of Dichato but we discovered that the The place was devastated as the sea had Navy had sealed the town off because of the risen about five metres above its normal number of bodies and the risk of level, taking the wood and brick houses contamination. with it.

We returned to our base – the Salvation We prayed with people and distributed Army centre just blocks from ground zero 400 food hampers. A community leader in Concepción – to receive new said there were up to 2,500 people in the instructions, unload our personal things, place but that only one aid delivery had have something to eat and wait for the truck arrived. that was bringing food donations. The truck There was a desperate need for food and was under military guard as there had been water. The people also needed detergent significant looting. and bleach to clean with, clothing and We unloaded the donated goods and kept shelter. We gave food hampers to those who watch over them to avoid them being looted. We put together 800 family It was almost as though an hampers, each one with a kilo of atomic bomb had been dropped sugar, salt, a packet of noodles, a

were staying on their own property and to those who were perched on the hillsides, waiting for the aftershocks to stop and for the Government to send help so they could build shelters.

The Salvation Army teams worked to give strength to the people by distributing food, praying and showing them that they were not alone, but that God was with them.

We helped to clear the rubble from people’s homes until 3.30 pm, when we returned to base. A group of volunteers from Concepción Corps (Salvation Army church) stayed behind to continue supporting the families.

The next morning one van left with people to work in Las Salinas and another took volunteers to Dichato, which was no longer under quarantine.

A colleague and I visited several residential zones in Concepción, finding that many of our neighbours’ houses had been flattened and they were having problems getting help to remove the rubble.

We gave out hampers and told Major Carlos Aguilar – corps officer (minister) at Concepción – what we had seen so he could form a team of volunteers to help these people.

The volunteers who had gone to Las Salinas returned to report that the town was devastated.

Those who went to Dichato said the community of 3,500 inhabitants was very organised but that it was the most devastated place they had seen, almost as though an atomic bomb had been dropped.

Most people were living in camps and, while they had received food from other organisations, they needed medicines. The volunteers dedicated their time to cleaning the camps and talking with families.

It was decided that the group from Santiago would concentrate on Dichato, while the people from Concepción will go to help another community.

Now my group will focus on Dichato, supporting this large group of people who became homeless in an instant.

APRIL–JUNE 2010 ALL THE WORLD 13

Canada

more than sport

S

ALVATION Army volunteers in Vancouver, Canada, served more than 600,000 free cups of hot chocolate and coffee to spectators, vistors and residents during the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. This was just part of The Salvation Army’s work in association with the organisation More Than Gold, which promotes the Christian faith to the large number of people who gather at events such as the winter and summer Olympics and the soccer world cup.

The Vancouver Sun reported: ‘The 2,000 volunteers are mostly locals with some teams from other parts of North America and Europe. They can be seen serving coffee and hot chocolate at TransLink stations, Vanoc bus depots and wherever crowds are gathering.’

Local police commended Salvation Army volunteers, saying that the offer of free drinks had a positive impact in crowded areas, taking the edge off any potential problems.

Throughout the Olympics, the drop-in centre at The Salvation Army’s Vancouver Harbour Light – a centre for the homeless – hosted guests from the downtown eastside area of the city, many of whom enjoyed watching the games on a 65-inch big-screen TV in a home-like environment. The drop-in centre was decorated with a Team Canada theme and guests could enjoy snacks and

Publicising More Than Gold on a parade through Vancouver

refreshments, and even some live entertainment from local musicians.

Kecia Fossen, who works for The Salvation Army at Vancouver Harbour Light, thinks it’s significant that The Salvation Army provided a place for the homeless community of the downtown eastside to celebrate the games.

‘It’s so nice. Rather than being told they need to feel a certain way about the Olympics, they can at least have the opportunity to participate in enjoying the games and the Canadian pride taking place in our city.’

The Salvation Army provided free Olympic big-screen viewings in other Metro Vancouver communities as well, including in North Vancouver, South Vancouver and Burnaby.

For more information on The Salvation Army’s work at the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games, go to www.saolympics.com. Information on the More Than Gold programme can be found at www.morethangold.ca

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14 ALL THE WORLD APRIL–JUNE 2010

Moldova

examples of faith and love Words and photos by Ruud Tinga ‘Then the King will say ... “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world ... I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me ...

Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”’

Excerpts from Matthew 25:31-40 Today’s New International Version

T

HE Republic of Moldova, one of the countries of the former Russian Federation, is the poorest country of Europe. More than 70 per cent of its inhabitants live under the poverty line.

Outside the larger cities people have no electricity and they still have to go to a public well to get water. Carts and horses are a common sight but there are few cars. For someone from one of Europe’s richer countries, a visit to Moldova is like a trip into the past.

In 1994 The Salvation Army started its work in Moldova, where it is now growing faster than in any other country of the Eastern Europe Territory.

An hour’s drive from the capital, Chisinau, on roads which are badly effected by the cold winter weather, is Rusca Prison.

Almost 300 women are imprisoned here.

For many of them freedom is many years away, but together with The Salvation Army they work at improving their future.

Most of the buildings of the prison were built before the Second World War and need to be replaced. The building in which the women live, however, is more modern.

The rooms for two, four or six women don’t look like prison cells and are shared by women of a similar age. The youngest *Not her real name

A guard from Rusca Prison talks with Anna Stasiuc – coordinator of the Salvation Army work in the prison – and Major Vivien Callendar. The major and her husband, Major Ian Callendar, are leaders of The Salvation Army’s Moldova Division

inmate is 16, the oldest over 70. Sentences vary but the woman with the longest sentence is only halfway through the 25 years she must serve.

The regime is particularly tough during the first six to nine months of a sentence.

During this period the women have to stay in their room on the ground floor almost constantly. Twice a day they are allowed out for an hour, to take in some fresh air in a cage behind the building.

After those first months the rules are not so strict. The women move to another floor and can take part in work programmes, making uniforms for prison guards and customs personnel for instance. They can grow grain, bake bread or cook the meals.

Those who adhere to the rules and work

Elena threw a knife at her mother-in-law and killed her

hard will have their sentence shortened by up to 45 days. It motivates the women to be busy during the day and to get used to a certain kind of discipline.

For a few years they have also been able to have computer lessons, which are given

by Salvation Army personnel. Once a week there are two classes for 20 women, one in the morning and the other in the afternoon.

At lunchtime the Army also provides a meal and gives the women an opportunity to talk about the God who can change their lives.

The women share their thoughts with Salvationist Anna Stasiuc, who coordinates the work and prepares the meal.

Change can be seen and heard in the stories of some of the prisoners. Twentysix-year-old Elena* is four years into a nine-year sentence. She suffers from continued on page 16

APRIL–JUNE 2010 ALL THE WORLD 15

Moldova

examples of faith and love continued from page 15

depression and has had difficulty controlling her emotions. She is in prison because, during an argument, Elena threw a knife at her mother-in-law and killed her.

To make matters worse, while Elena was in prison her father had a fight with her husband, hitting him so hard that he died from his injuries. Her mother now looks after Elena’s six-year-old daughter.

Elena is seeing a psychologist but she believes her new-found faith will make an even bigger difference. ‘I know that I still have many years to go before I get out,’ she says, ‘but this computer course run by The Salvation Army will help me to get a better future. It will be easier to find a job after I am released.

‘I started reading the Bible and that gives me peace of mind. My faith in Jesus Christ gives me the power to go through this punishment for what I have done wrong. It is not easy, but I accepted that I have to stay here for another five years.’

Next to Elena sits 50-year-old Janka*, who has completed half of her 12-year sentence. She explains that some so-called friends asked her to collect money. ‘I was too naive to realise what I was doing,’ she says. ‘I had no idea that I was involved in human trafficking. I gave that money to my “friends”, who disappeared. Then the people who gave me the money wanted to 16 ALL THE WORLD APRIL–JUNE 2010

know what had happened. I was stupid – I should have known better.’

What hurts Janka most is that she has not seen her children for years. Her son and daughter were 13 and 15 when she was imprisoned. ‘When I was arrested,’ she says, ‘I lost my house so my children had to live on the streets. There was nobody who could take care of them. As far as I know they still are still homeless and I do not know if they are all right.’

Anna and the Salvation Army workers who go to the prison have promised they will look for Janka’s children and ask them to get in touch with her. This promise eases the pain a little, but Janka admits that she still worries about her children. ‘I feel that I failed as a mother. I ask God and my children to forgive me because I could not live up to their expectations.’

‘Although the regime is not very hard,’ says Anna, ‘it still is a prison. The women do not always want to talk about their personal feelings. The little attention I give along with my testimony about what God means to me and how he can change people’s lives give them confidence that they are not written off.’

Top left: inmates enjoy the meal provided by The Salvation Army; above left: Anna Stasiuc teaches computer skills; right: a doctor examines a woman’s eyes for signs of disease

E

VERY Saturday, Salvationists Nicolae and Tatjana Caraman depart for one of the many small villages in the Moldovan countryside where time seems to have stood still. Medical care is unknown to most villagers. When they need it, they cannot afford it. According to Nicolae there are 1,600 villages and medical care is available in only 600.

That leaves 1,000 villages – and hundreds of thousands of people – whose only opportunity for healthcare lies with organisations like The Salvation Army and the dedication of people like the Caramans, both of whom are medical doctors.

During the week Doctor Nicolae runs a Salvation Army clinic in the capital, Chisinau. The Salvation Army has also set up a mobile medical programme which sees Doctor Nicolae and his team of doctors and nurses visit various villages. Each village is visited every six months and while this seems less than ideal the Salvation Army

Moldova Left: Dr Tatjana Caraman speaks to an elderly patient; below: Dr Nicolae Caraman fills out a prescription

team offers the only healthcare the villagers will receive.

On a bitterly cold morning people gather at the derelict town hall in Clisova. One of the nurses puts the Salvation Army sign outside and four offices become a clinic.

Four doctors will examine the people today.

The medical instruments they use are outdated but still do the job.

The eye doctor changes the lenses in the old-fashioned frame. One of his colleagues takes the blood pressure of a woman. In the same office Doctor Nicolae explains to a 16-year-old girl how a hearing aid works. It is a model that was used in more-developed countries more than 30 years ago. He puts an earpiece in her left ear and then one in her right ear. The girl’s face lights up – she can hear!

Dr Tatjana Caraman examines a 15-yearold girl who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. To buy the girl’s medication, her father sold a cow, which was – to them – worth a fortune. But Dr Tatjana has a difficult message to tell the girl and her parents, who also have health problems. The medication did not work and the only solution is an operation in Chisinau. ‘My husband will do everything he can to get you

into a hospital,’ she tells the girl, explaining to her parents: ‘If your daughter does not get this operation, she will die.’

The doctor sees the devastation in their eyes and leans on her faith to provide words of comfort. ‘God will help you and keep you,’ she says. All she can do is tell them once again that Dr Nicolae will make sure the girl gets the surgery she needs – free of charge.

A woman comes in with her 13-year-old grandson, who has mental problems. She explains that she cannot pay for the medication he needs. His parents work in Italy and, although they send money on a regular basis, it is not enough for the drugs to keep him calm. To her relief, Doctor Nicolae is able to prescribe the medication the boy needs.

Because it will be at least four and maybe up to six months before the medical team returns to this village, patients such as this boy leave the temporary clinic with a bag full of medication. There is no charge, because these poor people only earn the equivalent of £30 to £50 a week. The cost of

their medicine would sometimes be more than they would earn in a year.

Second-hand crutches and wheelchairs are also distributed.

While the clinic is running the corps officer (minister) and Salvationists from one of the larger cities organise a programme for young people. They sing Christian songs, play together and listen to a Bible story.

Parents are also welcome to join in. All of the children go home with toys. Smiling and happy faces all around!

Later that day Doctor Nicolae makes home visits to patients who cannot get to the town hall. One visit is to an elderly woman who can hardly walk because she did not get enough vitamins when she was young. Her legs are bent and she needs ongoing physiotherapy.

‘My dream is to open a physiotherapy centre where we can treat people like this,’ says the doctor. ‘A place where they can stay for a while and where we can improve their quality of life.’ He does what he can but he knows that it is not enough, because some of the patients he has seen today need medical treatment more often than once every four or six months.

When it gets dark, the people head back home, maybe to a place without heating or electricity. At least something good has happened in their village today.

To buy the medication, the girl’s father sold a cow, which was – to them – worth a fortune APRIL–JUNE 2010 ALL THE WORLD 17

Zambia

to Zambia with love In 2009 Peter Trick – a Salvationist from Canberra, Australia – spent three months as a volunteer at The Salvation Army’s Chikankata Mission Hospital in Zambia. He wrote about his experiences for the Australian Eastern Territory’s publication Pipeline, which has given permission for the article to be reprinted here:

A

FRICA was the last place I imagined I would visit. It certainly wasn’t on the list of places to travel in my retirement!

It has been said that once you commit yourself to a trip such as mine, your life will change forever. This has been true of my experience in Zambia.

My journey began with a request from a former soldier of Tuggeranong Corps (church) in Australia, Anthony Watson, who is stationed on The Salvation Army’s Chikankata compound. He needed a volunteer to assist him. I only had a vague idea of the place, knowing officers who had served there, but I’m retired and have time on my hands so, after discussing the trip with family and friends, I was on my way.

The experience was very rewarding, Above: Zambian children receive gifts from Peter Trick

18 ALL THE WORLD APRIL–JUNE 2010

especially after I became accustomed to the cold showers, power cuts, limited food and mosquito nets. But hey, what did I expect? I came to realise time and again how fortunate we are in Australia with comfortable homes, cars and easy transport.

Chikankata has an amazing history. It was set up by The Salvation Army in 1928 and since then has had a prominent presence in Zambia as a hospital with supporting health services, high school for 800 students and five corps (churches).

Serving a population of more than 90,000, the hospital strives to support the sick in tuberculosis, HIV, children’s, intensive care and general wards with a team of dedicated staff. However, it is always struggling with a lack of funds for vital equipment.

Through funds supplied by my friends and Tuggeranong Corps I was able to

purchase much-needed medical equipment and plaster of Paris, and to give toys, clothes, shoes and stationery to the patients.

My main role was to supervise projects and staff at the Chikankata Development Programme. This included buying 100 laying hens paid for by Tuggeranong Corps and purchasing – with funds donated from the United States – five large white pigs for meat production. I have recently been told that one of the sows has given birth to five piglets.

The major task, though, was rebuilding a number of huts, showers and a toilet block with funds supplied by Salvo Stores in Melbourne. These huts, made of mud brick with thatched roofs, will be used by visiting groups to Chikankata to enable them to experience living the Zambian way.

A personal highlight for me was travelling with the nursing staff to rural clinics. I watched as more than 120 mothers and children, walking up to five kilometres under the hot summer sun, attended a preand post-natal clinic. It was intriguing to watch the babies being weighed on scales attached to a branch of a tree.

Zambia

I was challenged while visiting one of these villages – Godson Farm – and seeing the abject poverty. It broke my heart. This farm, once a flourishing coffee plantation with full employment, was recently closed, leaving many people out of work. The people are really suffering – little food, clothing and home comforts – yet they are still happy! I took three tennis balls with me and such fun was had playing ball with the children.

I was so challenged by what I saw that I went back to the village with bags of clothing to try and help but was besieged by hundreds of people in want. There was a crushing riot with small children in danger of being trampled. Even if a container-load of material were sent it would not be enough.

During my stay at Chikankata, a 14-yearold boy was abandoned at the hospital by his family. He tested HIV-positive. Children are also brought to the hospital with burns, malaria and malnutrition. One poor child of eight was diagnosed with tetanus and died the following morning as there was no lifesaving vaccine available to save her.

A special lady at my corps had knitted toys that we were able to distribute to the very ill children in the wards. I was so appreciative of this support from home.

One officer I met had walked 28 kilometres to a meeting at Chikankata as he had no form of transport On the positive side, The Salvation Army in Zambia is thriving and there are more than 23,000 senior soldiers. Eight thousand attended the territorial congress, led by General Shaw Clifton and Commissioner Helen Clifton, which was held while I was there.

I also had the pleasure of worshipping at the main corps in Chikankata, which is led by an American officer, Major Beryl Pierce.

It is a thriving corps with a small brass band, rhythm group and many different singing groups, a huge junior soldiers’ group, guards, scouts and home leagues. I found God’s Spirit so strong and alive in these long meetings which included testimonies, prayers and songs. There were so many young, faithful people alive for Christ.

One of the special spiritual highlights each Sunday evening was visiting the nurses’ chapel and enjoying the a cappella singing from the students and nurses and the wonderful songs – eight or so from the Salvation Army song book – being sung so harmoniously.

The gripping sermons given by the students also provided much blessing.

I met so many people without shoes, so in an act of compassion I commenced a project to seek out people who didn’t have any footwear. For only Aus$3 I was able to purchase new shoes for them.

One officer I met had walked 28 kilometres to a meeting at Chikankata as he had no form of transport. I was able to give him donated

Top right: a parade of flags at the Zambia Territorial Congress; above right: Peter Trick plays with the territorial band at the congress; left: a Zambian officer with his new bicycle

money so he could buy a bicycle to ride when he visits his congregation. It was a humbling, wonderful experience for me that he rode the 56-kilometre round trip to say goodbye.

So many of these poor people did not speak English yet the joy and gratitude expressed by their beautiful smiles – and the special thank-you Zambian hand claps – was so overwhelming. I also was able to pass on clothing and shoes that had been supplied from friends in Australia.

I experienced many joys and times of sadness during my three months in Zambia, with many heart-lifting and soul-warming moments. It was a God-glorifying time in a special part of his Kingdom. I feel truly blessed by being asked to go to Chikankata and I would certainly return if there were future projects for me to undertake.

I am also truly thankful for the support I have received from Tuggeranong Corps and friends. I pray that in a small way I was able to make an impression and give hope to someone at Chikankata.

APRIL–JUNE 2010 ALL THE WORLD 19

‘PrEACh ThE GOSPEL AT ALL TImES. USE wOrDS If NECESSAry.’ This quotation is often attributed to francis of Assisi but modern scholars can find no record of it within 200 years of his death. what is clear, however, is that its message aligns itself well with the thoughts of the man who told his followers, ‘Let all the brothers ... preach by their deeds.’

The packet of rice, dried vegetables and chicken flavouring pictured on the cover of All the World – put together by Numana for the Salvation Army world Service Office (SAwSO) – certainly fulfils francis’s ideal. It contains a meal for five people and is identical to many hundreds of thousands of packets given out by The Salvation Army in haiti. It also has words of advice and encouragement in English and haitian Creole. for more than 20,000 people helped by The Salvation Army in haiti these meals have been the difference between life and death. But for people who wondered if the world cared or even knew they existed, these packets have been far more than just food.

Message in a packet It’s not just a packet of rice.

It’s not simply food.

It’s not merely a handout.

It’s not only a source of nutrition.

It’s a sign someone cares.

It’s ‘You’re not forgotten’ wrapped in plastic.

It’s thousands of grains of ‘God loves you’.

It’s heart to God and hand to man.

It’s the gospel preached without words.

It’s not just a packet of rice.

Kevin Sims