All The World (July 2010)

these pictures

save liveslives

will

HEALTH FLIP CHARTS MAKE VITAL INFORMATION

FREELY AVAILABLE

JULY–SEPTEMBER 2010

VoL 48 No 3

Contents

2 ALL THE WORLD JULY–SEPTEMBER 2010

small change, big deal

Visit All the World online at:

www.salvationarmy.org/alltheworld

Editor: Kevin Sims

Artwork 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: [email protected]

Founder: William Booth General: Shaw Clifton

Editor-in-Chief: Major Laurie Robertson

Annual subscription from Salvationist Publishing and Supplies

(periodicals), 66-78 Denington Road, Denington Industrial Estate,

Wellingborough, Northants NN8 2QH, United Kingdom

(United Kingdom £3.00, worldwide surface £3.50,

worldwide airmail £4.50). Single copy 40p (UK), or from any

Salvation Army headquarters. Published quarterly

Published by Shaw Clifton, General of The Salvation Army,

and printed in Great Britain by Lithmark Ltd

© The General of The Salvation Army 2010

Contents

IndiaRed-light district work is a labour of love

TanzaniaParallel lives move from hurt to hope

HaitiRelief work moves forward little by little

HealthFlipcharts spread vital information

World Youth ConventionEvent coordinator talksabout what to expect

RefugeesFrom Africa to a new home in Australia

In the newsRecent happenings from the international Salvation Army

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3

WHY do so many people find changedifficult to deal with? I would havesaid that I cope well with change

and even enjoy the variety it brings. Butrecent experience has shown me I’m nodifferent to most people – I can get thrown byeven the smallest of changes.In January this year I changed desk. I

didn’t move far – about three metres – but I now face the opposite direction to before. Ididn’t think anything of it until the first timeI sat in my chair at my new desk, ready towork.It just felt wrong! My body wanted to turn

round so that I faced towards St Paul’sCathedral as I had for the previous five years.Even now, six months on, I have to thinkcarefully if I’ve been away from my desk tomake sure I come back to the right one.How silly is that? Same building, same

floor, same layout and yet this small changecompletely threw me!When I think about the other changes I’ve

been through since becoming Editor of All theWorld back in January 1999 – constantlychanging personnel at work, fatherhood(times two), moving away from QueenVictoria Street and back – this one isinsignificant and yet it was, unexpectedly,more difficult to adjust to.I don’t know why this is. It could be that

this change affected me alone whereas othershave been shared with colleagues or my

family. It may be that I didn’t register this asa change – more like ‘the same but slightlydifferent’ – and so hadn’t prepared myself.I’m genuinely puzzled!Change is a constant feature in All the

World. In one of my early editorials I wrotethat I wanted All the World to show how Godis using The Salvation Army to changepeople’s lives around the world. I believe themagazine still does this, as can be seenthroughout this issue.In India, women are being offered a way

out of the red-light district, in Haiti theinhabitants of a Salvation Army emergencycamp are being cared for, and flipchartsalready in use in Malawi – with morecountries set to use them – are helping peopleto live healthier, better lives. It appears thatchange can be a good thing! Perhaps there’shope for me yet.From the next issue, All the World readers

are in for a change of their own. We’ve beenworking on a redesign that will, we hope,make a good thing even better. You’ll getmore pages, new features and a fresh newlook. I encourage you to spread the word so that

even more people can read about the amazingthings happening through The SalvationArmy.Please let me know what you think. I

certainly hope you’ll agree that, unlike mychange of desk, it’s a change for the better!

India

JULY–SEPTEMBER 2010 ALL THE WORLD 3

IT never fails to raise eyebrows when

my ‘respectable’ friends ask, ‘Where

have you been for the last three

weeks?’ and I respond with something

along the lines of: ‘Well I’ve been visiting

the red-light districts of western India

actually.’

In fact, since starting to work for The

Salvation Army I have spent more time in

red-light districts and slums than at any

other time in my life. I love it and I will try

to show why through the examples of

women from three different cities in

western India.

Since The Salvation Army was

established its mission has been to reach

the most forgotten and rejected people in

society. Those for whom there is no

support, no love and no future. There are

few who meet the above criteria as well as

the prostitutes of Mumbai, Maharastra and

Gujarat.

My India journey starts in the hustle

and bustle of Mumbai. There are around

20 million people in Mumbai and of these

100,000 work in the sex industry. Many

are thought to be held in their jobs against

their will.

As we walk down a potholed alley the

pungent fumes from an open sewer assault

our senses and then mix with the alluring

smell of curries as people cook their

lunch.

We leave the mayhem of the street and

walk into a tiny room with 15 or so

women sitting on the linoleum floor. This

is Jeevan Asha, a drop-in centre supported

by The Salvation Army’s United Kingdom

Territory with the Republic of Ireland. The

officer in charge, an incredibly gifted and

committed woman, explains that the

women present are all members of the

centre, which provides care for their

children while the women work, offering

food and extra classes to help them

through school. Major Benjamin Randive,

my guide and the Territorial

Projects Secretary for India

Western, explains that the women in

this area are strictly controlled by

their pimps so the Army has to

approach the subject with care.

I turn to one woman, Smita, and ask

her what she likes about the centre.

‘We like the fact that The Salvation

Army is looking to the education and

feeding of our children,’ she says. ‘We like

coming here too – we experience the

peace of Jesus.’

A little taken aback, I probe further: ‘Is

this something you had experienced

before?’

‘No,’ she says. ‘We are Hindus, we

have come from the village, we have

never heard of Jesus before.’

I discover that when Smita arrived in

Mumbai she was sucked into an

underworld of violence and entrapment.

Soon her daughter came to live with her

and Smita panicked when she started

India

continued on page 4

We are Hindus, we have comefrom the village, we have neverheard of Jesus before

... with

Above: Major Sunita Sunil Wagmare gives an OperationChristmas Child present to the daughter of a sexworker at a Salvation Army drop-in centre in Sangli

loveby Jonathan Hibbert-Hingston


At a meeting I attend there are more

than 100 mothers and children present.

One child, Khusi, stands up and shares her

thoughts. She describes the individual

attention that the staff give to each and

every child.

‘If we miss one day,’ she says, ‘a

member of staff comes to the house to

check up on us. They also take the sick to

hospital.’

Her mother explains with a laugh that

now the children are coming home and

teaching their mothers to read and write.

As the staff describe their ambitious

plans for the future and Operation

Christmas Child boxes are given out

(three months late but never mind!), there

is a mood of hope. It is almost impossible

for me to believe that in a few hours these

beautiful women will be out on the streets

offering their bodies for as little as 60

rupees (£1).

The mood in Satara, our next stop, is

quite different. As reported in Rhidian

Brook’s book More than Eyes Can See,

Satara has a bit of a reputation in the sex

trade. Women journey from all over

southern and western India to work there

and my guide, Major Randive, wants to

introduce me to some of them.

At about nine o’clock in the evening

we pull into a rather dark and grotty lay-

by in the middle of the town. Slightly

disorientated, I can just about make out a

small group of elaborately dressed women

illuminated under a solitary orange street

light. An older woman comes running up

IndiaIndia

asking what the women were doing on the

street corner every night.

Smita turned to The Salvation Army

and entered her daughter into a children’s

home, the visiting regulations of which

are tight. The officers in charge do

everything they can to prevent the

children entering the sex trade. Some

children are even sent to homes in other

towns for their protection.

The principle is similar in the hot and

dusty town of Sangli. Here the UK

Territory is funding an anti-trafficking

programme. By offering food, health and

education to children the Salvation Army

team members build trust with their

mothers. It works – since the project

started they have helped 17 women leave

the sex trade and have assisted 15 children

to access high-school education. They are

working with four people living with HIV

and nine with TB.

Other organisations are taking note

and they are now key members of a

committee of non-government agencies

(NGOs) and government agencies

tackling the problem of minors and

trafficked workers in the town.

By offering food, health andeducation to children they

build trust with their mothers

Above left: theseboys from aSalvation Armychildren’s home inPune wererescued from ared-light area;above right: thisdaughter of a sexworker attends aSalvation Armydrop-in centre inPune; left: MajorTed Horwood(InternationalProjects Officer)and MajorBenjamin Randive(Territorial ProjectsSecretary) with sexworkers receivingliteracy training inMumbai

continued from page 3

... with love


to the car, greets us and exchanges a few

words with the major before shutting the

door. We roar off in the car and, a few

minutes later, we are sitting in a cafe

surrounded by 15 ‘women of the night’ on

an impromptu tea break.

Geeta, the older woman from the

lay-by, turns out to be the girls’ ‘madam’.

There are no pimps here – instead, this

woman looks out for the girls and helps to

find them work.

I get the distinct impression from

Geeta, who has been in the sex trade for

40 years, that she detests their way of life

and wants to find a way out.

In her husky voice she tells us of two

of ‘her girls’ who had been beaten up three

days before by the police and were in

hospital, of their landlords who were

constantly threatening to evict them, and

of the lack of any alternative to the sex

trade. She tells us that people from The

Salvation Army are the only ones who talk

to them.

The Salvation Army does not currently

have a project in Satara but Geeta begs us

to come back and help with vocational

training to give her and the other girls a

way out.

Tea break over, we head back out to

the orange-coloured gloom of the lay-by

where I first saw Geeta and her girls.

The women insist on having multiple

pictures taken before we are nervously

ushered back to the vehicle by Geeta. I

shudder as I see one of the girls, who

could not have been more than 17 – the

same age as my sister – negotiate with a

man in a small car, nod and drive off with

him.

I said at the beginning of the article

that I love these visits, and I do – despite

the awfulness of the situations I have seen.

Turning my back and driving away is

painful considering what these women

will be enduring night after night, but

knowing there are people who do not turn

their backs fills me with hope.

It is tremendously inspiring that there

are dedicated staff, officers and

fundraisers spending themselves on behalf

of the hungry and working for the release

of the ‘prisoners’ – including people

trapped in a lifestyle they cannot escape

on their own – one life at a time. It is a

model of ‘faith in action’.

IndiaIndia

Above and above right: The Salvation Army is

working with men, women and children living on

the streets near its India Western Territorial

Headquarters in Mumbai to stop people including

this young girl from getting caught up in the sex

trade in the nearby red-light district; right: children

at a home in Mumbai where The Salvation Army

provides care for street children and those whose

mothers are involved in the sex trade

Jonathan Hibbert-Hingston works in the

International Projects and Development

Services Section of The Salvation Army’s

International Headquarters

Tanzania


MARIA and Esther could be

twins, their lives have followed

such amazingly similar paths.

Both experienced suffering as young

children but now both young women are

benefiting from ‘twin’ Salvation Army

institutions in Tanzania which provide

education for disabled students.

Esther is 21 years old. Born in 1989,

the youngest of five children, she

experienced the death of her father when

she was five years old. Around this time

she caught polio, which was not properly

treated and left her with a permanent

disability that means she is mostly

confined to a wheelchair.

She grew up in Dar es Salaam, the

capital city of Tanzania, but she is a

member of the Nyakusa tribe, which has

its base near Mbeya. Thanks to

sponsorship from the Roman Catholic

Church, Esther was able to attend The

Salvation Army’s Matumaini School for

the Disabled in Dar es Salaam. She started

in 1997 and completed Standard 7 – the

end of primary education – in 2003.

Sadly in 2004 Esther became an

orphan with the death of her mother. She

attended a normal secondary school in

Dar es Salaam before being accepted

at The Salvation Army’s Shukrani

International College of Business

Management and Administration in 2009,

where she is studying for her

Diploma in Office Management

and Administration.

She hopes that when she

graduates from Shukrani she will

work as an executive secretary or

an office manager.

Maria was born in 1990 in

Lupila village in the Iringa district of

Tanzania – the other side of the country to

Dar es Salaam. Her mother was already a

widow by the time Maria was born.

Maria’s mother suffered from severe,

untreated epilepsy – a condition that

would have terrible consequences for her

daughter. When Maria was two years old,

sitting in a sling on her mother’s back, her

mother had a seizure and fell into the fire.

As a result Maria’s left leg and face were

severely burned. She was treated in

hospital but her leg was too badly

damaged to be saved and had to be

amputated below the knee. At the same

time her face was treated and ‘repaired’.

She still has scars on her face which

restrict her facial mobility, though she can

smile a little. An artificial leg helps her to

get around.

Thanks to the sponsorship of the

Lutheran Church in 1997 Maria –

like Esther – was able to attend

The Salvation Army’s Matumaini

School for the Disabled in Dar es

Salaam. She too graduated from

Standard 7 in 2003. From there

she was able to attend a

mainstream secondary school and

she passed her Form IV to complete her

secondary education in 2008.

In 2010 she was accepted to join

Shukrani International College of

Business Management and Administration

to study the first level of a three-year

Diploma in Secretarial Studies. With the

happiness that came from being able to

study for a practical qualification that will

help Maria find a good job came the

unexpected joy of being reunited with her

schoolfriend.

‘I was very surprised to see Esther

when I came to Shukrani,’ says Maria.

Esther says she was ‘very happy’ to see

her old friend at Shukrani.

Esther says she loves Shukrani

because of the friends she has made, and

because she feels safe there. Maria loves

the gardens and ‘the environment’ and is

enjoying her studies.

These two young women have much

to look forward to thanks to the education

and training they have received through

The Salvation Army. Their journey has

taken them from pain and despair to

Matumaini, the ‘school of hope’, and on

to Shukrani, the ‘college of thanksgiving’.

They thank God that the opportunities

they have been given mean they can look

to the future with both hope and

thanksgiving.

Major Chris Watson is Principal of The

Salvation Army’s Shukrani International

College of Business Management and

Administration

friends reunited

Young women come through

suffering to meet and meet again at

Salvation Army education facilities

She lovesShukrani ...becauseshe feelssafe there

by Major Chris Watson

TanzaniaEsther (front) and Maria(right) with friends from

Shukrani College


small changes

bigg alsandby Damaris Frick

THE eyes of the world don’t seem to

be on Haiti any more. As I write,

focus has moved on to the oil spill

in the Gulf of Mexico and the Football

(soccer) World Cup. Don’t get me wrong,

I worry about environmental damage and

enjoy watching the World Cup but it

seems amazing how quickly people have

forgotten Haiti.

Football is big news in Haiti, even

though the country did not reach the finals

and despite the difficult circumstances

people live in. In the earthquake

emergency camp overseen by The

Salvation Army in the Haitian capital,

Port-au-Prince – appropriately in a former

football arena – two small ‘cinemas’ had

opened and the people have been able to

watch the World Cup there.

For 90 minutes of a match, the tragic

last months following the massive

earthquake, the mud and the difficult

living conditions are forgotten and the

camp residents are like everybody else in

the world, cheering for their team.

Everyone in Haiti seems to support

Argentina or Brazil – there are flags and

T-shirts everywhere. I kept my eyes open

but I couldn’t see any signs of support for

my country, Germany. And it was even

harder for my colleague Brad Watson

from Australia – not only did his team lose

4-0 against Germany in their first game,

most Haitians didn’t even know Australia

were taking part!

To celebrate the World Cup we invited

the camp committee and security

members – the local people who help to

keep order in the camp – to the beach for

a game of football against a Salvation

Army team. The Army team was well

beaten!

It was a simple thing but the football

brought laughter, relaxation and team

spirit and made life in the camp a little bit

more bearable.

Apart from football-related changes

there have also been some other

improvements in the camp in the past few

months, especially with regards to water,

sanitation and health. Working with our

partners, more toilets were constructed,

some of which even feature colourful

hygiene-promotion messages.

One hundred camp residents received

training in first aid. They will be the first

contact point for any sickness and injuries

and will then be able to deal with minor

cases themselves.

Other improvements include the

starting of a proper drainage system and

improved lighting in the camp.

But, despite football, toilets and more

lights, life is still hard and pretty horrible

in the camp. Months after the earthquake

in January the camp is still home to

20,000 people. And with rains and the

hurricane season soon to start, things may

get even more challenging.

The situation in Port-au-Prince is still

very difficult and some of the usual

recovery techniques don’t work there. For

instance, it’s difficult for The Salvation

HaitiHaiti

continued on page 8

Football brought laughter,relaxation and team spirit

Top: a quick game on a patch of ground in the

camp designated as a safe play area for children;

above right: the beach football game between a

Salvation Army team and a camp committee team

neighbourhood where they

have their connections,

relationships and little

livelihoods.

The fact is that the

people in our camp have

nowhere else to go and

there are no quick-fix

solutions that would enable them to leave.

Some problems can’t be solved even with

money or the best efforts.

This all means the camp is likely to

exist for quite a while.


But that also means The Salvation

Army will still be there with the residents,

facing the never-ending challenges, trying

to improve the situation little by little,

bringing some hope and support.

Football is bringing some normality

and joy to the people and our work in the

camp is improving the situation to make

their lives a little more dignified. But the

reality of this work is also that some

circumstances can not be fixed easily.

Sometimes living and working in

disaster zones means persevering in a

situation where we don’t seem to be able

to make a lot of difference. However, our

presence alongside the beneficiaries, our

worrying with them about what the

hurricane season might bring, even our

shared frustration about the situation – all

these shared experiences are making a

difference in people’s lives. Even if it is

only, for now, a small difference.

HaitiHaiti


Army to repair or rebuild people’s houses

because hardly anyone in Port-au-Prince

owns the land or the house they used to

live in. We can’t erect temporary houses

like we can in other parts of the country

because there is no space to build them.

Moving people out of the city is also

not a viable option as most people don’t

want to move away from their

Life is still hard and prettyhorrible in the camp

small changes and big goals

Right: the rainy seasonbrings new challenges to the

camp; below: artwork on atoilet block gives important

hygiene information

£5.00

SPECIALPRICE

(USUALLY £8.95)

An Army Needs an Ambulance Corpsby Harry Williams

Commissioner Harry Williams, a pioneering surgeon in India for 30 years, describes how Salvation Army medical work developedfrom basic health services in late 19th-century England, through twoworld wars and many ups and downs to the present day. He recallsthe days of large Salvation Army hospitals in the developed world andexplains how soaring costs and the ever-increasing need for specifictechnical skills – along with an improvement in government provision– changed the Army’s medical role beyond recognition.

Published jointly by Salvation Books (IHQ) and Crest Books (USA). Send a cheque for £5.00 (made payable to ‘The Salvation Army’) to:Communications Section, The Salvation Army International Headquarters,101 Queen Victoria Street, London EC4V 4EH, United Kingdom.Price includes postage.

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


PREVENTION, so they say, is

better than cure – and education

is vital to both! So how do you

provide health education in places like

rural Africa, where education levels are

minimal and many people can neither

read nor write?

Back in the mists of time The

Salvation Army was one of the

sponsors of a health education

programme, along with other

agencies, that produced a book

called Facts for Life. It is still

being published and is on the

WHO (World Health Organisation)

website for anyone to use.

The book outlines facts that

everyone should know about basic

health education. Many of our

Salvation Army corps (churches)

and centres in Africa used this

resource in the 1970s. Kenya

particularly had a vibrant home league

(women’s group) education programme

based on the book.

When my husband, Major Dean

Pallant, and I took up our appointments

as International Health Services

Coordinators in October 2007, we took on

the challenge from our predecessors to try

to resource the Army’s health programmes

across the world.

A recent survey had asked how the

health department could help territories

and commands, and Malawi had asked for

health education resources for their home

leagues. Command President of Women’s

Ministries Lieut-Colonel Diane Payne had

previously been in an appointment in

Kenya and had been involved in the

Kenyan health programme, but had been

unable to find in Malawi either the

decided the only option was to make our

own. Tearfund kindly provided £10,000

for this project and so we started.

We decided to produce the

information in the form of flip charts that

could be produced in-country and taken

around by trainers to various locations.

The charts would contain basic

information and would help stimulate

discussion.

The first task was to determine the

base of our health education. Facts for

Life has been tried and tested for more

than 30 years and refined and updated

over that time so we decided we would

base our health education on this book.

Each flip chart covers a subject and in

all there are 10: HIV/Aids; Breastfeeding;

Diarrhoea & Hygiene; Malaria; Safe

Motherhood; Coughs & Chest Infections;

Immunisation; Nutrition & Growth;

Injury Prevention; and Birth Spacing &

Contraception.

The second task asked: How do we

convey facts about health education

messages in pictures and make them

understandable and relevant to Malawian

women?

The best people for this task were

obviously the women of Malawi. So

Lieut-Colonel Payne called together a

showby Major Eirwen Pallant

andtell

HealthHealth

resources they had used in Kenya or

anything similar.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, we

also looked for these resources. We found

some for HIV/Aids and occasional other

topics but no complete resource.

Malawi Command explained to us

that they needed the resource for all their

home leagues but especially wanted it for

the home leagues at outposts. These

outposts are usually very rural,

with few facilities and are long

distances f rom any hea l th

care institutions.

Educational opportunities in

these areas are also very few

and the majority of women can

neither read nor write. The

message therefore had to be

conveyed in pictures.

We found plenty of written

information but few pictorial

resources. So after a year of

looking and asking others in the

same field without success, we

Top: the cover illustration from the HIV/Aidsflipchart; above: this picture is linked withinformation about the contraceptive implant

The majority of womencan neither read norwrite. The messagetherefore had to be

conveyed in pictures

continued on page 12

All illustrations

by Mark Read


‘We seek to put life-saving informationinto the hands of people who most need it’

TRAINER’S PAGE

Left: Major Angela Hachitapika

leads a workshop for trainers in

Malawi; bottom: new trainers

practise with the malaria flip chart

at Birsoni Home League


‘The home league has a longstandingtradition of incorporating education,worship, service and fellowship’

TRAINER’S PAGE

Below left: community

members from Birsoni,

where training took

place; bottom: Major

Angela Hachitapika

presents a certificate to

a workshop participant


HealthHealth

showandtell

group of women officers for the task.

We met with them, gave them a copy

of Facts for Life and together decided

which messages needed to be emphasised

and what pictures would convey this

message clearly, in a way relevant to daily

Malawian village life.

That was the fun part – and it was fun,

sharing together. Then came the hard

work, producing the resource.

First came the pictures. Hiring a

professional artist for the job was too

expensive but then we remembered Mark,

a young Salvationist, who was doing an

art degree at a London college. He had

also been to Malawi for two weeks with

the UK Territory’s Journey Programme,

helping to decorate a women’s refuge.

Mark was a godsend – he spent hours

producing the artwork for minimal

reward, and has willingly adjusted them

as the flip charts have been refined.

The artwork is in a cartoon-like form

and is colourful and bright to attract the

attention.

Next came the text. Originally we

found a writer to do this but unfortunately

she moved to Thailand with her husband

to work for the church there. So it fell to

me.

We were keen for the education not to

be in lecture-style, so with each picture we

ask people about what it says to them,

their experiences of the issue, to get them

to discuss it with each other and be

involved.

Then there is a basic explanation of

what is needed and why, and a summary at

the end, emphasising the main message.

Jonathan Carmichael, a Salvationist

graphic designer at UK Territorial

Headquarters, set the text and pictures.

The pictures and text have been

looked at by a team at each stage. Emails

to Malawi and responses have been really

helpful, as has input from staff

at International Headquarters. Our

researcher, Ben Cotterill, has coordinated

all the responses to refine the finished

article.

Production costs staggered us when

we enquired for that which was needed.

So how could we do this in an affordable

way, and how did we get them to the place

they were to be used?

To have them produced in Malawi

would obviously be ideal but facilities

there are limited, so we did what often

happens in the Army – we made a plan

and did it ourselves.

Malawi Command is now the proud

owner of an A3 colour printer, laminator

and binder. Jonathan send the flip chart as

an electronic file to Malawi and copies are

produced as needed.

Two IHQ staff went out to Malawi to

assist with a pilot trial. Ben went with

Major Angela Hachitapika, a Zambian

officer who has a nursing background, toshow a group of Malawian women officershow to use the flip charts. The Malawianofficers then split into three groups, eachtaking a flip chart to a corps in the area tolead a home league.

Debriefing followed, with discussionson how the home leagues responded, whatthe officers felt about the flip charts andpresenting them, and of course how theycould be improved upon.

Needless to say there were furtherimprovements which have since beenincorporated.

Being convinced that health is not onlyabout physical well-being, these resourcesare not meant for use alone. The homeleague has a longstanding tradition ofincorporating education, worship, serviceand fellowship.

We are planning to produce homeleague programme outlines to go with theseflip charts, putting the health educationwithin the context of total health, thespiritual, mental and physical well-beingfor holistic health that The Salvation Armyhas always understood.


Above: an illustration showing how mosquitoes

spread malaria; below left: singing during a home

league meeting – the training is integrated into the

normal programme; below right: Ben Cotterill (right)

with workshop participants including Command

President of Women’s Ministries Lieut-Colonel

Diane Payne (left) and a selection of flipcharts


IN October 2009 I was brought on tothe International Health Services team

at International Headquarters (IHQ)

principally to coordinate the production

of 10 health flip charts for Africa.

To achieve this task it was necessary

to trial the resources in Malawi, an

impoverished, landlocked country in

southern Africa where there is growing

momentum to t rea t and prevent

H IV /A i d s , ma l a r i a a nd t a c k l e

undernourishment. The reason for being

in Malawi was to train 25 officers to

engage with their communities in issues

of health, giving life-saving information

to those who most need it.

It was still mid-morning in Malawi

when I arrived at The Salvation Army’s

command headquarters in Blantyre,

Malawi’s second city. The short trip from

the airport brought a familiar sight of dirt

roads, of passing women and children

walking barefoot with water jugs, fuel

wood, and other bundles. As I approached

the training room I could hear the all-

female delegat ion to the t ra ining

workshop singing in spine-tingling

harmony as they anticipated the start of

the training which I would help facilitate

with Major Angela Hachitapika (IHQ).

The first three days of the training

were spent becoming familiar with just

three flip charts – HIV/Aids, Malaria and

Nutrit ion & Growth. Produced in

Chichewa, one of the main languages in

Malawi, the charts enable a

facilitator to interact with a

group of people through

pictures. There is more text

v is ib le only to the

facilitator, including questions and

explanations to help communities to

discuss the given topic. The officers made

numerous constructive comments about

how best to amend the text and pictures

which I would convey to medical and

design personnel back in London.

On the fourth day the delegation split

into three teams with each given a topic

to trial in a community. Major Angela,

Lieut-Colonel Diane Payne (Command

President of Women’s Ministries) and I

each accompanied different teams as we

drove our separate ways. My team headed

for Birsoni Corps (church), a two-hour

journey by car. My eyes were again

transfixed on the bustling road scenes as

people eked out survival from an

unforgiving terrain.

‘Preventing Malaria’ was the topic for

the home league at the corps and the now-

trained delegates ably took turns in

facilitating discussion on the use of anti-

malarial bed nets and looking after their

surroundings to discourage the presence

of mosquitoes – the carriers of the disease.

Many of those in possession of bed

nets hadn’t been fully aware of their

importance and had mentioned they had

been useful for fishing and decoration in

their homes!

On a personal note it was my honour

to be the only man at a 100-strong home

league meeting – and I reluctantly took the

opportunity to show off some African

dance moves, much to their delight and

my embarrassment!

On the fifth day of the workshop the

three groups evaluated the success of the

field trial and what needed amending

before prayer and farewells concluded our

week together. In time I was able to send

the amended flip charts to Malawi for

them to be rolled out across the command

through the home league.

Lieut-Colonel Diane Payne has since

expressed numerous s tor ies of

misconceptions about HIV transmission

being corrected in communities, of new

up-to-date knowledge being received by

communities who thought they knew

everything there was to know about

malaria and nutrition, and of the

overwhelming success and appreciation of

the communities that The Salvation Army

serves.

The flip charts have since had strong

interest from other territories in Africa

who feel under-resourced in community

health work and we are currently

arranging the implementation on a much

larger scale. Flip charts are now available

in Swahili.

The beneficiaries of this project will

be well into the tens of thousands, and that

could be a conservative estimate.

Please pray for all involved as the

logistics and funding come into place and

as we seek to put life-saving information

into the hands of people who most need it.

For more information on this initiative

email [email protected]

MALAWI:

the trial

The reason for being inMalawi was to train 25officers to engage with

their communities

by Ben Cotterill

HealthHealth

Right: Ben with home leaguemembers and their children;

below: bright illustrations meanthe flipcharts engage communitymembers, making it easier to get

information across


All the World: Let’s start with an

obvious question. What’s the World

Youth Convention all about?

Colonel Birgitte Brekke: There will be

1,000 delegates from every Salvation

Army territory and command in the

world. Every country where the Army

operates is included, including new

openings. The young people will share

fellowship and be inspired. We will talk

about what God raised up The Salvation

Army to be.

It’s not going to be a conference where

we will end up with lots of

recommendations for International

Headquarters. Delegates from each

territory will discuss between

themselves the relevance of what

they’ve learned. We want them to say:

‘How can we apply what we’ve heard?’

And we have chosen young people we

believe will influence others when they

get home.

We also hope delegates will discover

more clearly God’s will for them. It’s

about personal application.

AtW: So what is the advantage in

having a world convention as opposed to

national or territorial gatherings?

BB: Delegates will get a better

understanding of each other’s situations,

the circumstance others live in, the

challenges they are facing.

Young people in the developed world

face the challenges of materialism, the

The World Youth Convention (WYC) taking place in Aula Magna,Stockholm University, Sweden, from 15 to 18 July this yearpromises to be The Salvation Army’s first truly global event. The1,000 delegates – aged from 18 to 28 – will be joined online byan unlimited number of participants.

The theme for the event is ‘Raised Up’ and the focus isSalvationism. During the convention delegates will study anddebate General Shaw Clifton’s book New Love, which includescontributions by writers from around the Salvation Army world.It seeks to show that Christian holiness is relevant to everyhuman situation, including the major global issues of the day.

World YouthConventionWorld YouthConvention

The event is being coordinated by Colonel Birgitte Brekke,a Danish Salvation Army officer who has served in Denmark,Norway, the UK, eastern Europe and as far afield as Sri Lanka,Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Colonel Brekke spoke to All the World ahead of the conventionand explained what is planned and what her hopes are for thisinternational gathering.

trulyglobal

pressure of having to do well, make

money and be successful. In the

developing world the challenges are

‘How do I survive?’, ‘How do I get an

education?’

Personal relationships are important

because when you meet people whose

everyday situation is different to yours,

suddenly it’s not about numbers or

stories but real lives – they have a face.

It is also inspirational. The Salvation

Army is growing in Africa and Asia. We

hope to get some of that excitement to

territories that are perhaps struggling.

AtW: How have the delegates been

selected?

BB: They were chosen by their territorial

commanders or officers commanding.

They also had to have recommendations

from their corps officers (ministers) and


divisional commanders. We had criteria

– age group, their involvement in the

corps (church) and their commitment to

service upon return. There will also be

some cadets and some young officers.

We hope to have an equal number of

male and female delegates.

The number of delegates was determined

by the number of soldiers in that

territory. There will be a majority of

Africans and Asians because that’s

where you find the largest number of

Salvationists.

The only issue will be whether

embassies will approve visas, which can

be a problem. We hope to have at least

some representation from each country.

It’s been achieved on paper!

AtW: What are the delegates going to be

doing?

BB: There will be spiritual meetings of

course, times of worship and praise.

Then there will be main sessions – we

will talk about commitment, sacrifice,

discipline and justice. There will be

many focus groups and workshops

where we will look at issues such as

poverty, what the Army is doing around

the world when it comes to development

and projects, emergency services, health

services.

We will talk about the Army’s stance on

alcohol, about lifestyle choices –

marriage as opposed to just living

together. Should we be getting more

into politics? If so, what role should

we play?

We will also look at how we can live

together with people of other faiths –

especially Islam.

AtW: What else is happening?

BB:We have two pre-convention events.

The first is ‘Time to be Holy 458’, a

two-week residential course at the

Centre for Spiritual Life Development in

London. Twenty-six delegates have been

chosen for this event – an international

group with all parts of the world

represented. They will be together for

two weeks of teaching on holiness.

We hope this could become a regular

feature at the Centre for Spiritual Life

Development – maybe on a yearly basis.

The group from ‘Time to be Holy 458’

will go on to ‘Time to Serve 24-7’ – two

weeks of outreach in Denmark. Having

spent two weeks concentrating on God

and what holiness means, they will put it

into practice on the streets of Denmark.

There will be outreach in the red-light

district and also in a very deprived

suburb of Copenhagen. The 26 delegates

will be joined by the Danish delegation

to the convention so there will always be

someone who can translate.

AtW: Is anything happening online?

BB:All the sessions in the main venue at

Aula Magna, Stockholm, will be

broadcast live on the Internet through

our website (www.raisedup.org).

Young people all over the world – in fact

anyone who wants to – can watch the

proceedings live, from the raising of the

Salvation Army flag outside the centre to

the meeting that concludes the whole

thing on Sunday evening.

There will also be live links to other

groups of young people around the

world. India Eastern Territory holds its

World YouthConventionWorld YouthConvention

youth congress at the same time, with

4,000 young people attending, and we

hope to connect with them. In New

Zealand the Central Division is holding

an all-night event so they can link with

us. We also plan to link with London – at

Poplar, close to where the Army started –

with New York, USA, where Railton

landed with seven Army ‘lasses’, and

with South Africa, where the last

international youth event took place

in 1997.

We hope we will be truly global because

that is possible now. It’s not necessary to

bring everybody to Sweden. Anyone can

be part of it and can still have their say.

AtW: So anybody can take part in online

discussion?

BB: Yes. We have a discussion website

(http://connect.raisedup.org). To take

part you simply have to get one of the

delegates to invite you.

AtW: When the WYC’s over, is there a

particular outcome you’re hoping for so

you can say the event was a success?

BB: If the young people leave with a

commitment of service to God and the

Army. We hope some delegates will

make the decision to become soldiers

and some will decide to become officers.

The Army is still growing, moving into

new countries, and officers are needed if

we are to carry on growing.

We also want the young people to leave

with a renewed sense of optimism and

also a sense of belonging to the

international Salvation Army. We want

to focus on the good, the positive, the

special purposes for which God raised

up The Salvation Army. We think we

have a unique role to play within the

Church worldwide.

AtW: It’s getting close now. Are you

excited?

BB: I am – it will be great! We know

God will move hearts and minds to make

us on fire for our mission. I can imagine

1,000 young people representing the

Army from around the world, singing

and praising God together. It’s going to

be amazing!

Left: Oslo Temple dance troupe –

one of the WYC arts teams;

above: the main convention venue


finding freedom from fear

The subject of refugees is an emotive one. Around the world

misunderstanding can lead to feelings of resentment towards refugees,

many of whom have escaped terrible situations. In Australia, an annual

Refugee Week (this year June 20-26) seeks to address how people look

on refugees. This year’s theme – and the theme for 2009 and 2011 – is

Freedom from Fear. As part of Pipeline magazine’s focus on Refugee

Week, Simone Worthing spoke to refugees who have found a

welcome at Auburn Corps (Salvation Army church) in Sydney. The corps

is a spiritual home to people from more than 23 different nations,

including many refugees. Many of the corps’s ministries are designed to

address refugees’ spiritual, emotional, material and legal needs.

THE United Nations Convention

relating to the Status of Refugees

(1951) defines a refugee as: ‘Any

person who, owing to a well-founded fear

of being persecuted for reasons of race,

religion, nationality, membership of a

particular social group or political

opinion, is outside the country of his/her

nationality and is unable, or owing to such

fear, is unwilling to avail himself/herself

of the protection of that country.’

When refugees flee they are forced to

abandon everything they know and love.

They are separated from family members,

lose belongings and are left with little or

no money. Some are traumatised by their

RefugeesRefugees

Ph

oto

s b

y S

ha

iro

n P

ate

rso

n


MY NAME IS JOHARI and I am a

mother of eight children: four boys and

four girls. We come from the Democratic

Republic of Congo.

When the war started in my country in

November 1996 my family and I were

living in a small town called Baraka. We

were terrified of the soldiers who were

carrying machine guns, killing people, and

raping women and girls. We escaped to

the island of Ubwari. After a year there we

decided to return home.

The second Congo war started in

1998. Again the soldiers came shooting

and raping, and we had to escape. We all

just ran from wherever we were at the

time the shooting began. I grabbed my

three youngest children and yelled at the

older ones to run away as fast as they

could.

The next two years were dark and

desperate ones for me. My husband died,

also in 1998, and I didn’t know where my

older children had escaped to, or even if

they were still alive.

In 2000 we left Congo for Tanzania

and eventually arrived at Lugufu, a

refugee camp where we lived for five

years. Life was very difficult. We lived in

a small tent without enough food, water or

medical care. We only stayed there to save

ourselves from being killed by the rebels.

Through a miracle from God I got a

job in the camp with World Vision as a

Christian outreach worker. With my very

small salary I could buy food and clothes

for my children, and also help other

children whose parents were lost in the

war. I prayed that someone would be

helping my kids too, wherever they were.

God continued to work miracles in my

life and in March 2005 I was granted a

experiences. Many spend years in camps,

lost in no-man’s-land while their fate is

decided. Most have no idea what kind of

future awaits them.

In seeking refuge in another country,

refugees are hoping to find freedom from

fear and simply want the opportunity to

lead a normal life, as part of a community,

where they can live in safety and security,

find work and send their children to

school.

visa to come to Australia. I arrived on 5

May 2005. I just thanked the mighty Lord

for bringing me from Africa to Australia

in one piece.

My case worker helped me get set up

in Australia. Life was changing, there was

hope. I could see that life in Australia was

good. The first two years were very hard

for me, though. I thought constantly about

my children back in Congo, worried about

them, and had flashbacks all the time

about what we’d seen and experienced in

Africa.

continued on page 18

Johari DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

When refugees flee they are forced to

abandon everything they know and love

RefugeesRefugees

My case worker, through his

contacts, was helping me try to find my

children. We have also been working

with some legal people associated with

The Salvation Army to bring my children

to Australia.

God worked more miracles in my life

in 2007 – one of my missing sons was

found and he came to Australia in July of

that year. Four months later, we found

out that the other children were alive and

in Uganda. I can’t explain the incredible

joy, the sheer relief that flooded me. Now

I had peace, and the energy to start

studying English.

This year, three more children will

join me in Australia, and then there is

only one left – my eldest son who is

living in South Africa and is married

with two sons of his own. I am a

grandmother!

I would like to thank the Lord and all

those who prayed for my reunion with

my children. People at The Salvation

Army have been especially good to me.

They help and encourage me so much.

We really like Australia. It is a good

country and offers so many opportunities

to help us build our future. My children

and I are all studying. I am studying

childcare, working part-time and trying

to improve my English. I pray that one

day we will all find jobs here.

My source of strength is expressing

my gratitude to the Lord and walking in

his steps. He is the only one who leads

me. I hold onto Ephesians 3:20: ‘Now to

him who is able to do immeasurably

more than all we ask or imagine,

according to his power that is at work

within us, to him be glory in the

church and in Christ Jesus

throughout all generations, for ever

and ever.’




PhilipSIERRA LEONE

Sierra Leone is so rich in natural resources

but it’s been ripped apart by people trying

to get wealthy illegally, and by years of

war, terrible violence and bloodshed.

People came to Sierra Leone in 1990

and 1991 to mine our valuable diamonds

illegally and take the money out of our

country. Then rebels started coming in and

attacking people. They killed so many and

it was very bad.

The government soldiers didn’t help;

they were fighting for themselves to get

rich. They did many terrible things, and

allowed other violence to happen. They

cut off people’s hands, cut babies from

their mothers’ wombs – they would take

babies and pound them to death the same

way they pounded flour. Most of my

family died during the wars.

The non-government organisations

(NGOs) were trying to stop the practice of

female genital mutilation (FGM) which is

a deeply ingrained part of our culture. My

wife was working with an NGO trying to

stop FGM. Supporters of FGM were

stirring up strong national feelings and

anti-Western sentiment.

Attacks against anti-FGM workers

were increasing. My wife was attacked

with a group of others, including her

cousin. They were all taken into the bush

and violently assaulted. Some of them

bled to death. When I tried to rescue my

wife I was stabbed in the hands and arms.

We gave the women what first aid we

could that night, and then early the next

morning we crossed into Guinea. We

could no longer stay in Sierra Leone.

In Guinea, we lived in camps for nine

years. Because we couldn’t speak their

language, French, we were mistreated. As

refugees we couldn’t get work so were

just given rations of wheat and oil. I tried

to do whatever odd jobs I could, just to

survive.

It was a miracle when we found

out that our relatives in

Australia were looking for

us. We thought they were

dead! I remember our

interviewer telling us that

w e w e r e g o i n g t o

Australia; I was just crying

and could hardly speak for

all the emotions running

through me.

The day we left for Australia was

the best day of my life. It is so good

here; it has brought us life and peace.

It is hard here, though, for me to

find a job. I face racism sometimes in

applying for work – people see my

finding freedom from fear name, know I am from Africa and won’t

give me a chance.

We want to build a life here and be

good citizens of Australia. We are ready

and want to work. My wife is pregnant

and I want to support my family. I just

need to stay positive – one day I will get a

job.

Racism can be a problem here. When

I get on a bus, sometimes people try to

take up a whole seat or put their bags on

spare seats so they don’t have to sit next

to me.

We are very thankful, though, for all

the support, love and encouragement

we have been given. We are so thankful

that we have found people like

those we meet at The

Salvation Army. We

thank God for you

people.

RefugeesRefugees

When I tried torescue my wifeI was stabbedin the handsand arms

Article reprintedwith permissionfrom Pipelinemagazine

SPECIAL

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An Adventure Sharedby Catherine Baird

Practical Religionby Catherine Booth

What and Why We Believeby Harry Dean

£3.95 eachor all three for

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Prices quoted include postage ifpurchased from Salvation Books at

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CLASSIC SALVATIONIST TEXTS


in the news

AUSTRALIAThe Salvation Army in Australia is working to

establish a self-funded legal service for the

poor and marginalised, says a report in the

Australian Warcry magazine.

The scheme – called Salvos Legal – will

initially operate out of Sydney, Brisbane and

Canberra. It will fund its free legal service by

also taking on paid commercial work.

Salvationist lawyer Luke Geary says the

service will not compete with Legal Aid or

community legal centres for government

funding.

‘It will help with social equity,’ he explains, ‘so

it’s not just the rich who have a choice of

lawyers, and it will help those who don’t fit in

with the current system.’

These include people who are deemed too

well off to need legal aid but who, says

Gary, ‘can’t afford the AUS$300 an

hour charged by law firms’.

SOUTH AFRICAThe Salvation Army played a part in

one of the talking points of the 2010

FIFA Football World Cup. The

tournament – the first World Cup finals

to be held in Africa – will be

remembered for many things, chief

among these being great goals,

controversial decisions and love-them-

or-hate-them plastic trumpets called

vuvuzelas.

Vuvuzelas are a common sight (and sound) in

football (soccer) games in South Africa but

their use in the World Cup caused some

controversy, with players complaining they

could not hear the referee’s whistle and TV

fans driven to distraction by what sounded like

the world’s largest swarm of angry bees!

The Salvation Army’s Southern Africa Territory

used the noisy horn for good, however, by

giving out vuvuzelas that carried a warning

about the dangers of human trafficking.

It is feared that many young and vulnerable

women will have been trafficked from other

African countries to South Africa – and within

the country itself – for the World Cup and

forced to work in the sex trade, which took

advantage of thousands of visitors to the

country.

The vuvuzelas were one of a number of items

having an anti-trafficking message, with others

including footballs, water bottles and red

cards. They all featured a toll-free number that

people could ring if they were suspicious that

trafficking had taken place or if they were a

victim of trafficking.

He adds that the set-up will deal with more

than legal needs: ‘We want to treat our clients

holistically and can also address issues such

as addiction, homelessness, financial

management and employment through

internal referrals.’

An Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC)

report into the new scheme highlighted its

importance. Associate Professor Ben Saul,

Sydney University, told a TV reporter that

Salvos Legal addresses a real need.

‘Any initiative that can increase the availability

of services for those in need,’ he said, ‘is a

really welcome development.’

CALLS

to

Pr

AY

er

Se

Pt

em

be

r 2

01

0

Other schemes for the World Cup included

kids clubs and soccer clinics through which

children were taught how to keep safe.

Mission teams from Australia and the USA

also played their part, joining with the crowds

to speak to people and spread the good

news of the gospel.

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cAll to PrAYer

‘Once again The Salvation Army is calling its people to prayer for peace. The nation of Papua New Guinea has set an example in some of its towns and villages. Peoplehave exchanged their weapons for Bibles, with the encouragement of The Salvation Army. Pray forour Army of peace, our Army without guns, that we might set an example of peace in the world.’(General Shaw Clifton)

SundAY 19 SePtember 2010

Peace in our time, O Lord,

to all the peoples – peace!Peace surely based upon thy will

Thy power alone can

that enchain the

and make it

live again.

sorely

of life,

stricken soul

break the fetters

and built in righteousness.

(John Oxenham)

‘They will beat their swords into

ploughshares and their spears into

pruning hooks. nation will not take

up sword against nation, nor will

they train for war any more.’

Micah 4:3 New International Version

Documents

All The World (July 2010)