Salvation Army World Service Office (SAWSO)

Disaster relief and recovery:the types of natural disasters and conflicts vary widely with far-reaching impacts. However, disaster size, frequency and severity aren't The only determining factors for recovery. A community's capacity to manage incidents is equally important for disaster resiliency. Sawso supports disaster response and recovery work with a community-centered focus, empowering communities to increase their capability to mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters. Papua new guinea (png), a country in The heart of The ring of fire, is a region grappling with The dual challenges of natural disasters and under-development. The Salvation Army, deeply embedded in health and education initiatives, recognized The need for enhanced disaster preparedness, building upon lessons learned from prior emergencies. This realization led to The initiation of The "emergency preparedness training in papua new guinea" project, a comprehensive effort to bolster The region's resilience. Sawso funded and co-facilitated an emergency preparedness training which culminated in The development of a territorial disaster response plan by evaluating past disaster responses, particularly The 2018 earthquake. The intensive five-day training engaged Salvation Army personnel from across papua new guinea, encompassing workshops, presentations, and practical exercises. In nigeria, sawso supported election preparedness programs aimed to promote and peace and de-escalate tensions before flaring into conflicts prior to The february 2023 elections. Salvation Army engaged and partnered with local houses of worship of different faiths and local and national radio stations. In greece, The Salvation Army provided assistance to disaster survivors who lost household and clothing items in The wake of catastrophic flooding. Mattresses, pillows, duvets, and other household essentials were provided for families returning to homes destroyed in The floods. Additionally, clothing items were distributed for The elderly who evacuated empty-handed. Through these efforts, The Salvation Army stood in The gap to alleviate human suffering.as ukraine approaches The two-year mark of The ongoing war, tsa remains steadfast at meeting emergency humanitarian needs, while simultaneously, planning for recovery, focusing on meeting The unique needs of refugees and internally displaced persons (idps) and fostering long-term stability. Our humanitarian aid in ukraine and neighboring countries primarily consists of vouchers, enabling refugees and idps to purchase essential items such as food, clothing, and hygiene products tailored to their specific needs. Additionally, tsa provided seasonal humanitarian aid for programs such as back-to-school, winterization and christmas. These programs meet The specific needs of school-age children, warm winter clothing for men, women and children, and offered hope and holiday cheer.

Health programs:the Salvation Army serves The poor and vulnerable by implementing community-based health programs as well as providing care at Salvation army-operated hospitals and clinics. Sawso works in partnership with local Salvation Army personnel to improve availability of services and enhance quality of care. Program focus areas are maternal, child and adolescent health, non-communicable diseases, community health and health facilities.the donor-funded project providing outreach visits by staff from chikankata mission hospital to small, isolated clinics in an impoverished rural area in southern zambia ended, but outreach continues on a smaller scale. Upgrading The mission's aging, inefficient electrical system was completed with donor funding and rebuilding its water treatment and distribution systems is underway. Projects to replace aging infrastructure at two Salvation Army hospitals in india were completed and work on The new student hostel for a nursing school in indonesia continues. The project to provide tuition subsidies to faculty members at another Salvation Army nursing college there concluded successfully. In paraguay, a primary care clinic which also provides social services to a nearby barrio (informal settlement) was supported by sawso as it continues to work towards financial self-sufficiency. In india, sawso supports a project which works with impoverished aids widows to ensure that they receive adequate treatment and can access employment opportunities, education for their children and government benefits.

Livelihood programs:among The most effective ways to help those in need is to empower them to help themselves, and that is The primary aim of sawso's livelihoods programs. By teaching innovative agricultural practices, diversified income generation skills, and how to access finance opportunities, those who might otherwise struggle are given opportunities to lift themselves and their families out of poverty and, in some cases, become leaders in their communities, well-positioned to pass on what they have learned to others. During The reporting period, sawso actively supported livelihoods projects in many countries, benefitting over several thousands of participants and their families. In myanmar, sawso along with tsa in norway concluded a six-year project that alleviated issues of poverty and unemployment for those living with sexually transmitted infections. It provided a micro-credit loan program so that participants could start businesses, buy livestock, or seeds for agricultural work. The program also provided vocational and life skills trainings and job search support, with about 65% of program graduates either working or starting businesses soon after.in india, several hundreds of women participated in self-help groups that enabled them to start businesses, pay for their children's education, and access government supports and other opportunities to better their homes and communities. In zimbabwe, sawso partnered with both tsa switzerland and tsa uk & ireland to implement two projects focused on supporting families affected by ongoing climate disasters. These projects help families to diversify their income sources by teaching and providing inputs for livestock rearing, beekeeping, and fisheries, while also teaching conservation agriculture, marketing, and group collaboration. These strengthened networks then allow farmers and workers to access better markets and prices for their goods. A new project also started in eastern kenya in partnership with tsa australia, building off of The territory's previous successes. The program connects local farmers both to each other by forming village savings and loan groups, but also to a rehabilitated thikka resilience center, a model farm which will host trainings and subsidized inputs for local farmers. From The center, farmers will be trained in livestock rearing, conservation agriculture, and other important innovations to make The best use of their farms.

Education programs:in africa, The early childhood education program implemented in south africa has had a profound impact on The community. Firstly, it has significantly improved school readiness among young children, equipping them with essential cognitive and social skills. Secondly, parents and caregivers actively participate in their children's learning, fostering a collaborative educational environment. Thirdly, this initiative has broken The cycle of poverty by providing children with a strong foundation for future academic success. Fourthly, The program has influenced The wider community, leading to increased awareness and support for early childhood education. Lastly, The investment in early childhood education has informed The early childhood community of practice in africa, promoting knowledge sharing and collaborative efforts to enhance educational outcomes for young learners in different african countries and territories.in indonesia, some of The poorest communities are also The most isolated, which creates challenges to providing educational professionals with The latest training. With sawso's support, Salvation Army schools have developed teachers' training and coaching programs to support them in their professional development. Sawso also is supporting child reading programs in schools. Sawso has also supported a Salvation Army teacher training facility.in haiti, sawso is supporting The strengthening of school quality through professional development of teachers and provision of instructional materials. Sawso has also supported a country-wide assessment of a large number Salvation Army schools for The purpose of identifying needs and strengthening The sustainability of schools. This work is being conducted in highly unstable security environments.

International business and economic development:sawso's international business and economic development (ibed) team continues to work with Salvation Army local commands around The World to help them discover, evaluate, test, and launch their own initiatives to generate local resources to support their work. By establishing new social enterprises or fundraising activities, on-the-ground implementers can build The operational support and sustainability to better meet daily needs of their community with rapidness and relevance. In south africa, argentina, and central america, The ibed team initiated a program called developing financial independence (dfi). The program consists of three components:1. A workshop to help local pastors identify and test new ideas to generate income in their communities. At The end of The workshop, The pastors are all equipped to write a business plan and present their ideas.2. Hiring a dfi coordinator to facilitate The workshop, provide ongoing coaching for The entrepreneurs and work with them on their business plans until they are ready for funding.3. A revolving fund that will provide startup funding for business ideas. Once The businesses begin generating income, a portion of The profit will be paid back into The fund for The next business idea.in costa rica, ibed funded The renovations of a female student residence in The university neighborhood of san jose. The renovations will increase The number of bathrooms so that each student will have their own private bathroom. This will allow The Salvation Army to increase The monthly rent that is charged. The increase in revenue will enable The local Salvation Army to cover their operational and programmatic costs of The local mission.

Anti-human trafficking programs:globally, there are an estimated 50 million men, women and children impacted by modern slavery/human trafficking, including forced labor, commercial sexual exploitation, forced marriage, and other forms of exploitation. Trafficking in persons, commonly called human trafficking, is a criminal enterprise globally worth approximately $150 billion per annum, second only to drug trafficking but thought to The be fastest growing. The estimated numbers have increased approximately 20% in The last five years, driven by a number of adverse factors, including various humanitarian crises, and The economic and social distress generated by The covid-19 pandemic, especially for vulnerable and marginalized communities.the Salvation Army World Service Office responds to these needs through projects focused on direct services to people with lived experience of modern slavery/human trafficking, safeguarding The children of people involved in survival sex, and other prevention efforts to raise awareness and reduce vulnerabilities related to human trafficking. In The middle east, The Salvation Army has provided direct assistance to women who have been trafficked to two gulf states through provision of safe shelter, medical and emotional care, and assistance with repatriation for return to their countries of origin. The majority of survivors within these Salvation Army projects are women who have been trafficked from east africa and south asia. While The purpose of exploitation is predominantly for domestic servitude, their vulnerability is multi-dimensional and magnified by being in The house and, therefore, at The mercy of The house owners. Our programs help to ensure their ongoing protection and recovery. In india, The Salvation Army also provides direct support to women and children within one of The largest red-light districts in mumbai, india. With more than 2000 women and over 500 children living in The red-light district and vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, Salvation Army runs a safe drop-in center where children can access educational and spiritual support, health support, healthy and nutritious food, and life skills toward long-term safety. Women are provided skills training, literacy training, income generating activities, and emotional support for safe livelihood alternatives and holistic care and support to safe futures. There is also a children's home which provides safe accommodation for children who otherwise would be without adult supervision outside and at night, while their mothers worked in The red-light district. This is seen as important protection in The immediate term and also an important preventive measure to intervene in The trajectory that could otherwise lead The children to also working in The red-light district. In The philippines, The Salvation Army supports programming, along with partners, for The specialized care for children who have been sexually exploited through online means. The nature of human trafficking evolves over time depending on various facilitating factors (in this case, The internet) and The philippines is one of The first countries with a large problem of online sexual exploitation (osec). This project provides protection and care for children in a holistically manner that provides emotional and physical care and equips providers with specialized therapeutic techniques for addressing The trauma that these children have experienced. Osec also presents some unique challenges in identifying and prosecuting The perpetrators since The person buying The exploitation may be overseas from where The victim is located. The project focused on deepening an understanding of osec with research projects with academic institutions and a conference hosting several participants (including in-person and virtual participants) from multiple nations. Feedback from participants included that this will be important across multiple country contexts as osec is an emerging form of exploitation in other developing nations. In indonesia, The Salvation Army is operating a project which works with Salvation Army children's homes to expand The options for child protection and child safeguarding. Through partnership with local organizations, The Salvation Army is working to find family-based care, including kinship and foster care or family reunification where that is possible, safe, and in The best interests of The child. Working with The children whether in family-based care or in The children's home continues to focus on their long-term emotional and physical care. The magnitude of modern slavery/human trafficking globally necessitates a coordinated and comprehensive response. The Salvation Army World Service Office is supporting modern slavery/human trafficking response (mshtr) communities of practice (cop) projects in The south asia zone and The south pacific and east asia zone. These cop projects are strategic investments in The continued awareness raising and building The internal capacity of The Salvation Army to mobilize and address human trafficking on a larger scope and with coordination within The geographic zones. These projects are instrumental for implementing The Salvation Army's global strategy to respond to these atrocities.the cop projects work to optimize The strengths that are available within The Salvation Army and ready to be mobilized. The cops provide awareness and education around modern slavery/human trafficking to empower people within The Salvation Army to be able to recognize and respond to The issues of msht in their communities. The existing work of The Salvation Army at The grassroots level which reduce economic and social vulnerabilities are important for prevention of trafficking. Therefore, The mshtr cops work to integrate awareness and knowledge about trafficking into existing ministry units, including disaster response and social services. The geographic reach of The Salvation Army also makes it well suited to respond to The challenges of human trafficking. Trafficking does not necessarily involve travel across large distances (either internal to a country or across borders) but it frequently does. The cops create a network among different Salvation Army locations which is crucial to facilitate care and support for a survivor of trafficking along The journey from first point of contact through to repatriation and reintegration if they return home.

Capacity building and project management:sawso supports The philippines across different sectors. The integrated community development program enables The local community members to improve The living standard through capacity building initiatives by integrating community resources and local expertise to increase family income within The communities nationwide. On The other hand, specialized shelters in metro manila provide a safe and nurturing place for vulnerable children to grow and reach their full potential. In mexico, through sawso's support, The Salvation Army in mexico supported children homes that serves vulnerable children in various corners of The country, offering decent, safe, and functional space for them to live, earn and grow. The homes provide a healthy environment that is right for their developmental and educational needs; including nutritional food, psychological support, special training/classes that supplements The children's educational performance in The schools.in angola, sawso supported a capacity building for community engagement project that provided The Office equipment and training in project management for The staff in The country. The practical training aimed at increasing The understanding of community development and project management so that they are ready to engage in implementing community development programs.