Food Used to Raise Awareness of Human Trafficking Threat to Haitians

While Salvation Army aid workers and volunteers have loaded, unloaded, and handed out millions of meals to combat the rampant hunger plaguing Haitians, these boxes of food contain another form of aid less obvious than the nourishing beans and rice they hold.

Haiti is a nation chronically plagued by extreme poverty and lack of just law enforcement, leaving citizens vulnerable to all sorts of threats both physical and abstract. But with these existing circumstances being further exacerbated by last month’s earthquake, conditions are ripe for Haiti’s already substantial human trafficking problem to increase exponentially. To combat the issue, The Salvation Army is mounting an anti-trafficking awareness campaign advertised even on the food Haitians are eating! Through food labels and fliers, we are trying to educate as many people as possible on the dangers of and ways to prevent human trafficking from breeding during the earthquake’s aftermath and in their communities long term. Though trafficking may be a less visible threat than starvation or dehydration, it is certainly no less dangerous.

The Salvation Army has actually been working for years to educate Haitians against trafficking, teaching prevention awareness to the 14,000 students enrolled in our schools across the country, to families to help them prevent losing their children, to young adults so that they are not deceived by scams luring them with false promises of lucrative work abroad.

In fact, Haiti’s human trafficking problem is so serious that the U.S. State Department denoted the country as a ‘special’ case in their 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report. Though some estimates report a quarter million children are trafficked every year in the country, accurate numbers are difficult to pinpoint. The Report discusses factors that contribute to Haiti’s inability to address the issue (for more detailed background, read about Haiti in the 2009 Trafficking Report here):

“The Government of Haiti’s ability to provide basic services and security for citizens, and to control rampant crime in the capital, Port-au-Prince, continues to be compromised by limited resources, an untrained and poorly equipped police force, entrenched government corruption, and perennially weak government institutions… Haiti remains a Special Case for the fourth consecutive year as the new government formed in September 2008 has not yet been able to address the significant challenges facing the country, including human trafficking. .. Haitian law also does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, which limits its ability to punish traffickers and protect victims.”

But after working with Sri Lankan communities devastated by the 2005 tsunami, Director of Special Projects for The Salvation Army World Service Office’s (SAWSO) Lt. Col. Helen Starrett said The Salvation Army realized there needed to be an immediate response following catastrophic disasters to prevent human trafficking. From this conviction came the idea to print and attach warning labels on food for Haitians, a sure way to spread information to as many people as possible. With the help of American volunteers, 500,000 labels printed in English and Creole have been placed on distributed meals provided by Numana and packaging of beans and rice rations. The human-trafficking alert has also been printed on 5,000 fliers that are displayed in clinics, schools, and shelters around Port-au-Prince, and large posters are brandished on Salvation Army water towers. They read:

BE ALERT! WATCH FOR SCAMS!

NO ONE can force you to work or have sex.

1. Beware of people offering jobs in foreign countries.
2. Beware of people offering money, food, shelter, or drugs in exchange for sex.
3. Know where your children are.
4. Know who your children are with.
5. Be cautious of sending your children away. Be sure a VERY trusted relative or friend goes with them.
6. If you are threatened or being controlled seek help from the nearest Salvation Army Comfort Center.

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Psalm 46:1

Numana will begin printing the warning messages directly on food packaging starting with the next meal distribution so that labels will not need to be added.

Lt. Col. Starrett says Salvation Army personnel in Haiti also have a one page sheet of information regarding signs of and prevention tools for human trafficking so that they may remain vigilant among the population of Haitians with which they work every day. Serving as lead agency for some 20,000 displaced Haitians temporarily housed in a soccer arena and plaza in Port-au-Prince, The Salvation Army is tasked with registering the occupants. Not only does this help with receiving food and aid supplies from the UN, it also enables disaster workers to keep track of children and vulnerable individuals, helping to ensure that they are accounted for.

The campaign is also intended to educate Haitians so they are empowered to police and protect themselves. Lt. Col. Starrett says that while other organizations are working to combat human trafficking in Haiti, she believes The Salvation Army’s long standing history and involvement in the area (we’ve been present in Haiti since 1950 and have 700 personnel permanently stationed there) has given us a “great capacity to have eyes that other organizations might not have,” meaning in addition to our first hand experience with the country, there is also a trust held by Haitians through their relationship with The Salvation Army that allows them to feel more comfortable bringing forth information about suspicious circumstances possibly related to human trafficking.

In addition to increasing awareness, providing alternative solutions is also integral in the fight against trafficking since desperation for survival may sometimes overshadow what is moral. And The Salvation Army does provide a positive alternative through the millions of meals that we have and will continue to distribute in order to sustain individuals and families, as well as other forms of aid and services that are provided through our disaster workers and full time personnel living in Haiti. This includes offering education in our schools, providing medical assistance in our clinics, and giving guidance through spiritual counseling and worship services.

Lt. Col. Starrett recognized that the problem is not a simple open and closed case, saying, “As long as there is evil in the world, we are going to have human trafficking…” Of course, her observation was not one of defeat, but rather a reason to persevere all the harder in the mission to combat the problem. She continued, “But we’re going to do our very best to help as many people as we possibly can.”

For more information on what The Salvation Army is doing to prevent human trafficking, visit our national website.

Elementary students help with Haiti relief

In a weeks time, students at the Shenandoah Elementary School in Middletown, Indiana raised over $5,600 for The Salvation Army’s Disaster Services Relief for Haiti through their fundraising campaign Drinking Water for Haiti. At noon Feb. 3, 2010 at Shenandoah Elementary, the students presented the funds to The Salvation Army’s Major Brenda Pittman and Development Director Jeff Stanger.

Drinking Water for Haiti was put into affect by every teacher in the school buying enough water bottles for each student in their class. The students were allowed to drink the water in school and were reminded when they drank that the people in Haiti didn’t have this luxury.

The students took their empty water bottles home to be filled with spare change and cash, then returned with the water bottles to school. The result was a generous donation to The Salvation Army, who takes 100 percent of their raised funds to be added directly to the relief effort.

Amber Kinsey’s fourth grade class raised the most, a grand total of $387. “We were just floored,” said Kinsey about the amount they had raised.

Another fourth grade teacher Laurie Boykin headed the fundraiser. She’s been to Haiti before on mission trips and really felt compelled to help after the earthquake. She never thought that the fundraiser would be so successful.

“We were hoping to get $1,000,” said Boykin.

Thanks to the teachers and students at Shenandoah Elementary, and a special thanks to First Merchants Bank who it took three hours to count out all the change, Haiti will be receiving much more needed assistance.

Shenandoah Elementary has been active with The Salvation Army’s causes before, by ringing bells and adopting families during the Christmas season.

Haiti Update: January 31, 2010

Port-au-Prince, Haiti:  While the situation in Haiti continues to be very
serious, The Salvation Army Relief Team is providing massive amounts of
food, water and other relief materials to the people in Haiti.

• The team in Haiti received a shipment of 18 pallets of food (representing 213,840 meals) along with 4 pallets (over 5,100 individual  bottles) of water on Saturday.
• A subsequent delivery of 35 pallets of food (415,800 meals) was in route with a scheduled Sunday arrival time in Port-au-Prince. These meals were  accompanied by 8 pallets of water which provided over 1300 gallon jugs of water for distribution.
• Team members were coordinating with the US Army 82nd Airborne to arrange  a food delivery of over 174,000 meals to a particularly hard hit  neighborhood in Port-au-Prince which had not received any major food distributions before now.
• Meetings were held and partnerships continued to be forged as The
  Salvation Army convened meetings in its role as Camp Managers for the  approximately 20,000 displaced people now finding whatever shelter they can in the Delmas 2 neighborhood.
• Critically important issues being addressed is water and sanitation, the provision of medium-term shelter, various NFI’s (non-food items) including kitchen and cooking kits, etc.,  and, of course, regular and reliable deliveries of food.
• On-going  medical services and the timely restoration of education programs for  displaced children are also priorities.
• This weekend was also a transition time for the team as some members  transitioned out of Haiti and new team members began arriving.
• International emergency personnel continue to provide support and
  assistance for our Haitian Salvation Army Officers and staff who have
  been working heroically and self-sacrificially ever since the earthquake.
• Medical services continued seamlessly this weekend despite the arrival  of a new team of doctors, nurses and support staff to replace outgoing  medical personnel.
• Massive community packaging events are being conducted (with more in the  planning stage) in communities around the USA. This continues to be a  critical link in the supply chain that has allowed The Salvation Army to deliver well over 1.3 million meals already and will ensure that these life-saving deliveries continue until local systems can be restored.
• Early estimates are that The Salvation Army will be required to supply
  over 1 million meals per week for at least the next six weeks in order
  to sustain displaced families until regular and sustainable UN
  deliveries of food can be put into place.

Haiti Update: January 27, 2010

Port-au-Prince, Haiti: Highlights of The Salvation Army’s relief work for January 27 include the following:

• Team members in PaP accepted a shipment of 18 pallets of food and 4 pallets of bottled water sent over from the logistics team in Miami.  The 18 pallets of food represent over 213,000 meals.
• Food sufficient for 11,000 meals was given to support a group of Haitian technicians who are working to restore the communication system in Haiti.  Lack of good communication remains one of the significant challenges that continue to hamper the effective coordination of relief efforts.
• Over 100 preschoolers attended classes again today.
• Approximately 250 patients received medical attention from doctors at The Salvation Army compound.
• Arrangements to facilitate a food and water distribution in Petit Goave were finalized in preparation for what is believed to be the first major delivery of relief aid that will reach earthquake survivors in this coastal community.
• Salvation Army personnel continued to network with other agencies to coordinate essential services for the thousands of families we are standing alongside of in Port-au-Prince.
• Team members in Haiti continue to be supported by logistics managers and many hundreds of volunteers as food and other critically needed supplies are purchased, repackaged, and then shipped to the warehousing facility in Miami to be readied for final shipment to Haiti and ultimately distributed to families who have been displaced and rendered homeless by the earthquake.  This is truly a massive effort that must be managed throughout the entire process in order to ensure that an uninterrupted supply of relief goods are available to the people of Haiti while the country’s infrastructure is rebuilt and normal supply chains are reestablished.

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