Down(ish) Time

Street War might be rather quiet for a couple of weeks. I have a lot of work, plus interviews, meetings with various Salvos, church stuff... I'm tired just thinking about it. So, apologies if you find it rather boring for a while!

Sex Workers --> Fair Trade Textiles in Bangladesh

During the first graduation ceremony at the training centre of The Salvation Army’s knitting factory in Savar, Bangladesh, there were lots of smiles and tears.

Twenty women had completed their course and were ready for employment. Textiles are Bangladesh’s main foreign export earner. The women who received their certificates should be able to earn a living.

The group of women were dressed in their most colourful saris. Their hair was neat. Bangles and earrings completed the picture. Prior to this they were sex workers in the horrid brothels or on the narrow and crowded streets of Old Dhaka.

Full Article

Cyclone Relief in Innisfail, Australia

See the Courier Mail Photo Gallery.

WHILE cash donations continue to flow in to Cyclone Larry-affected areas, charities are preparing their own convoys of trucks to deliver essential items.

The Salvation Army is spearheading the drive to collect in-kind donations, particularly for bedding and personal items.

Major Bruce Harmer said up to eight trucks would leave from Townsville this morning for Innisfail laden with beds, bedding, white goods and other items.

"People have been sleeping on the floor in the wet and these will be much-needed items," Major Harmer said.

"The whole community has been very generous."

Article - Courier Mail

Night Watch - Greensboro, USA

This is an old article, but Night Watch is still running - visit a volunteer's blog for more up-to-date info.

They apologize for waking him at midnight, but the man cordially welcomes them. He had been asleep on a concrete ledge under the Gorrell Street bridge over Murrow Boulevard -- naked except for a garment he tossed across his midsection when he heard them shout:

"Hello! Salvation Army! Got water, food!"

James Davis sips hot soup that Mark Scott and Murray Preston bring to him. He tells them he has been under the bridge three months. He says he works as a day laborer but cannot afford rent on $6.50 an hour. And he can't live at his sister's house, he adds, because of run-ins with her husband.

Full Article - News-Record.com

the lucky ones

It needs to be said that, after reading many of the posts below, from contributors around the world, I am not where many of you are. I am living and working in a refugee community in North London. There are 350 languages spoken in this community, 250 of which are spoken in our local schools. Gangs, drugs, and prostitutions are all things that we deal with on a daily basis. Our local secondary school is one of the roughest in the nation. We are surrounded by projects (government assisted housing). We are surrounded by violence. We’ve witnessed six violent crimes, in the past two years, right in front of our house. We have a large Muslim population here, along with Hindus and Buddhists. I could go on and on. But here’s the thing. The people in this community are the lucky ones. They’re the ones who made it out of many of the communities talked about below. In fact, for many of them, they’re the family member who is working their tail off in London, trying to support family back home in Africa. So, no matter what I share on this site over the coming years, please know that I am aware that I’m working with the lucky ones. And please know that I am aware that I am not working in a third world country but one that comes with all of the rights and privileges that wealth and democracy brings. God bless those of you living and working in much tougher situations than I. And God bless the people you’re working with.

Glory in the City

Check out this video from 614 Regents Park - Glory in the City.

Welcome to New Team Member

Welcome to our latest Street War contributor Tim Miller, from Tottenham UK!

Salvation Army news sites/pages?

Can anyone direct me to (regularly updated) SA news sites? I'm really struggling to find out what the SA is doing anywhere but Australia, USA, Canada and Britain. And even then, it's usually only the standard things that we've been doing for decades (no offense, a lot of those things are GOOD things to be doing)... stuff like wandering the streets handing out sandwiches, for example, get consigned to internet oblivion. Unless you know where to look... and I obviously don't!

Mpho's Diary - South Africa

This is the online journal of Rachel, one of the Project 1:8 team who are currently in South Africa. Definitely worth a regular read.

Rachel's Diary

Christian-Muslim Relations, Tottenham UK

Today we got some great news. After more than a year of working to build bridges with the local Muslim community, one of the local families who would not allow their children to attend our clubs, has suddenly decided to start sending their middle son to hang out with us on Mondays. !!! Wow! It is an answer to prayer not only because we get to hang out with this young man, but because it also means that we are beginning to earn the trust of even some of the more traditional Muslims in our community.

Thanks to Tim for this update - see the SA Tottenham blog for more information on what they've been up to.

HIV-affected Children in South Africa

This is a fantastic short video about the work being done in South Africa among children infected by, or affected by, HIV.

Carl Sithole Centre

Note: Video removed from this blog now that it's not the top post.

Shelter in Bloomington, USA

The Salvation Army envisions a comprehensive, one-stop help for the homeless when it opens its $2.5 million, 24-hour homeless shelter.

But the Salvation Army still needs help in raising the money for the new building slated for land near its community center at 611 W. Washington St.

... The new shelter will serve another population of homeless—women and families, said Tom Fulop, director of Safe Harbor. Because of the health hazard posed by lead-based paint to women and children, the Salvation Army cannot open the doors of the old building to help them.

Article at Pantagraph

Relief in Pakistan

THE Salvation Army’s International Emergency Team is back at work in some of the areas of Pakistan affected badly by last October’s devastating earthquake.

Political unrest in the country led to the withdrawal of the team for a short while but Captain Mike McKee (International Headquarters Emergency Field Operations Officer) reports that the large and unpredictable demonstrations seem to be over. 'Our team is delighted to return and pick up where we left off,' he says.

Since returning to the area, the team has inspected a school where 319 pupils are being taught in tents and looked at several villages where help is needed as families attempt to return ‘home’ from the tented camps they had stayed in over the winter. According to team leader Brian Oxley – recently awarded the MBE for his international relief work with The Salvation Army – the challenge now is to identify and provide help to a village that would otherwise be forgotten.

Salvation Army International News

(and btw... aren't those little girls gorgeous!?)

Project 614 in Toronto, Canada

This is a half-hour audio program that's well worth a listen - especially if you like Canadian accents!

The Salvation Army Connection speaks to Geoff Ryan

HIV-affected Communities - Africa and Asia

Many communities around the world are affected by HIV/Aids; but it can sometimes be difficult to imagine what it is like to live with the disease. Over the next seven months author Rhidian Brook, with his wife and two young children, will be travelling the world to live with those communities.

Rhidian's family will be hosted by the Salvation Army, a Christian church with a history of social action among the poor. Rhidian's role is not to be a journalist nor a spokesman for the Salvation Army.

His role is simply to bring the stories of the people he meets to the outside world.

BBC Article and links to audio reports by Rhidian

Blog by Rhidian's son Gabriel

New Youth Shelter in York Region, Canada

Homeless young people will now have a place to stay with Monday's opening of the new $1-million Sutton Youth Shelter in the former St. Bernadette elementary school on Dalton Road.

Funded by York Region, the Salvation Army will be the service providers. The shelter will be open 24/7 and experienced front-line staff members will be on hand to direct young people aged 16 to 26 who come through the door, according to director Kathy Aitken. It is the only shelter of its kind in York Region.

Article - York Region Shelter To Be Run By Salvation Army

Criminals in Canada

The weekly Positive Lifestyles Program (PLP) has been a success at OCDC since its implementation in 2004. The objective of the PLP is to help adult offenders face the consequences of their behaviour, begin to understand the scope of their offences, as well as the implications it has on their lives, family and community. The program encourages the concept of taking responsibility for your actions and teaches new techniques and skills that will allow for better choices in the future. Topics included in the PLP are: Crisis in Crime, Stress Management, Self-Esteem, Grief, Conflict Resolution, Assertiveness and Addictions. The program has been well received by both staff and offenders of the Detention Centre.

“Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. This is the only program that gives us a chance to make changes in our lives. The Salvation Army should be doing more of these programs… we really need them in the jails. You won’t see me back here… I promise.”
- Sandy (PLP graduate)

Sandy has kept his promise and is doing well in the community, living with his family.

Article - Crime. Prison. Criminals … Redemption??

Drought in Kenya

The international standard for water requirements in a disaster is a minimum of nine litres per person per day. In Mueni's case, eight people have just 20 litres for drinking, cooking and washing – an unbelievable situation.

To help deal with this sort of situation, The Salvation Army will be working in partnership with district authorities to deploy water tanks to strategic locations. This is just one of a series of measures that form the response to the famine now facing much of sub-Saharan Africa.

Salvation Army News

The People's Voice - Melbourne, Australia

This looks like an interesting experiment... I'm looking forward to payday so I can subscribe!

The People's Voice Magazine

PS. 'Experiment' isn't meant negatively.

So, tell us...

What do you think of the new StreetWar blog?

Do you find it interesting? Informative? Smotheringly boring?

Are you getting anything out of it?

War College in Vancouver, Canada

Recent article about the War College

Bundaberg, Australia

Corps officer major Peter Pearson has been wearing his red epaulettes for 27 years. For Peter, never has officership been as exciting as it is now. Four years ago, the Central Queensland corps held a 24-7 prayer initiative. Participants opened their hearts and - without knowing what God had in store - they committed themselves to his plan for Bundaberg. The results, Major Pearson says, have been "mind blowing".

"Since then, we have started a group for people recovering from addictions. ... God suggested we try that. He started it and then one of the leaders in the community, salvationist Tom Quinn, said he'd found a shed."

The shed is now the Tom Quinn Centre. It's the hub of the Salvation Army's mission in Bundaberg. It employs 15 people and operates half a dozen programs, all designed to train, educate and rehabilitate some of the most disadvantaged people in the community.

Late last year, the Salvos Media video production unit travelled to Bundaberg to film this local mission for the fourth and final instalment in the A Cause to Die For dvd series.

"The series is a ministry tool for salvationists, demonstrating what it is to be a modern day warrior in the Salvation Army," says producer Peter Hobbs. "The previous episodes have looked at the mission of the Salvation Army and how soldiers are designed to fulfil that mission. in this final chapter we discover how corps can do mission in their own backyards. Bundaberg is doing that, and doing it extremely well."

Pipeline (Australia) Feb 2006

Homelessness and Alcoholism in Estonia

Our Homeless Friends

Sometimes local news is too sad...

I want to put my filters back on. I know much worse stuff happens elsewhere, but for some reason this news story spun me...

ONE of Queensland's most prominent indigenous elders was left for dead for more than five hours at a busy Brisbane bus stop after suffering a stroke.

Buses came and went and hundreds of students and commuters walked past Delmae Barton's prone body at the bus stop at Griffith University's Mt Gravatt campus last Tuesday.

A group of Japanese students finally came to Aunty Delmae's aid.

Tears ran down her cheeks yesterday as the 62-year-old recalled the shame of lying in her own vomit, unable to speak or reach out to passers-by.
Source

South Africa - Project 1:8 Amplify

The team:


Kids lining up for the OVC feeding scheme:


Read about it on the Mission Team website, and ongoing reports at Salvos Connect Forum - Mission Team Updates

The street ministers in Vancouver are getting younger...

Oh man... I feel outdone by a 6 year old. This is NOT good... :-)

Seriously, this is awesome:

So I was out with my 6 year old...

Melbourne, Australia

An update from 614 down in Melbourne:

We had a Ball Monday night at 614 that was run by loads of volunteers and heaps of donations. It was a free event, held for anyone in the community who wanted to come. We had hair stylist and make up artists come in to make over anyone who wanted it. We also had tons of suits and dresses and shoes for people to come in and try on and wear to the Ball. A few of us Order members decided we weren't going to get dressed up but just help out...but once we got started looking at all the dresses...we couldn't resist getting all dolled up. It proved to be an absolutely amazing night, and was a real chance for people from the community and from our drop in centre to look and feel beautiful and just dance the night away. We had a well known football player come and host a "dance off" and a fantastic house band play as we ate our dinner. I've put up about 40 pictures from the night on my msn space so definitely check those out. It was an awesome chance to just bond with my Order team members, as well as to just have a lot of fun with clients that we work with every day.

From Esther

Vancouver, Canada

This is awesome:

Salvation and healing in Vancouver

Psst...

I posted this one on my personal blog and really found it to be a challenge. It is such a powerful image, because each one of us live and work in circles just like this one. There are people around us that are hurting and we too often turn our backs. There are people crying while we do nothing. It reminded me of an old songster piece that included the words. “There are people dying in the world today, they need you, then need me they need Christ.” How often do we really step out and talk to people in need in our own immediate surroundings?


Peter

West End, Brisbane

The Waiters' Union

“…The Brisbane River curves its way through suburbs and past the inner city. Pocketed in one of its bends near the central business district is the suburb of West End. In this pocket are about six thousand households. Thirty or so of these households are connected in some way to what is called the Waiters’ Union. They form a loosely constructed network set up to support community and spiritual development in the suburb and see themselves “as a part of the locality… as a network of residents working towards community that is integral to [their] locality.”
Location, Relationships and Incarnational Evangelism as Concepts in Urban Mission (Mike Crudge)

‘How can you worship a homeless man on Sunday and ignore one on Monday?’ That challenge is at the heart of an unusual community of Christians who share their story with me today. They break with the pattern of a formal and exclusive group, and they live the gospel through the eyes of the poor. They’re The Waiters’ Union, founded by Dave and Ange Andrews and they're actually part of a wave that the Evangelical Christian magazine, Christianity Today, calls ‘the new monasticism’.
Interview on Radio National

The Salvation Army

"Mission Team is excited to announce the launch of our latest initiative, an initial 2 year Missional Church experience in Brisbane's West End.

"God is speaking to us about partnering with him to re-establish a Salvo presence in Brisbane's West End. Is he speaking to you?"
Mission Team: Project 1:8