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Malawi Children: Sold To Make Ends Meet Human trafficking is the illegal movement of people, within or across national borders, for the purposes of exploitation in the form of commercial sex, domestic service or manual labour. It is modern-day SLAVERY. Over 2,000,000 people are trafficked every year over international borders. Of these around 50% are children. It happens for a variety of reasons but in Malawi it is primarily due to poverty. Rural communities struggle to survive in a subsistence economy that can be badly affected by external influences such as drought. The difficulties become more acute when families become extended by young relatives who have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS. These orphans are often unwanted and as a result are neglected and physically or psychologically abused. Selling the children provides a quick source of income whilst also reducing the number of mouths to feed. Children are being trafficked on mass from Malawi to Zambia to work as slaves on tobacco farms, as herd boys and child prostitutes. The children are lured away from their homes with the promise of payment and fair employment, often made to the parents. The problem is particularly acute in and around the border crossing near Mchinji where on average 20 cases of trafficking are known to occur each month. It is not known what fraction of the total this represents. An assessment carried out by the Salvation Army in early 2006 established that there is:
To address these needs, the Salvation Army established the Child Anti-Trafficking Project in January 2007 in conjunction with the government Social Services department. The goal of the project is to contribute to the prevention, and improvement of the physical and psychosocial well being of victims of child trafficking. A local businessman helped to launch the project by donated some land and funds which have been used to construct a counselling centre. Now rescued children can be accommodated in a safe house and given loving care, trauma counselling and psycho-social support. Previously children had to sleep on the floor of the social services office until they were dispatched back to their village. In addition, education and awareness programmes will be delivered to local communities to help vulnerable people understand the issues of trafficking and how to avoid being lured into a trafficking situation. Mchinji Child Anti-Trafficking Centre Representatives of the benefice Malawi project, or more properly the Community Overseas Aid Project (COAP), visited the Mchinji Child Anti-Trafficking Centre during their visit to Malawi at Easter this year. The visit was hosted by Oswald Malunda, Development Services Secretary for the Salvation Army in Malawi, who provided them with information about the scheme which is very comprehensive in its scope but limited in its budget. In keeping with the Salvation Army policy of self-support and economic empowerment, in due course the Centre plans to grow its own produce and sell surplus as a source of income. The centre itself provides sheltered accommodation for those rescued, many of whom are in a very poor state of health, and addresses their immediate medical and psychological needs after their traumatic experiences. The centre comprises a bunk house accommodating up to 20 children, a refectory and common room, yet to be fitted out, and a small administration and staff block. The ultimate objective is to re-unite children with their families and this involves social workers and counselling services. Training, business planning advice and financial aid, in the form of loans, are given to these families to assist them in establishing income generating activities in order to tackle the poverty that is the root cause of the problem. The Salvation Army is also collaborating with village headmen, government authorities, public transport operators and others to raise awareness of the problem and to instigate preventative measures such as community protection teams. At the time of the visit, the Centre was home to 3 girls rescued from child prostitution and 3 boys who were trafficked to look after cattle. All had physically recovered from their ordeals and were enrolled at the local school. The Centre also provides day care centre for a large number of orphans and other vulnerable children from the surrounding villages. The visitors were made very welcome by both staff and children who were clearly delighted that outsiders were taking an interest in their plight. The children put on a show of song, drama and monologue about their experiences. The COAP Committee has decided that the Centre will be the next scheme to be supported from fund raising activities. Immediate needs include:
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO PLEDGE YOUR SUPPORT PLEASE CONTACT: Tim Sidney - 01795 521714 - REMOVEtimrsidney@btinternet.com NOTE: When using these e-mail addresses, please delete the word “REMOVE”. This word is inserted to render the addresses useless to anyone who automatically scans this website for e-mail addresses to send SPAM to. |
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