World Service Office
Programs
HIV/AIDS &
Community Health
Microfinance
Anti-Human Trafficking
Disaster Relief
The Salvation Army World Service Office
615 Slater's Lane, P.O. Box 1428
Alexandria, VA 22313
Tel.: +1.703.684.5528
Fax.: +1.703.684.5536
SAWSO@USN.salvationarmy.org
Copyright © 2012 The Salvation Army
HIV/AIDS &
Community Health Focus
Through Salvation Army partners worldwide, SAWSO works with the local communities to implement health programs and address corresponding prevention and educational issues. Whether it be HIV/AIDS in Zambia or Haiti, maternal and child health in Kenya or Tanzania, or malaria and polio in Malawi or Angola, these represent only a portion of the scope of SAWSO’s work in the community health field.
SAWSO embraces community driven approaches and attempts to create community-wide participation and local capacity building to maintain long-term solutions and sustainability. This approach is possible due to SAWSO’s unique ability to work through The Salvation Army’s long established structures in more than 120 countries around the world.
Positive Outcomes for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) program
Blessed Mtonga is a orphan who lives with his aunt in Choma’s Zambia compound. He used to spend a lot of time searching for work, like digging pit latrines, was
hing clothes and other household work around the compound so he could raise money for his schooling.
“Dividing time for school and going about doing other work was really difficult for me,” says Blessed. “STEPS OVC has really done me a good favor by paying for half of my school fees and this means that I will have more time to study and attend school. I hope they would continue and stay for some years so they would help us with school fees. With me, this half payment will go a long way in reducing the burden that my Aunt is going though especially that she has to provide for 12 other members of the household,” says Blessed Mtonga.
Hope Begets Hope
Mary Lungu lives with her mother and six other family members in a two room house in a Zambian Compound. Her father is deceased leaving the family in an extremely vulnerable situation. Her mother is a small scale business woman whose income is only able to provide for basic household meals.
Mary is now in grade 11 and her mother has been struggling to pay her school fees, resulting in Mary being unable to attend school regularly. “STEPS OVC has really made my life and that of my daughter easier by paying for her term one school fees and now she is able to attend school without staying away because of lack of money,” says Mrs. Lungu. Mary is very thankful for the help which allows her to go to school. She desires to become a teacher someday so that she can help other vulnerable children in the same way. STEPS-OVC has given Mary hope for her future.