Fear Not the Slander and Shadow, But to Break the Silence – Interview with Indian Anti-child Trafficking Activist

(Aashima Samuel, the National Director of EFIC@R, interviewed by CEDAR)

 

“In Indian villages, when we and church pastors advocated anti-child trafficking, some Hindi nationalists accused us of, or even attacked us for ‘brainwashing’ villagers to convert them into Christians. In fact, among them, there were traffickers slandering us to extinguish our anti-trafficking voice,” said Aashima Samuel, the National Director of Evangelical Fellowship of India Children At Risk (EFIC@R), CEDAR’s partner.

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South Asia Floods Relief Enters New Stage

CEDAR’s partner, ACN, in Nepal has been distributing much-needed relief aid to vulnerable families

Nepal, India, and Bangladesh have been facing the worst monsoon rains in 15 years, triggering severe flooding across the three countries. Over 1,200 people have been killed, and 41 million people have been affected. CEDAR’s partners begun their responses the week after the flooding intensified. The initial responses were carried out in Nawalparasi district in central Nepal and Bihar state in northern India, providing emergency relief items for affected communities.

The response is entering a new stage right now. CEDAR has allocated funds for Asal Chhimekee Nepal (ACN) in Nepal to provide hygiene kits and winter items for 600 households and provide half-month food supply for 200 families (most of them are single-mother households) in Nawalparasi. In Bihar, India, CEDAR is supporting EFIC@R to set up 5 medical camps in affected communities to provide health services and medication, and to also promote human trafficking prevention to help flood-affected people, especially women and children, to safeguard themselves from traffickers.

We have also received a grant of HK$2.88 million from the Hong Kong government’s Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee to conduct aid distribution through our India partner, Evangelical Fellowship of India Commission on Relief (EFICOR), in one of the worst-hit states, Bihar. The distribution will benefit at least 5,000 families, and each household will receive:

  • Food aid: 35 kg rice, cooking oil, flour, etc.
  • Household items: 3 bed sheets, 2 floor mats and 2 mosquito nets
  • Hygiene kits: containing soap, laundry detergent, tooth brush, tooth paste, water purification tabs, and sanitary pads

Two of our colleagues will travel to India to monitor and evaluate on the response, as well as to learn about the condition of the flood-stricken communities. Please continue to support through prayers and donation for the relief effort of CEDAR and its partners in Nepal and India.

Prayer items:

  • Pray for the flooded communities in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, especially those located in remote areas, may God provide safe shelters for the survivors, give them clean daily food, protect them from diseases despite the poor hygiene condition after the floods.
  • May God use CEDAR and other Integral Allicance* members and their local partners in the three countries to bring timely and effective assistance to the survivors.
  • Please pray for the two colleagues who will be traveling to India. Pray that God keep them safe, and have a smooth and fruitful collaboration with EFICOR’s staff.

Donation:

(Please mark “South Asia Floods Relief”)

[1] All funds received will go to “South Asia Floods Relief”. If funds raised exceed the budget devised from the disaster evaluation, the additional amount will go directly to CEDAR’s “Emergency Relief and Disaster Preparedness Fund”.
[2] CEDAR is an approved charitable institution and trust of a public character under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance. Please visit Inland Revenue Department website for details.
[3] Donations over HK$100 are tax deductible in Hong Kong with our receipts.
[4] Please DO NOT fax any donation information.

Contact Information:
Tel>2381 9627
Fax>2392 2777
Email>sharing@cedarfund.org
Add>G.P.O. Box 3212 Hong Kong

CEDAR’s Relief and Rehabilitation Work in the past: http://eng.cedarfund.org/relief
CEDAR Approach on Relief and Rehabilitation: http://eng.cedarfund.org/relief-approach/
FAQs on Relief Appeal: http://bit.ly/cedar-relief-FAQe

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*Integral Alliance is a global alliance of 23 Christian relief and development agencies, working together to present a more effective response to poverty worldwide. CEDAR Fund is one of the member agencies. CEDAR and 14 other members of Integral Alliance are responding to flood-affected communities through local partners and churches.

Children Are Priceless

[ ‘SHARE’ Jul – Sep 2017 ] JOIN HANDS JOIN HEARTS

Barla (obscured), 12, was a student in Pastor Thomas’ tutorial class. She missed classes a few times, and Pastor Thomas started searching for her to no avail. He feared for the worst that she might be caught by traffickers, so he filed a case at the police station. The investigators soon found out that Barla’s parents had sold her to a pimp at the price of less than HK$16.

Continue reading Children Are Priceless

Build a World Free of Human Trafficking

[ ‘SHARE’ May-Jun 2016 ] FOCUS ~ MINISTRY

Author: Jojo Poon

Slavery is often thought of as an archived piece in the history of humanity existed only in the poorest corners of the earth full of conflicts and incivilities. The sad fact is that the total number of slaves is at a historic high today, spanning across the globe.

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Combat Human Trafficking From Church, Through Church

[ ‘SHARE’ May-Jun 2016 ] STEP INTO THE WORLD

Human trafficking is often international, and it has become the second largest global illegal trade business following drugs. Sixty percent of human trafficking activities were international.

CEDAR is supporting multiple partners in their education, support network building, living condition improvements, and life rebuilding projects.

Continue reading Combat Human Trafficking From Church, Through Church