How can The Salvation Army be true to its Christian mission when faced with the realities of one of the world’s poorest countries?
The answer is in 1 John 3: 18:
‘Christian love must always be expressed in concrete actions. Words alone are not enough.’
Our concrete action has been the development of Sally Ann International, our ‘Fair Trade’ project.
The mission of this project is to fight poverty, to pay fair wages for fair work, provide safe and clean places of work, promote gender equality, give dignity to the workers and develop their self-esteem.
The project helps workers to:
• feed and clothe their children
• provide their children with education
• afford better housing
• provide better nutrition resulting in better health
• help themselves get out of the vicious circle of poverty
The project helps The Salvation Army in Bangladesh to:
• do business in an exemplary ethical way
• generate funds for other Salvation Army projects in Bangladesh
• move away from dependency on donors to greater financial autonomy
Sally Ann International has 3 departments:
Handicrafts: leaf baskets, handmade paper products, wrought iron, embroideries, silk & wood
Knitwear: sweaters, blankets, cushion covers and other knitted items
IT: training, IT support and software development
The project started in 1997. At present 350 people are working for Sally Ann International.
Participants in the project testify to it’s success:
“We used to live in a mud house. Now we live in a tin-shed house.”
“Now I can afford to educate my daughter and my health has improved.”