This year, Global Communities will honor several individuals and organizations for their outstanding contributions to humanity:

• K. Andrew Achterkirchen will receive the Philanthropic Leadership Award for his long-standing dedication to philanthropy and community engagement. A retired engineer, Achterkirchen devotes his time to tutoring students at the Preuss School and Barrio Logan College Institute (BLCI), helping them prepare for college. Andy serves as a board member BLCI, Planned Parenthood of the Pacific Southwest and Fronteras, among others, showcasing his commitment to health, education and equity initiatives across the community.
• Maria Decker will be honored with the Community Ambassador Award in recognition of her tireless volunteer work helping Global Communities and other San Diego organizations forge vital connections with local community partners and raise mission-critical funding.
• Ileana Nataly Larios Guillen will receive the Global Hero Award for her exceptional leadership in Global Communities’ Women Empowered (WE) program in Guatemala. Over the past decade, Nataly has supported thousands of women to develop financial literacy, accumulate savings and make loans to one another, invest in income-generating activities, and become leaders in their families and communities.
• Gap Inc. will receive the Corporate Leadership Award for their outstanding commitment to bridging the equity gap by empowering women globally. Around the world, Gap Inc. has reached more than 1.4M women through their Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement (P.A.C.E.) program, a practical education curriculum designed to advance gender equality by providing foundational life skills for women and adolescent girls. Global Communities has partnered with Gap Inc. to strengthen its Women Empowered (WE) program by integrating the P.A.C.E. curriculum.

“Our honorees this year exemplify the spirit of compassion, leadership, and global citizenship that we strive to foster at Global Communities,” said Carrie Hessler-Radelet, President & CEO of Global Communities.” Their work has had a profound impact on the lives of countless individuals, and we are thrilled to celebrate their contributions at this year’s Hands Across Borders gala.”

A special highlight of the evening will be a performance by Voices of Our City, a San Diego-based choir that amplifies the voices of people impacted by homelessness through the power of music and the arts. Their performance will add a unique and moving element to the gala, aligning with Global Communities’ mission of empowering vulnerable populations.

In San Diego, Global Communities drives initiatives that empower young people, enhancing their resilience against human trafficking and exploitation and that support pregnant mothers to ensure they have healthy pregnancies, safe births and resources in place to ensure their newborns have a healthy start to life.

More than 350 local businesses and community leaders are expected to attend this year’s Hands Across Borders gala, chaired by San Diego philanthropists Sushma Patel and Mary Lynn Weitzen, with support from honorary chairs Haida Mojdehi, Molly Eldredge, Julie Tafel Klaus and Elizabeth Roemer Wyckoff. The evening will feature a dinner, silent auction with an international marketplace, live performances, and entertainment, creating an unforgettable experience for all attendees.

More details, tickets and sponsorships are available at globalcommunities.org/handsacrossborders.

About Global Communities
Working across the humanitarian assistance, sustainable development, and financial inclusion sectors, Global Communities brings together local ingenuity and global insights to save lives, advance equity, and secure strong futures. We support communities in more than 30 countries to advance their own development, partnering with local leaders, governments, civil society, and the private sector to achieve a shared vision of a more just, prosperous, and equitable world.

The post Global Communities to Honor Humanitarian Leaders at 2024 Hands Across Borders Gala appeared first on Global Communities.

In 2012, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Governments of India and Ethiopia to convene the Child Survival Call to Action, which galvanized unprecedented commitments from governments and civil society around the world to end preventable maternal and child deaths. Three years later, UN Member States adopted the Agenda for Sustainable Development with ambitious targets to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030 and end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, also by 2030. Yet every two minutes a woman dies due to pregnancy or childbirth, and most of these deaths are entirely preventable.

New data released this February by several UN agencies shows significant progress in reducing maternal deaths between 2000 and 2015, but also reveals alarming setbacks for maternal health over recent years. According to the report, “The world must significantly accelerate progress to meet global targets for reducing maternal deaths, or else risk the lives of over 1 million more women by 2030.”

I recently chatted with Cara Endyke Doran, our Senior Director of Health, WASH and Nutrition, about these trends and about ways in which Global Communities is saving mothers’ and children’s lives.

This is the first conversation in our new series “Pass the Mic,” where staff from Global Communities share innovative ideas and in-depth insights on timely topics spanning the development, humanitarian and peace nexus. The interview was edited for length and clarity.

Paula: You recently traveled from Boston to Washington, D.C., to attend the global event Maternal and Child Survival: A Decade of Progress and Action for the Future, co-convened by USAID, UNICEF and the Governments of India, Senegal and the United Kingdom. A Hill Reception organized by the Global Health Council and co-sponsored by Global Communities followed. Why were these convenings important to you and what was your key takeaway?

Cara: These events were important because they provided an opportunity for global leaders, health experts, advocates and practitioners to come together to review progress made in maternal and child health since 2012 and to chart a course for future action. Despite significant improvements toward reducing maternal, newborn and child deaths since 2012, many populations around the globe do not have equitable access to high-quality care. Even when care is available and of quality, women and children still do not have access to and control over resources to attain a high standard of health and well-being. Furthermore, many health systems lack the ability to adapt to changing epidemiologic and demographic trends. During the event, USAID addressed these continued challenges and released a new strategic framework for preventing maternal and child deaths by 2030. The framework laid out a plan for improving maternal, newborn and child health outcomes through a renewed focus on coverage, quality and equity. 

Paula: While there were calls for a celebration, most experts acknowledged dramatic setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing conflicts and natural disasters. For example, Dr. Atul Gawande, Assistant Administrator at USAID, pointed out the first drop in life expectancy since World War II. What is needed to rebuild the momentum and get back on track for achieving related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030?        

Cara: Lessons from Ebola and other emergencies have taught us that women and children are often the first to suffer in a crisis. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and children is no different. Widespread disruptions in health services have impacted women’s access to lifesaving maternal health services, such as treatment for postpartum hemorrhage, infection and high blood pressure. These disruptions have also impacted children. For example, we saw major backsliding in childhood immunizations, leaving millions of children at increased risk of contracting vaccine-preventable diseases. Children have also been at risk of malnutrition due to disrupted food systems and decreased access to essential nutrition services.

At Global Communities, we understand the critical need to advocate for and maintain essential services in an emergency to avoid preventable mortality as well as improve data access and quality to support timely decision-making. We aim to reinforce stronger, more resilient and adaptable health systems that put the needs of women, children and other vulnerable people at the center of programming. This includes holistic, locally led programs that support sustained political will, adequate investment and financing of health systems. We also believe in the power of equitable partnerships and multisectoral approaches to address health and well-being. Ensuring meaningful participation of women and overlooked groups in the design and implantation of programs is of key importance. So is accountability to the people we serve.  

Paula: The speakers consistently mentioned the need to invest in primary healthcare and integrated services for moms and babies. In fact, some talked about a radical reorientation of health systems towards primary health. What is your perspective on this issue? Is Global Communities well-positioned to support this effort? 

Cara: Global Communities advances opportunity, well-being and resilience among vulnerable groups and across all ages. We believe that maternal and child health services are most effective when they are integrated across the continuum of care for mothers, newborns and children. We work with local health structures to bundle services within existing platforms, especially primary healthcare, to improve access, address multiple health needs at once and increase cost-efficiency. Our approaches are locally driven and grounded in systems-thinking, gender equality, social inclusion, evidence and ingenuity.

With our community-driven systems approaches, we are optimally placed to strengthen primary healthcare systems to improve maternal and child health. By involving community members in the planning, implementation and evaluation of primary healthcare projects, we can ensure that the healthcare services are tailored to the specific needs of the community. By leveraging the local knowledge and tapping into the existing networks and resources within the community, we can increase the effectiveness and sustainability of primary healthcare projects. And by making an effort to understand local contexts and include community members in the decision-making process, we can build trust and relationships between healthcare providers and community members. Through our partnerships with communities, we can ensure that the delivery of high-quality healthcare services can continue even after external funding ends.

Paula: I very much appreciated the focus on equity during the event. Dr. Omar Abdi from UNICEF remarked that 10 years ago equity was an ‘innovation’ in the maternal and child health space, but now everyone is talking about it. The speakers emphasized the importance of using equity data to understand who is left behind and then ensuring that health interventions reach the poorest and most marginalized populations. Advancing equity is one of the cornerstones of Global Communities’ mission. What tools and approaches do we use to promote equitable and gender-responsive access to health services?  

Cara: Global Communities uses a multipronged approach to ensure equitable and gender-responsive programs. Where appropriate, we start our programs with gender analyses that examine how gender roles, norms and relations affect access to health services and health outcomes. These analyses help us identify barriers and opportunities for addressing gender disparities and improving women’s and children’s access to care. We also embed metrics to assess health equity in our data systems. This involves tracking health outcomes and health service utilization by gender and other social determinants of health to identify gaps and monitor progress toward health equity.

Paula: At the event USAID Administrator Samantha Power launched a new strategy, Preventing Child and Maternal Deaths: A Framework for Action in a Changing World. The strategy lays out an action plan to improve health outcomes for women and children by 2030. What is your vision for Global Communities’ maternal and child health programming in the next 5-10 years?

Cara: Over the next five years, I hope to strengthen and expand our ability to support primary health systems to be able to protect women, children and adolescents in a world affected by climate change. The goal is to ensure that people we serve have access to quality health services and can achieve the highest possible level of health and well-being. That children not only survive but thrive, and that we transform systems to meet their needs. And that health systems are well-managed with the ability to adapt and respond to changing needs of the community, including in times of crisis.

Paula: Climate change and its impact on maternal and child health were also mentioned by multiple speakers. Youare representing Global Communities as a co-chair of the USAID-funded Child Health Task Force, which is exploring this issue. Can you share a few thoughts on this subject?

Cara: Through the Child Health Task Force we are unpacking the effects that changing climate has on children and exploring system-level approaches that health systems can take to adapt to changing conditions. According to the Children’s Climate Risk Index, climate change is already significantly affecting children globally, with approximately 1 billion children at ‘extremely high risk’ of experiencing the negative impacts of climate change. While research and literature linking climate change and environmental degradation to ecological and social outcomes have been rapidly proliferating, there is a noticeable lack of data on the intersection of climate, environment and health. We seek to address this information gap through a webinar series “Adapting Health Systems to Protect Children from the Impact of Climate Change.” These events foster greater discussion on under-represented but important child health themes. Please join the series here. We also promote collaboration across sectors and organizations to advocate for greater global investment in adapting child health systems to become more resilient in the face of climate change going forward.

Paula: Global Communities has worked to save mothers’ and children’s lives and improve their health and well-being for six decades. What is, in your opinion, our greatest contribution or achievement thus far? What are you most proud of?

Cara: One of the hallmarks of Global Communities’ approach is training and mentoring community health workers (CHW) to deliver high-quality maternal and child health services. We work to ensure that these frontline health workers are motivated and equipped with knowledge and skills to employ global best practices, such as kangaroo mother care, community-based management of acute malnutrition and emergency obstetric and newborn care. It is very exciting and rewarding work. My colleagues and I recently published a paper in the Journal of Social Science and Medicine titled “Effects of Engaging Fathers and Bundling Nutrition and Parenting Interventions on Household Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Rural Tanzania.” EFFECTS was a cluster-randomized controlled trial co-designed and implemented by Global Communities. The study generated novel evidence that, with the right approach and resources, CHWs can deliver gender-transformative nutrition and parenting interventions to couples in low-resource community settings with potentially synergistic positive effects on household gender relations and maternal and child well-being.

Paula: Very exciting, congratulations! Empowering CHWs is so important. This was also a recurring theme of the events we talked about. One speaker, Millicent Miruka — a CHW Supervisor from Kenya — made an impassioned plea to recognize CHWs’ contributions, listen to their voices and ensure they are well-trained and supervised. I am also proud we are doing this work.

Thank you for your time! How can our readers reach you to learn more?

Cara: To learn more about Global Communities’ work in promoting maternal and child health please visit our website and read our most recent technical factsheet. If you have questions about our programs, please email us at [email protected]. You can also find me on LinkedIn.

Cara Endyke-Doran

Senior Director, Health, Nutrition & WASH

Cara Endyke-Doran, MPH, MSN, RN, is an advanced practice nurse with nearly 25 years of experience leading large international health programs focused on women’s, children’s, and adolescent’s health. Her technical areas of expertise include maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health, gender, and HIV prevention, care, and treatment. She is a thought leader who sits on global task forces and advisory groups. Cara is an innovative and effective problem-solver who adapts and responds to evolving program needs. She has held long-term assignments in Mozambique, Zambia, and Nicaragua and provided technical support to programs in Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, and South Africa. She has her master’s degrees in Public Health and Nursing from Johns Hopkins University. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese.

Global Communities is home to a diverse team of professionals with a broad range of expertise and perspectives that help us build the world we envision: one of expanded opportunity, where crises give way to resilience and all people thrive. In our new “Pass the Mic” series, our global staff share innovative ideas and in-depth insights on timely topics spanning the development, humanitarian and peace nexus. Learn how our colleagues are co-creating a more just, prosperous and equitable global community.

The post Pass the Mic: Reinvigorating Global Efforts to Reduce Maternal and Child Mortality appeared first on Global Communities.

Fast forward more than two years and what began as a community-centered contact tracing program turned into a thriving partnership with the County of San Diego’s Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA).

From the outset, COVID-19 exposed discrepancies in health equity across the United States. In San Diego County, for example, 44.3 percent of all cases¹ and 43.8 percent of deaths² due to COVID-19 were among Hispanics or Latinos, even though only 30.1 percent³ of the population identifies as Hispanic or Latino. To improve COVID-19 prevention among vulnerable, hard-to-reach populations, HHSA engaged Global Communities as a trusted local partner to provide contact tracing, vaccine education and outreach services in 15 languages (including English).

A COMMUNITY-CENTERED APPROACH TO CONTACT TRACING

By hiring staff members directly from the communities being served, who also had experience with technology, epidemiology and customer service, Global Communities was able to build trust and provide culturally adapted information about COVID-19 to clients in their preferred languages. This also allowed our team to tailor public health messaging in ways that helped overcome barriers particular to certain populations.

“I think understanding the cross-border culture and the nuances of that dynamic has been really important,” said Victor Ruiz, a binational contact tracer on Global Communities’ COVID-19 Response team from the U.S.-Mexico border region. “Being able to talk to contacts in their language, they feel more comfortable sharing information. They feel understood, because someone like them is speaking to them.”

From August 2020 through June 2021, Global Communities traced 6,880 COVID-19 contacts. Of those successfully reached, we were able to talk with 97.8 percent of people within 24 hours from when we received their information from the County of San Diego, ensuring that we promptly notified them of their COVID-19 exposure. We helped households navigate how to best quarantine or isolate given their individual situations and assisted people with getting support from employers to not work when exposed to or sick with COVID-19.

“We called an older woman in her 80s who was living with both of her sons, one of whom has a disability. She was a contact, and one of her sons was the case. They were really struggling,” said Arwa Alkhawaja, a COVID-19 Outreach Specialist. “When I spoke to her son, he did not have health insurance. He wanted to get tested, but at the same time, he did not want to leave home. He didn’t want to potentially expose others. We found the closest testing locations for him and gave him all the information he needed. … He was so appreciative. It was as if the family was sinking and not knowing what to do, and they were waiting for someone else to come and show them that they are not alone.”

BRIDGING THE GAPS IN COVID-19 VACCINE EDUCATION & ACCESS

Once the COVID-19 vaccine became available, Global Communities again partnered with the County HHSA in May 2021 to provide vaccine information and services to communities with low vaccination rates. We focused on reaching people who were not accessing vaccine resources in the North and North Central regions of San Diego due to supply-related barriers (e.g., appointment deficits and vaccine stock-outs), demand-related barriers (e.g., mistrust and misinformation) or socioeconomic factors.

Our team partnered with key community organizations such as Champions for Health and Meals on Wheels to get vaccines to people who otherwise could not access vaccine sites, including homebound elderly residents and other underserved populations. In particular, Global Communities developed a strong relationship with Muslim communities through organizations such as the Afghan Community Islamic Center and Muslim Leadership Council, which allowed us to work closely with refugees and recent arrivals to the United States.

By collaborating with faith communities, schools and community centers, our team was able to meet people where they naturally gather to share accurate and timely COVID-19 information. For example, Global Communities scheduled education activities and vaccine events at schools to take place before the holidays and at times when more socializing (and thus surges in COVID-19 cases) were expected. We also conducted webinars, town halls and presentations at parent-teacher association (PTA) meetings to increase understanding of the COVID-19 vaccine in communities. By June 2022, we had organized over 175 outreach and 32 vaccine events to reach more than 4,000 people across two regions of San Diego.

While COVID-19 continues to have a presence in our communities, we are proud to be closing our efforts knowing we have built capacity among community partners now better-equipped to respond to health emergencies. Over the past two years, we have formed an incredible team of diverse and talented staff who are trained and eager to tackle health disparities among their home communities and beyond. Through the challenge of this unprecedented emergency response, Global Communities developed new business models for working with donors, strengthened local partnerships and designed technological platforms that will be invaluable for future programming.

For a complete overview of Global Communities’ COVID-19 Response Program in San Diego, including key lessons learned, download the following brief.

Written by Alina Shaw and Stephanie Yoon, Directors of the COVID-19 Response Program

[1] https://www/sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/hhsa/programs/phs/Epidemiology/COVID-19%20Race%20and%20Ethnicity%20Summary.pdf

[2] https://www/sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/hhsa/programs/phs/Epidemiology/COVID-19%20Deaths%20by%20Demographics.pdf

[3] https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/sandiegocitycalifornia/PST045221

The post Reflecting on the COVID-19 Response Program’s Impact in San Diego appeared first on Global Communities.

When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, Global Communities (then operating as PCI) moved quickly to collaborate with the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to the community through contact tracing. Since then, our programming has shifted into education and vaccine outreach as new needs and questions arise.

Through this work, Global Communities has been connecting residents to valuable resources such as free testing sites or walk-up vaccination events where no appointment is needed. Community members have also been directed to resources they might not have been aware of such as the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax credit, food pantries and diaper distribution.

Arwa Alkhawaja, who has been part of our COVID Response team in San Diego since the beginning, talks about the challenges of this ever-evolving public health issue and the vital role of community-centered outreach.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Global Communities in San Diego (formerly operating as PCI) started its COVID-19 response work by doing contact tracing. What did that work entail, and what stands out as a highlight of that program?

As the COVID Response team in San Diego, we started as contact tracers; that meant we had to call individuals as soon as possible to let them know that they had been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19. That required us having a lot of patience and a lot of empathy, in addition to having the most updated information about quarantine and safety guidelines.

These calls were not always easy, especially at the beginning of the pandemic, where there were a lot of ambiguities and unknowns. Imagine having to hear that you have been exposed to a very serious virus, and in addition to that, you now must deal with a financial burden due to quarantine rules.

Most of the time, we as contact tracers acted as counselors. One woman started to cry at the end of one of our calls and said: “Thank you so much for listening to me and for providing me with the right information. I thought being exposed is like a death sentence for me, but now I know there’s hope.”

When I called this woman at the end of her quarantine period to check on her, she was so happy to be okay and safe. That was the highlight of that part of our work. It was helping in saving lives.

"We have encountered some challenges, but the biggest of all was having to deal with myths about vaccines."

Arwa Alkhawaja

COVID Outreach Specialist

We’ve since moved on to vaccine education and outreach in San Diego. What does our current work entail and who are we partnering with to reach our goals?

Vaccine education and community outreach means that we contact community members and organizations to encourage people to get their COVID-19 vaccines and the booster to become up to date.

Our goal is to ultimately make our community as safe as possible from COVID-19 and make it safer to include individuals who want to take the vaccine but cannot due to health conditions. That means providing eligible people with facts about the vaccine’s safety, side effects, effectiveness, variants, cost and availability. We help people to book appointments and provide them with transportation to receive their immunizations.

We have encountered some challenges, but the biggest of all was having to deal with myths about vaccines. To combat that, we worked on gaining the trust of people and then provided education. We managed to overcome the challenge of gaining people’s trust by honoring and respecting their concerns. We let them know that we have a common purpose, which is the safety of ourselves, our families and our communities. In addition to that, we organized COVID-19 educational webinars by trusted community leaders amongst the targeted community.

What communities are we serving with our current response and what impact are we having there?

We are trying to reach out to as many people as we can, but we try to focus more on school-age students five years and older; underserved communities such as refugees, local Spanish-, Arabic- and Tagalog-speaking communities; seniors; and people who do not have access to the internet, making it hard for them to access websites where they can book their vaccine appointments.

What would you say makes our approach to COVID vaccination education and outreach unique?

We have a very dedicated team who can speak a variety of languages. Our culturally sensitive approach helps people realize that we are here for them. This is helping us gain their trust, which is leading to their acceptance of either taking the vaccine or at least considering taking it as soon as they feel comfortable with it. 

"We must remember that there are many social, cultural and political backgrounds that lead to lack of trust in the vaccine and the health system, which may cause people to reject the vaccine when it is offered to them."

Arwa Alkhawaja

COVID Outreach Specialist

In what ways is this program advancing equity in San Diego?

A lot of people consider COVID-19 vaccine equity to be when everyone has fair and just access to COVID-19 vaccination, and that is true, but this is limiting to the broader meaning of vaccine equity. We must remember that there are many social, cultural and political backgrounds that lead to lack of trust in the vaccine and the health system, which may cause people to reject the vaccine when it is offered to them.

It is essential to understand where people are and meet them there to cater to their needs. That is what we are working hard to do. We are reaching out to trusted community leaders and influencers, so they can support us in providing facts vs. myths before we organize mobile vaccine clinics at community centers, mosques and other places where community members are comfortable going.

This content is part of Future Forward, a thought leadership and storytelling series on how Global Communities is driving change to save lives, advance equity and secure strong futures. To learn more, visit globalcommunities.org/futureforward.

The post Q&A with Arwa Alkhawaja, COVID Outreach Specialist in San Diego appeared first on Global Communities.

Although Human Trafficking Awareness Month is coming to a close, Global Communities continues our work to diminish human trafficking in San Diego by educating children, parents and teachers to identify the signs of exploitation and offer empowerment programs that reduce children’s vulnerability to traffickers. We also press on to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 across the globe through program adaptations and outreach campaigns related to testing, vaccines, handwashing, social distancing and other proven safety measures. While human trafficking and the pandemic may seem unrelated, a little-known consequence of the pandemic is an increase in human trafficking.

Human trafficking is defined as use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain labor or a commercial sex act. According to the U.S. Department of State, 27 million people are trafficked each year with 18,000 victims in the U.S. The estimated average age of entry for girls into the sex trade is 14 years old. 

Traffickers typically target people who lack defense and protection and are pushed to the margins of society by race, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation or poverty. Some common contributors to vulnerability are: 

• Poverty
• Access to housing 
• Lack of parental supervision 
• Lack of online safety and awareness 
• Lack of citizenship, immigration and or refugee status; and 
• Racial disparities associated with being a person of color. 

A common myth when it comes to trafficking is that perpetrators are strangers to their targets. In reality, they can be family members, close acquaintances, partners or peers. According to the Polaris project, 42 percent of people who are trafficked were brought into it by family members. Additionally, recruitment via intimate partners went up to 27 percent in 2020 from 22 percent in 2019.

As the world moved indoors because of stay-at-home orders in 2020 and 2021, workplaces shut down, funding was diverted from anti-trafficking efforts and socializing shifted online. Each of these factors increased contributors of vulnerability to at-risk groups. Lockdowns disrupted the ability of many women to continue working, while restricted travel increased food scarcity for those living in food deserts. Women and girls experiencing human trafficking also saw higher rates of domestic and gender-based violence, as they were spending more time at home with their abusers.

In response to the pandemic, traffickers adapted their tactics to the digital world. In 2020, 83 percent of criminal sex acts were solicited online according to the Human Trafficking Institute, a 22 percent increase from the previous year. Facebook saw a 125 percent increase in reports of recruitment. In San Diego, reports of internet crimes against children have tripled, as kids are more comfortable taking instruction from adults through webcams because of distance learning.

Children are not the only group at higher risk of victimization as a result of the pandemic. A higher demand for sex buying has increased the risk of revictimization since income streams have dried up due to lockdowns. The rapid pace of lockdowns and digitization have also made it difficult for those at risk to build resilience against contributors to vulnerability.  

Human trafficking is a tough topic to discuss, made heavier by the impact the pandemic has had on anti-trafficking efforts. The good news is you can get involved by volunteering at local anti-trafficking organizations or by knowing how to spot signs of human trafficking through brief interactions, behavioral red flags or physical red flags. 

What to look for in brief interactions:  

• Fearful or nervous behavior 
• Emotionally blocked from supportive conversation 
• Can’t detach from their cell phone 
• Seems to be deprived of basic needs 
• Accompanied by an older person in an unusual environment, for example at a hotel 

Behavioral red flags from someone you know: 

• Changes in mood or behavior 
• Secrecy or vagueness 
• Unable to contact family members and/or family members unable to contact the individual 
• Lack of control over their life 
• Lack of identification 
• Only identified by an alias or street name 

Physical red flags:  

• Tattoo branding, usually on the back of the neck, lower back, arms, hips or hand 
• Evidence of physical abuse 
• Signs of having been denied food, water and other necessities 
• Substance abuse 
• Extreme exhaustion 

To learn more about how to get engaged in anti-trafficking work or to find additional resources and information, visit the San Diego Trafficking Prevention Collective, of which Global Communities is a partner.

The post Facts about Human Trafficking and COVID-19’s Impact on the Illicit Industry appeared first on Global Communities.

Over the weekend, the partners kicked off the first of two Saturday workshops to educate UC San Diego students about human trafficking, the technology used to facilitate trafficking, the importance of prevention education and why the business sector should be involved in the anti-trafficking movement. A case study delivered by Mary-Ellen Barrett, deputy district attorney of San Diego County, is being used as an anchor for three panel discussions.

“I was so excited to see how passionate the students were about understanding the complexities of victimization and prosecution,” said Hannah Allen, senior program manager of Human Trafficking Prevention programs at PCI. “Trafficking is a sophisticated network that is happening all around us. We hope, by sharing the indicators of trafficking, that students will become vigilant about finding where they can get involved in this movement.”

Following the first workshop, Dr. Ivan Evans, provost of Eleanor Roosevelt College at UC San Diego, spoke with PCI about the importance of this collaboration and the role that students can play in combating human trafficking in all forms. Participants will come together again virtually from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 23, to close out the series.

Q&A with Dr. Ivan Evans, provost of Eleanor Roosevelt College at UC San Diego

Why is it important to you to bring education about sex trafficking to the students of UC San Diego?

Dr. Ivan Evan headshot

Sex trafficking is amongst the most lucrative and largest illicit activities in the world but does not receive even half the attention devoted to illegal drugs or weapons trafficking. It is imperative to bring a halt to a pernicious trade in human life that affects men, women and children all across the world, including in the U.S. When students grasp the scale and severity of the problem, they become ambassadors for the victims and survivors of sex trafficking.

What is the advantage of partnering with organizations like PCI to facilitate these discussions?

PCI has extensive experience, excellent contacts and enormous sensitivity about the complexities involved in sex trafficking. PCI representatives present discussions that reveal how vulnerable children and young adolescents are to predators and organized sex trafficking cartels. They understand the plight of victims and survivors and have great contacts in law enforcement and police agencies. PCI does an excellent job in presenting sex trafficking from a comprehensive perspective that also invites students to participate in combating the illicit industry.

What message do you hope students take away from the two-Saturday series?

I hope that students will appreciate how deeply sex trafficking is embedded in everyday life and the ease with which children and young adults are forced or lured into danger. It really can happen to just about any young person who is unwary, especially if they are in emotional stress. I also hope that students will become involved in combatting the trade in any number of ways—they could work with and support survivors, research the topic and spread the word amongst other students, or intern with an organization such as PCI.

What role do you feel businesses can play in the fight to end sex trafficking?

Sex trafficking is not only about forced sex. It is also about enticing and coercing people into forced labor. Corporations can truthfully say they are opposed to sex trafficking, even as they remain complicit in profiting from the labor of children, women and men who work in sub-human and exploitative conditions. Corporations should be held responsible for ensuring that their products and marketing strategies are not tainted by forced labor. Fortunately, they do not have to invent the wheel. Fair Trade policies set the standard for good economic practices that respect workers all across the world. Corporations can use these as a guide. They could also work with PCI!

If students have career aspirations/personal interests/areas of study that are totally unrelated to sex trafficking, why should they care about this topic?

Sex trafficking is a threat to all of us. Illicit profits are funneled back into the economy and ultimately implicate all of us in the consumer choices we make, such as buying lip gloss or inexpensive shrimp. Both are often produced by young children, many of whom are also kept in sexual bondage. Combating sex trafficking requires awareness of the scale of the problem and any consumer can fight back by making smart choices as they consume services and buy products.

How has your own understanding of this issue evolved?

When I first began learning about the issue of sex trafficking, I had an idea that it happened somewhere far away—mostly in Asia. I quickly discovered that this is far from the truth and that the United States is also a major site for the trade in human life, including the extensive exploitation of children for sexual purposes. At first, I also tended to approach the problem in terms of “smuggling” and so focused on supply routes, border crossings, cartels and corrupt officials. These are important parts of the problem, of course. However, I am more persuaded today that we need to problematize the issue of males’ demand for illicit sex. We need to prioritize this question: why do men want forced sex in the first place? Today, I am very interested in exposing the link between distorted masculinity and sex trafficking. This, I feel, is the source of the problem.

Is there anything you would like to add that we didn’t think to ask?

Yes. I have noticed over the years that very few men sign up for sex trafficking workshops and conferences. I wish that more would. Men could play an important role in exposing and rejecting toxic versions of masculinity that turn domination and power over vulnerable people into sources of gratification. If we can turn off the male demand for illicit gratification, the problems of supplying vulnerable people would greatly diminish. Males are the primary reason for sex trafficking. They should be a major part of the solution to sex trafficking.

The post Shining a Spotlight on Sex Trafficking in San Diego appeared first on Global Communities.

View the full assessment here (additional notes provided as comments).
View the Waterloo Needs Assessment Fact Sheet here.

The post Waterloo Community Needs Assessment appeared first on Global Communities.

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has upended how she is able to engage with colleagues and do her job, nothing will change her “why.”

“The networks of human trafficking are worldwide and seeing and experiencing how it lives and breathes in the United States is more alarming than in other parts of the world, because people don’t recognize it exists in their own backyards,” Williams says. “… We can’t afford to not be paying attention anymore. We can’t be sleepwalking. We can’t be burying our heads in the sand. Look what 2020 has brought us.”

On this World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, learn more about our latest PCI Changemaker and her team’s ongoing efforts to educate and empower students, parents, teachers, business leaders and other community members in San Diego in the fight against this horrific industry.

What are a few highlights, professionally or personally, that you would like for people to know about you?

I am a New Yorker by birth but have spent a great many years living and working in Eastern Europe, Africa and Latin America. My first career highlight was serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Honduras. This experience was the jump-off point for my work in social justice, which has focused primarily on health and human rights for women and girls. After receiving my Masters in Public Health from Columbia University, I moved to post-conflict Kosovo and managed shelters for survivors of human trafficking while providing and coordinating survivor-focused service and advocacy activities, as well as acting as the Balkans point person on Human Trafficking. I moved between Kosovo, Macedonia and Serbia as hotbeds for human trafficking while working for the United Methodist Committee on Relief, Mercy Corps and the International Organization for Migration.

When my first child was 2 months old, I moved to Guinea, West Africa, and worked with the International Rescue Committee on their unaccompanied minor program supporting youth who had fled the wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Two children later, I found myself living between a house I was building in a small village in Umbria in Italy and Kenya to work on various human rights-based projects. I also worked in Sierra Leone post-Ebola ensuring education, health and safe family options for young girls orphaned by Ebola who were targets for human trafficking. I moved back to the U.S. about 9 years ago to continue to work on social justice issues in the communities that I lived in. I am thrilled to be joining the PCI family and look forward to working with you all to expand upon the deep and impactful Human Trafficking Prevention portfolio.

What initially drew you to the social justice field, particularly working in the area of health and human rights for women and girls?

When I was in college, I decided I wanted to study abroad. On the spot, at a study abroad fair on campus, I signed up to go to Kenya for five months. It was through the School for International Training and kind of like a pre-Peace Corps. One of the things you have to do is an independent study, and I focused mine on studying street girls. At the time, this was not called ‘human trafficking.’ I don’t even know if they used the term ‘sexual exploitation’ then. They were called street girls or street children. Again, we didn’t have the terminology that we do now, but I saw girls as young as 8 years old being trafficked. I watched servicemen stationed in Kenya buying vulnerable young girls and felt powerless to do anything about it. This really propelled me into the field of social justice. I wanted to give voice to or amply the voices of those who were vulnerable and at risk but who were oftentimes silenced.

What have you come to learn about human trafficking that you didn’t know when you started? Or, how have you seen your understanding of this issue change?

I could not have imagined the extensive reach and networks that human trafficking has on a global scale. And for sure I would not have imagined while working in Eastern Europe or Africa that I would be staring down this issue here in the U.S. I worked extensively on the protection and social service side of human trafficking, and that is absolutely necessary, but I was very attracted to PCI’s role in this space as primary prevention specialists. The extensive evidence-based research led them to not only decide if they should enter the space, but also what role they would take on.

I think it’s incredibly important that we’re stopping the problem before it begins, empowering younger people to make healthy choices in their lives and ensuring that caregivers, teachers and other caring adults are armed with knowledge to not only see the signs of human trafficking but to know what the next right step is to take to protect young people.

You mentioned that you’ve worked on the protection side of human trafficking and you have such extensive experience at the international level. How do you think that perspective and those experiences will inform your work with PCI in San Diego?

I think living in various parts of the world opens you up to being more culturally aware, sensitive and thoughtful to the needs of people from different backgrounds. I have found that my work, whether in Kosovo or Kenya, was informed by the culture of the community I was in. I think having that awareness allows me to be more present and open as I begin my position here. I recognize that I’m new to San Diego, so my first order of business is to listen to the needs of this particular community as well as to those that have been doing the work here. I’m not new to the field of human trafficking, but it’s different wherever you go.

How do you think this issue compares domestically vs. globally?

This is an enormous criminal issue around the world. It’s an $810 million industry here in San Diego and the third largest criminal activity globally. Human trafficking and sexual exploitation go hand in hand, and you will see it everywhere. While working overseas, I was mostly working in the sex trafficking space—someone answered a job ad, or a friend told them about a great opportunity for work in another country and before they knew it, they were trafficked across borders, passports confiscated. Here in the U.S., we are not talking about border crossings, sometimes not even state lines or even city lines. It is local. And while PCI and our partners are working extensively in the sex trafficking space, labor and other forms of trafficking are huge industries as well.

What impact has COVID-19 had on human trafficking?

We have experience dealing with human trafficking within natural disaster and conflict, but COVID-19 has thrown us a curveball. COVID-19 has made it easier for buyers to enter into the space. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children has experienced a 90.46% increase in CyberTipline reports between January and June of this year as compared to last year. Everyone is home and is online, which means that buyers are also online in games and social media. They are moving in that space, so our programs are also pivoting to make sure that we are more thoughtfully addressing the needs of young people, caregivers and teachers to recognize and respond to the new reality that we are all living in.

As you know, today is the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. While this year’s focus is on first responders, what role do you think everyone can play in preventing this issue or educating others about it?

I think first and foremost is basic awareness that it’s happening. As I shared, when I first moved back to the U.S., I was surprised that human trafficking was present here. But if we open our eyes to what is happening around us, we see all the clues. As caregivers, caring adults, friends, neighbors and teachers, we all have a role to be aware of issues outside of ourselves. If you see something that doesn’t seem right, it probably isn’t. Research groups in the area that are working on the issue. Call the police and let them know you see something that resembles a trafficking situation. We can all contribute to prevention.

What are common misconceptions about human trafficking, or what do you wish people knew about this issue?

While we know that young people who are experiencing homelessness or in the foster care system are trafficked at higher rates, this is not an issue that affects a particular social class, race or ethnicity. Nor does it only affect only girls. In fact, we are stepping away from using gender conforming language, because we recognize that this limits the scope of who is able to access programs and services.

Considering how tough this line of work is, what keeps you motivated and grounded?

Everyone has to find out what self-care means for them. By no means is there a one-stop shop, but everyone needs something because you do take this type of work home. It’s not a 9-to-5 job in any way, shape or form. I really got heavily involved into meditation and yoga. I’m a certified Kundalini Yoga + Meditation instructor and Holistic Wellness Coach, and I really find that this type of self-care is really supportive in the work that we do every single day. As practitioners and people who are working in the field, it’s really important that we’re taking care of ourselves, so that we can do the very best work that we need to do. It’s a non-negotiable, daily practice.

Is there anything in particular about PCI’s portfolio of work that you’re excited to be diving into? 

I’m excited about the work that the San Diego Trafficking Prevention Collective is doing, of which PCI is a part. Coming together from different organizations (3Strands Global Foundation, Point Loma Nazarene University, UBS Optimus Foundation, the University of San Diego and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office) to collectively do this prevention work is no small feat. I am so impressed with the important and valuable work of the Collective and excited to be a part of the team as we grow and explore new opportunities for replicating this model.

I’m also really excited about our Employers Ending Exploitation (E3) Alliance, which is just taking off. I think it’s such an exciting opportunity to involve businesses as partners committed to combatting sex trafficking in San Diego. They have a large role to play, and I think that’s been a very quiet space that nobody’s working in. The fact that we’re going to be working in that space and businesses are signing on is really exciting.

Pivoting Our Programming in Response to COVID-19

Young people are spending more time online and potentially face an increased risk of exploitation during the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of our work with the San Diego Trafficking Prevention Collective, PCI’s Project ROOTS program created a COVID-19 Survival Kit for parents and educators to implement at home or via distance learning. The kit includes short, easy activities on emotional well-being, online safety and empathy and has had more than 1,300 unique views since inception.

The San Diego Trafficking Prevention Collective programs are now available for distance learning as well. Learn more about these free digital training opportunities for all San Diego County public school teachers and students today.

Putting Human Trafficking Out of Business

Local businesses may unknowingly cross paths with commercial sexual exploitation. Some may even indirectly contribute to the facilitation of sex trafficking transactions. PCI’s Employers Ending Exploitation (E3) Alliance leverages the collective power of the San Diego business sector to eradicate sex trafficking.

By becoming a Business Partner of E3, you will be guided step-by-step through a full suite of tools and resources to educate your entire workforce about the truths of sex trafficking and how to identify and report it. Membership in E3 will increase safety for employees & consumers, and will decrease legal, financial and reputational risk. Social distance, online training available.

The post Meet Stacey Williams, PCI Changemaker appeared first on Global Communities.

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Gov. Mike DeWine announced Tuesday that two former Ohio governors would lead a task force to help expand coronavirus testing in Ohio.

Former Govs. Dick Celeste (on the photo), a Democrat, and Bob Taft, a Republican, will lead a task force set up by DeWine, a Republican, to source material and expand coronavirus testing capabilities in the state, DeWine said.
“These two leaders have a depth of experience in Ohio and internationally,” DeWine said. “They know their way around Ohio. They know their way around the world. Simply put, these two leaders know how to get things done and make things happen.”

Separately, DeWine announced that the Food and Drug Administration had approved an application from Thermo Fisher for a new reagent used in coronavirus testing after DeWine personally lobbied the federal government.
“Most of the labs in Ohio use Thermo Fisher’s machines (for testing),” DeWine said. “The problem has been that there wasn’t enough reagent. Now they can use test kits with the new reagent.”

DeWine has made clear that easing current coronavirus restrictions is dependent on expanding COVID-19 testing. Testing across the country has lagged as production struggles to keep up with demand.
“We want to reopen the economy. We want to get people back to work. It’s important that we do it the right way. That we do it the safe way,” DeWine said Tuesday. “The ability to test and test people further is one of the components that will go into that safety.”

DeWine said he contacted both Celeste and Taft Tuesday morning about helping shore up Ohio’s testing shortage, to which they both agreed. Both former governors said they did not have any more information beyond what was announced at the governor’s Tuesday coronavirus briefing.

“This is essentially an all hands on deck time,” Celeste said. “To the extent that Gov. Taft and I can be helpful in an effort to get the kind of testing program that Ohio needs, we’re going to do all we can to help.”
They have not had a chance to meet and formulate exactly what the task force would look like or how it would operate.

“We’re just getting started on this process but willing to help in any way possible,” Taft said.
A spokesman for DeWine did not immediately answer a follow up text message seeking more information on specifics on the task force.

Celeste is a former director of the Peace Corps and served as governor from 1983 to 1991. President Bill Clinton tapped Celeste as U.S. Ambassador to India from 1997 to 2001.
Taft is also a Peace Corps veteran, having taught in Tanzania during the 1960s. He embarked on a political career in Ohio that included stints as secretary of state from 1991 to 1999 and governor from 1999 to 2007.

The post Global Communities Board Chairman Dick Celeste to Co-Chair Ohio COVID-19 Testing Task Force appeared first on Global Communities.

The post Turning Up the Volume on Black Maternal Health in the US appeared first on Global Communities.