Rain Collective 2023 Annual Report

Dear Friends,

We have reached the end of 2023 and the Rain Collective is grateful for all of your support as we work together to disrupt the cycle of human trafficking in the Middle East. This year we have increased our repatriation work by adding a new program that works with women who have experienced exploitation in Jordan, addressed root causes by collaborating with organizations in Egypt that are seeking to reintegrate women into their birth family and community, and taken steps towards larger transformation by continuing to spread a reproductive mission with others who co-labor with us towards its end.

Read the full 2023 Annual Report →

Storylines

Tune in April 22 & 24th to hear another feature about our repatriation work featuring our repatriation coordinator, Ward by freelance journalist pod Jazzmin Jiwa. Upcoming broadcasts here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-115-the-doc-project

Show description: A weekly documentary show for people who love narrative podcasts. These are stories you can’t stop thinking about. That you’ll tell your friends about. And that will help you understand what’s going on in Canada, and why. Every week a journalist follows one story, meets the people at its centre, and makes it make sense. Sometimes it’s about people living out the headlines in real life. Sometimes it’s about someone you’ve never heard of, living through something you had no idea was happening. Either way, you’ll go somewhere, meet someone, get the context, and learn something new. (Plus it sounds really good. Mixed like a movie.) One story, well told, every week, from the award-winning team at the CBC Audio Doc Unit.

The Current with Matt Galloway - “My Dad Ward: Freeing women from trafficking.”

Rain Collective’s repatriation coordinator was featured on “The Current with Matt Galloway - ‘My Dad Ward: Freeing women from trafficking’” podcast. Listen as freelance journalist Jazzmin Jiwa shares about the work and captures the stories of women caught in modern slavery conditions, first-hand.

Listen Here: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-63-the-current/clip/16053061-my-dad-ward-freeing-women-trafficking

”Millions of people fall victim to human traffickers who promise a better life in a new country, but force them into jobs with long hours and little to no pay. In her documentary My Dad Ward, freelance journalist Jazzmin Jiwa brings us the story of a Ugandan mother tricked into moving to Iraq and what Vancouver activist Ward Reddick did to help her get home again. Correction: In this episode, we reported that Mary couldn't afford the bus fare to bring her daughter home, implying that they were living apart. In fact, after completing her reporting, journalist Jazzmin Jiwa drove Mary to meet with Ahdia and bring her home.”

Aired: April 2, 2024

UNCSW67 Event

SAVE THE DATE
- March 15th 9am EST -

The United Nations Commission on the Status of Women event is coming up on March 15th 9am EST. Rain Collective is one of many organizations presenting and we have an incredible lineup of experts speaking on the topic of:

Online Self Care for Filipina Migrants to the Gulf States

This year, the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) event is hybrid with in-person events in New York City as well as online events that reach a global audience.

The UNCSW event will be a great way for our network to learn about issues in the Middle East/North African region.

For those in our network who are well-connected in the region, this event will be an opportunity to gain helpful resources and hear new perspectives. The speakers will equip participants with self-care tips that are relevant and transferable to a wide range of practitioners in the field of anti-trafficking.

Jason Pope, Rain Collective’s Executive Director and Founder will bring empirical insight from his recent trip to the Philippines as a Fulbright Specialist, and will be joined by other International speakers who we are excited to introduce as the event date approaches! Mary Upton Shirley, Rain Collective's Spring 2023 Fellow will moderate the event.

Please register for our live webinar below! Even if you are unable to attend, register anyway so you can receive the recording.

2021-2022 Annual Report

I am happy to write you on the occasion of our first annual report. Having incorporated in late May 2021 with a fiscal year running from July 1 to June 30th, the Rain Collective has just completed its first year in existence as an organization. That said, our roots run much deeper as the initial steering committee first began working together, before Covid changed the way we work, during the summer of 2019. Each member of that steering committee brought decades of experience to the table we shared and were committed to making a measurable impact in the Middle East and North Africa. Even during those early days, we worked on coordinating repatriations and supporting the work of organizations working to empower migrant women and men in the MENA region. We were invited for consultative conversations in Qatar with the Ministry of Labor around best practices in aftercare for shelters that support women and men who have experienced exploitation.

Read the full Annual Report here.

Fulbright Philippines Program

The Philippine-American Educational Foundation is the oldest, continuing Fulbright Commission in the world that administers the flagship foreign exchange scholarship program of the United States of America in the Philippines, aimed at increasing binational research collaboration, cultural understanding, and the exchange of ideas between the two countries.

We were honored to have our executive director participate in the kick-off of the 75th anniversary of the Fulbright Philippines program. As a recipient of a Fulbright Specialist position, Jason is researching resources available for Filipina women that have been trafficked in the MENA region.

The Fulbright vision of advancing binational research collaboration, cultural understanding, and the exchange of ideas is being carried out in our partnership with World Hope International (pictured with Fred Cabredo from WHI) and the National Association of Social Workers Education Incorporated. This same vision lies at the heart of the value system of the Rain Collective. Together we can make a measurable impact.

Rain Freedom Campaign

We leverage existing resources & partnerships to turn your gift into freedom for one person! 

Help us reach our goal of repatriating 15 victims of modern-day slavery from the Middle East back to sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and other home countries. Most are single mothers or individuals looking to support their family, exploited and deceived by agents promising work opportunities. 

Each $1,350 we raise represents a new beginning for a person who is trapped, making them vulnerable to violence, sickness & abuse. 

We have reached over $18,800 dollars in giving already. This leaves us with around $1400 to go or just about the same amount it takes to repatriate one more woman. Your creativity and generosity will help make it rain freedom!

Active Cases: The Hope of Freedom

Rain Collective's Repatriation Negotiator is working on several urgent cases. Although the names have been changed, these are real quotes and glimpses of stories of people who need immediate resources.

"I have been beaten three times now. I came for the sake of my kids, but I don't want to be here anymore. The people who have trapped me here are not good at all, they treat me worse than a dog. I work all day and I cry all night, but I don't want to die here. Please help me go back home!" -Mariam

“When I ran away, the police called the woman at the office to come get me. She punished me by beating me with a wooden cane, then locked me up for 3 months before putting me in another house. I attempted to kill myself because I am dying slowly here. I cannot leave because they have my passport and I have no money." -Harriet 

Your donation makes a direct impact. 

While each case is complex and unique, your donation will help make possible critical things like: 

• Plane tickets back home 

• Exit visas, Covid testing and transportation to the airport

• Travel document replacement (passports are often gone)

• A Rain Collective negotiator who is working with agencies and the government to help coordinate a safe repatriation

• A contribution to the medical treatment and psycho-social care of survivors, provided by a partner organization in their home country 

• Additional expenses specific to the case 

"When people regain freedom, their lost hopes and dreams flow back into them like oxygen into a newborn. Their joy is unimaginable. The unique, special people they have always been begins to resurface. Though for many, restoration also takes time and care. Their gratitude is immense; they never forget the people God used to make their miracle possible."  -Repatriation Negotiator

Immediate Needs.

Our negotiator is in direct contact with women who are awaiting the funds and opportunity to go home. Some wait in safe houses, while others are in more immediate danger. When you give, you are equipping our team with vital resources to help organize the logistics of their safe return as soon as possible. Would you consider rallying your network to sponsor the repatriation of one woman this year? Whether you"donate your birthday"or host a special fundraiser in your community or leverage your small business., every donation will make a direct impact on the lives of real people.

Donate

Note: If you do not want to give via Paypal in the donate link, click More Options → in the choose payment option window to give via credit card.

Rain Collective’s Founding Director Goes to Egypt & Uganda

The past two months have been full of activity and new ventures for Rain Collective. In June, Rain Collective’s founding director Jason, took a trip to both Egypt and Uganda. Rain Collective also hired a Repatriation Negotiator to work on the front-lines of cases impacting both Ugandans and Liberians who have been trafficked to the Gulf States.

Jason's recent trip to Egypt & Uganda was an amazing opportunity to meet with both current partners and new contacts. Read his report below:

Uganda

This quarter we have advanced two major initiatives in Africa. One of them in North Africa and the second in Uganda where we continue to work on victim identification. Our efforts in Uganda are focused on ensuring that women that return from the Gulf States who have experienced exploitation are identified as trafficking survivors. Together with Willow International, which is also a part of the Atlas Free network, we are networking with key government officials, migrant agencies, and survivors to build consensus around the most important questions to ask returnees from the Gulf States. While many of the key actors have different responsibilities which influence their points of view, all of them are seeking to ensure that survivors have safe migration experiences.

Through this process we are working to develop an objective tool that is validated and can be used to help identify women in need of support. Our hope is to continue supporting women in need and to begin to address root cause that will help decrease the number of individuals that are trafficked in the future. 

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Egypt

In June, Nyera Ashraf was killed in broad day light in Egypt after resisting the advances of a fellow student at her university. Here is a link to an article on it by Al Jazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/21/egypt-arrests-suspect-in-gruesome-student-street-killing). The article highlights key voices on social media that are calling for everyone to take the rights of women seriously because not doing so results in these types of tragedies.

In partnership with the Evangelical Covenant Church, our work in Egypt focuses on the empowerment of women to overcome circumstances that were outside of their control. This often means broken relationships with their family members and their communities. We are currently working alongside Think and Do and Media Arts for Development to create new resources that help their staff members support women in these situations. In partnership with Kariz International, we are working alongside Media Arts for development to help communities identify traffickers in their midst.

We are pleased that the government has identified human trafficking as one of its key focus areas for its 2030 goals and will work to help support the government in those goals.