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Voice for the Voiceless:

Who We Are and What We Do

Dear Supporters, Friends, Volunteers and Our Members, as we started our journey in 2017, we have encountered some stormy weather. As a Family, we will remain united and look out for the sunshine, a beacon that there is always hope. Let us weather this storm as humble servants, the voice for the voiceless.  This is who we are as it dictates what we do.
 
In the beginning, there was a need for support for victims of sexual offending. However with no resources but only hearts to lend a hand, we came together and became the voice for the voiceless.  This was Samoa Victim Support Group’s purpose, but with the ongoing needs from the community for a variety of support, we have expanded our social services and tried our best to provide support, with what we have.
 
SVSG’s support services geared towards the victims of sexual and domestic offending, the underprivileged, the neglected, the abandoned, the oppressed and the sick.  As a family, we became their voices, not out of choice, but based on the identified need for support.
 
There are many reasons why the children are in our care. Referred directly from court, court orders, police or the prosecution. These are children victims of sexual and domestic offending.  They come to us shy, angry, intimidated and broken, some severely traumatized due to the horrific circumstances of their abuse.  We help the pregnant victims of rape through their birthing and being mothers to these young children themselves in the cold delivery rooms.
 
Then there are abandoned children, children from underprivileged families who could no longer care for them, children left in front of our office doors or at the shelter gate, children found at the bush and referred to us to take care.  We found them left to die, some living in conditions not even fit for animals. They were just lost.  What do we do? With love, we support we help and we care for them as family. We open our doors, without questioning and accepted these children without any condition. Through your support, we have been saving lives; became their voice and advocate for their right to live.
 
We have procedures in place for children admission into and their release from the shelter facilities. These have been drawn up with the line ministries, the Ministry of Police, the Ministry of Justice, the Attorney General’s Office/National Prosecution Office. Because of the circumstances surrounding the cases of the children victims of sexual and domestic offending, majority of them are under court suppression and/or protection orders.  As such, you cannot publicly release information or take photos of these children.
 
We have been caring for children from very different backgrounds, most of whom, we were not aware of at the time of admission; their medical conditions, their families, their likes and dislikes, their level of education or their allergies (if any).  As such, we always play a reactive role such that we would only find out when a child is sick that the child has an allergy, has gone through an unsuccessful abortion or has a medical condition. When the child has sleeping problems, it is because the child has been sexually or physically abused.  As family, we nursed them to recovery, we hugged and cried with them, letting them know that we love them no matter what.  It is a timely process getting them to open up, to hug us back, and to confide in us a child would to a parent.  But with love, we have seen our children flourish and have walked confidently with them to court.  This is who we are and what we do.  It is not an easy task, and as parents, the staff and volunteers are just as traumatized as the children, going through these ordeals.  Through it all, we maintain a standard of care similar and sometimes higher than that we provide our own children.
 
We provide them with education. Sheltered children were originally placed with the mainstream primary and college education.  However, issues arose when the children were re-victimized when others called them names and pointed them out as victims.  One generous donor knew about the need for continuing education while maintaining the security for the children and he did something about it.
 
In 2013, the School of Hope was opened on Campus.  It is a special school in the sense that children with different backgrounds are taught in a secured environment; illiterate children, those who have never been to school, the pregnant teenagers, and the children with disabilities. 
 
SVSG’s global family plays a special role in the children’s rehabilitation program.  Twice a year, members of the SVSG (Auckland), SVSG (Christchurch), SVSG (Sydney), SVSG (Queensland), SVSG (Melbourne), and SVSG (American Samoa) spend two weeks at the shelters assisting with the children’s programs.  As such, the rehabilitation at the Campus of Hope is a pathway to the children’s successful reintegration achieved as a collective effort.
 
While SVSG is not an adoption agency, its only involvement is to facilitate the process because of the children under its shelter care.  These are the children whom the court makes determination on, based on the best interest of the child.   Lawyers or certain law firms are adoption agencies and they are the ones who work with local or overseas parents who want to adopt. The lawyer makes the adoption application to court and it is the court that makes these determinations. The adoption process includes the Ministry of Women, carrying out assessment of the children’s families, and we have faith in the Ministry’s work, then we have the Attorney General’s Office issuing the relevant certificate to the court based on the assessment from the Ministry of Women.  The legal consent for children under SVSG’s care and going through the adoption process comes from their families.  However, we each have pledged an oath in court that we will protect and support these children with the ultimate of confidentiality no matter what; most importantly, we have each accepted a calling from God that we will serve Him through caring for these vulnerable children.  The privacy of the children is one of our priorities.  As such, despite the number of success stories from the victims, we are bound by the confidentiality of their cases, and the protection of their families. 
 
SVSG maintains sound financial policies and procedures.  Its financial accounts are audited annually and registered with the relevant Ministry.  SVSG rely mainly on donor funding through projects to finance its community support programs, and annual fundraising by SVSG’s global family in New Zealand, Australia and American Samoa, to assist with the shelter operation. SVSG receives minimum funding for the daily caring of the children whom the court has made a determination on for adoption.
 
Most of SVSG’s projects are implemented over a period of 1 – 2 years.  As such, balances from these projects are carried forward to the next financial year.  For the projects funding and grants SVSG received, we have acquitted them all in compliance with the donor reporting requirements.  SVSG’s monthly newsletter – The Voice – updates all our donors and supporters of our work and donations received.

The generosity of genuine groups and individuals with the heart to support the children resulted in the construction of the shelters and the school at the Campus of Hope.  These facilities came fully furnished.  However the maintenance and the operation of the whole shelter support and school rests with SVSG, while the government through the Ministry of Education has been funding salaries of the teachers and vocational trainers since 2014.
 
In every organization, there will be praises and there will be criticisms.  This is normal because we are only human.  The reality of why SVSG exist is because the most vulnerable among us have been hurt.  With the negative comments and the criticisms, we look at these feedbacks as opportunities for improvement in our work.
 
It has been a daily struggle, starting from scratches with nothing but our hearts to help. We have been condemned, we have been threatened, we have been sent to court, but through it all, we remained strong, enduring the criticisms, the hatred, the prosecutions, as the voice for the voiceless.  This is who we are and what we do.
 
We are considering legal action for defamation for this latest incidence as we have gone through at least 3 settlements for similar situations. We owe this to you all for your belief in our work, most importantly for the vulnerable children we serve.
 
To our Supporters, Friends, Volunteers and Our Members, we thank you for your sincerity, for your genuine hearts and your continuous support. In the meantime, SVSG will continue to be the humble servants, and to God be the glory for all that we have done.
 
Faafetai, Faafetai Tele Lava
 
Samoa Victim Support Group

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