We are proud to share our 2025 Annual Report, celebrating a year of meaningful partnerships, impact and unwavering commitment to our mission.

In Xiaozhai village, Yunnan Province, southwest China, The Salvation Army is partnering with the local community to promote healthier and more sustainable living conditions. Heidi Chan, China Development Manager for The Salvation Army Hong Kong and Macau Territory, shares insights into this ongoing three-year project.#

Mr Guo is an amiable man in his early fifties. Known to his friends as Adi, he has been running a small family-owned restaurant in Xiaozhai – a village in Yunnan, China – for many years. The restaurant, famous for its delicious fish and mutton, is more than just a local favourite. As the family’s only source of income, it plays a crucial role in supporting Adi’s ageing parents and funding his two daughters’ college education.

However, the business has been substantially impacted by an unstable and poor-quality water supply and local environmental issues, like the open drainage in front of the restaurant.

For those living in Xiaozhai village, an unsafe water supply was just one of the challenges negatively affecting quality of life. Since 2023, The Salvation Army in the Hong Kong and Macau Territory has been delivering a three-year, community led project aimed at improving wellbeing and creating healthier and safer living conditions.

The phased plan has four key aims, each addressing an important aspect of daily life: First, provide a safe, stable water supply. Second, improve safety after dark. Third, improve sanitation and the environment. Fourth, upgrade public facilities and shared spaces.

The first outcome – delivering an improved drinking water system – was achieved in the first year of the project. Improvements ensured a safe, stable and sufficient water supply for the 118 households of Xiaozhai village. Villagers demonstrated a true sense of engagement and ownership by contributing labour to build the reservoir and lay pipelines.

To address the second aim – improving safety after dark – 50 solar-powered streetlamps were installed along the village’s main road. This improved safety, mobility and convenience, particularly benefiting the older population, children and young people. Being able to navigate the main routes during early mornings and in the evening has been transformative. Feedback gathered through interviews and questionnaires shows widespread satisfaction, with many expressing hopes for additional lamps in the future. Installing the lamps was another way the villagers physically engaged with the project.

The third outcome – focused on improving the village’s environment and sanitation – saw a 200m main drainage system upgraded to eliminate stagnant water and reduce health risks, and 10 recycling bins installed to encourage better waste management. To support these physical changes, the community organised six Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (Wash) training sessions and distributed 1,000 health-related information flyers to households. With a stable water supply and targeted health education, hygiene practices have significantly improved. Almost all households now use flushing toilets. Additionally, teachers and students from local schools worked together to paint the walls of public spaces to bring joy and reinforce the message of cleanliness and community pride.

As the project enters its final year, the fourth outcome – improving public facilities for social and cultural activities – is the next priority. Renovating public facilities will give space for community activities and ensure that social services can be provided for elderly women and men and children.

From the outset, this project has been community-led. Village representatives have helped prepare the tender while the local government led procurement and appointed the contractors. This commitment to sustainability has continued and is an important aspect of the Xiaozhai project strategy. As such, the village committee has taken over the management of key infrastructure. A designated staff member oversees maintenance of the water system, road lamps and drainage network and ensures that all facilities are maintained in line with regulations agreed upon by the committee and villagers.

These activities are funded through locally collected water usage fees. During 2024, these fees generated ¥10,000 – approximately £1,045 – which is sufficient to cover the estimated annual operating costs. Community buy-in from the outset and ongoing local ownership through the village committee have ensured long-term sustainability.

With the implementation of the project, the water supply has been significantly improved, the supply is ample and stable, and villagers no longer have to worry about the water issue. The drainage improvement has promoted the sanitation within the village and, thanks to the renovated drainage system, Adi was pleased to share that the unpleasant smell that once emanated from the drains in front of his restaurant has gone.

Adi, along with other villagers, has experienced the positive impact of these improvements. Today he can run his business in a safer, healthier community and has greater opportunity to grow his income and support his family.

Adi’s story is just one example of The Salvation Army’s rural community development work in China. Many people are already benefiting from these initiatives, and we are looking forward to serving more people in the future.

In the heart of the arid expanse of Turkana North in northern Kenya, stands a hidden gem that serves as a beacon of hope for the surrounding community. Kaeris Girls' Secondary School is the sole secondary boarding school catering to the needs of Turkana girls within the district.

In an environment where girls’ education often takes a back seat - a staggering 94% of girls fail to transition to or complete secondary education - this school is a haven of change. Against a cultural backdrop that once promoted early marriages and dowry exchanges, the rising aspirations of girls are now challenging these traditions.

Supported by The Salvation Army Kenya West Territory, the school offers over 680 girls the transformative power of education and continues to improve the essential water and sanitation facilities to ensure an uninterrupted learning experience.

'In the past we had to cut off the afternoon lessons so that girls can go outside the school in search of water. This was both time consuming, as they had to queue at the water point, and it was also unsafe for our girls. This problem has now been solved and the girls can now concentrate fully on their studies. We have seen the school education performance increase in the last two years. For the first time, over 70 girls qualified to join university education. This had never happened in the past.'

The school has sanitary facilities provided to cater for the unique needs of girls. Ms Ebaraza said, ‘[Providing] sanitary pads and hygiene training has boosted the confidence and self-esteem of the girls. Most girls and their families cannot afford to purchase sanitary pads.’ With this new knowledge and practical support, girls can now practise menstruation management with dignity and confidence, and fear and shame is diffused.

In addition to improving access to clean water, The Salvation Army has also partnered with the local Ministry of Forest and wider community, to support the school in a tree-planting initiative. Carefully selecting native tree species, they have brought life to Kaeris Secondary School and its surrounding communities. A thriving forest of over 1000 tree seedlings now grace the school’s grounds. Each student and teacher tend to their own cluster of trees, nurturing one tree at a time. With this knowledge, girls return to their homes as agents of change, enlightening their families about the significance of tree planting.

In Turkana’s arid landscape, where the hot climate can become extreme, trees are needed to provide shade and firewood, and to help conserve the environment. Trees create microclimates by providing shade, reducing surface temperatures, and increasing humidity and could therefore support better living conditions for both humans and livestock.

The tree planting project in Kaeris school continue to raise awareness about the importance of combating climate change and protecting the environment. It also provides education to the local communities about the benefits of trees and environmental conservation ultimately leading to more sustainable practices.

The Salvation Army in Kenya West is continuing to work alongside the school and surrounding communities to bring transformation to Turkana.

The Salvation Army in Kenya East is addressing the urgent need for clean and safe water in Nduumoni, a small village located in Kalamba Division of Nzaui Sub-County. 

For many women, the burden of collecting water is an unrelenting task which involves digging into the riverbed to scoop water from underneath the sand. It is a task that takes many hours and the water collected is often unsafe to drink.

In Nduumoni, prolonged droughts are frequent wiping out household’s livelihoods exacerbating poverty due to reliance on rain-fed agriculture. With the changing climate, permanent rivers have become seasonal, and food insecurity has increased.

Nduumoni village is characterised by underdeveloped infrastructure, limited employment opportunities, inaccessibility to credit facilities and continued environmental degradation, which push most of the youth and men to go to urban cities in search of casual jobs.

However, Nduumoni village’s story began to change with the construction of a sand dam.

What is a Sand Dam?

A sand dam is a concrete structure that is built across a dry riverbed, as rain falls it is captured behind the sand dam wall, where it is naturally filtered and stored by the sand in the riverbed. As the river flows it brings more sand along with it, which collects upstream of the dam, in turn creating more water storage capacity. The water is safely stored in the sand where it is protected from evaporation.

In Nduumoni village, a shallow well next to the river enables the community to extract the water stored in the sand dam using a hand pump.

One of the benefits of a sand dam is that it raises the water table of the local area, meaning communities can grow crops, establish tree seedlings, and grow fruit trees alongside the riverbanks. Communities are trained in sustainable agricultural practices such as terracing and tree planting; and taught how to grow drought resistant crops which ensure a sustainable, nutritious source of food, improving the health of the whole community. The surplus crop produce can be traded to provide an income, transforming the livelihoods of the communities.

Return to Rural Life

Peter Musyoki, a 54-year-old father of three, is one of the local farmers who has seen the benefit of the sand dam.

Peter recently returned to Nduumoni having spent 15 years in Nairobi, working as a casual labourer. 

He said, ‘We could not grow anything before the sand dam as the land was so dry and could not support any crops. However, since the construction of the sand dam, there has been regeneration of the vegetation along the riverbank, there is now life; birds, trees, and shrubs have started growing’

Peter is a model farmer who is currently earning reliable income from the sale of fruit tree seedlings and selling citrus fruits from his orchard. Besides growing varieties of vegetables, he is also growing pigeon peas and cassava which are drought resistant crops. He has established a seed bank which he supplies seeds to the local farmers.

For Peter, returning to his village has not only provided him with reliable income but he has been able to share his knowledge with his community. Peter has established some good markets for his fruits and vegetables and is excited at the opportunities to make income in his rural village. Peter shared how his economic life has improved since returning to the village. He said, ‘I can now comfortably pay school fees, medical fees and provide for the needs of my family. My life has become better in the rural than when I was in the city.’

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