Susan Saila has spent more than a decade investigating human trafficking, helping rescue victims and exposing exploitation in communities across South Africa. Now, the founder of Shattering Shackles is fighting to keep her organisation running.
One of its primary donors is set to withdraw funding in the coming weeks, leaving the organisation facing the possibility of closing its doors if it cannot secure enough support to cover its operating costs.
Shattering Shackles has handled more than 240 trafficking cases, involving both individual victims and larger networks of perpetrators. But despite years of work, the organisation has struggled to secure the regular funding it needs to continue.
“I have had moments when I have considered giving up and going back to the corporate world of employment,” Saila said.
The thought of walking away has become more pressing since she learnt last month that the donor would withdraw its support. Yet the organisation has since received nine difficult cases, she said.
One involves a four-year-old child who needs protection from exploitation.
“When I weigh what is in front of me – the need to give time and effort to fundraising versus saving a 4-year-old child from a life of exploitation, the child will always take priority,” she said.
Her journey began in 2012 through a ministry supporting women in prostitution. She raised public awareness and trained healthcare workers to recognise signs of human trafficking.
In her first year, she said, about 97% to 98% of the women she spoke to were being controlled and exploited. Some had been deceived by false job offers, while others faced threats and coercion, including threats involving their babies.
“They did not choose to be there,” she said.
As more people shared their experiences and reported suspected trafficking, Saila’s work shifted towards investigating criminal networks and helping rescue victims.
Her faith, the courage of survivors and the hope of preventing further abuse keep her going, she said.
But some cases have left a lasting mark. The most emotionally challenging involved a young girl with cerebral palsy who could not speak or walk and was allegedly being sexually exploited by her mother.
“When we found her, the stench was so putrid, we initially thought that she was dead,” she said.
Saila said the girl was lying in her own waste, severely neglected and with injuries.
“I’ve never seen anything so devastating, ever,” she added.
She said the child was rescued and, with care and protection, has since transformed.
For Saila, the case also illustrates how trafficking can remain hidden. She said many people associate the crime with victims being transported across borders in trucks or shipping containers, overlooking exploitation in their own communities.
“Borders do not need to be crossed. It is about exploitation, not transportation,” she said.
Shattering Shackles investigates suspected trafficking cases, works with police and other state departments, and provides awareness and training at schools, churches and community groups. Based in Gqeberha, it also handles cases elsewhere in the country.
Saila said a lack of training among frontline workers, limited resources and trafficking cases being recorded under other offences made it harder to identify and investigate the crime. She also believes low public trust in law enforcement leads some people to report their suspicions to organisations such as hers rather than to police.
The organisation’s own funding challenges have made its work increasingly difficult. Saila said it cannot freely share photographs or details of cases to attract donors because doing so could compromise investigations and put victims and investigators at risk.
She also revealed that she and others involved in running Shattering Shackles have gone without salaries for six years, and that she has even sold personal belongings to keep the organisation’s work going
Saila said Shattering Shackles is the only non-profit organisation dealing with human trafficking matters in the Eastern Cape. If it closes, she fears, people who need help could face even greater barriers to getting it.
The organisation’s most urgent need is consistent monthly funding to cover operating costs. It also needs a reliable vehicle to respond to cases, as well as assistance with printing, tax matters and public awareness campaigns.
For Saila, the possibility that someone could remain trapped in exploitation because an organisation cannot afford to help is difficult to accept.
“Many people like to believe that ‘that could never happen to me or to my family’ and then it does,” she said.
She is appealing to the public to help keep Shattering Shackles operating and ensure that victims can continue to receive assistance.
Those who wish to support Shattering Shackles can donate to its FNB account: Shattering Shackles NPC, account number 62858822531, branch code 210050 (SWIFT: FIRNZAJJ). For more information, email [email protected]. To report suspicions of human trafficking, email [email protected].