home > where we help > Sierra Leone


Sierra Leone’s recent history has been overshadowed by a bloody ten-year civil war which resulted in the death of 50,000 people. The conflict displaced half of its population and destroyed the country’s infrastructure. Vital services such as health and social care, water, sanitation and education remain deeply affected. In January 2003 Sierra Leone celebrated its first year of peace in over a decade; the country is now safe but many areas are still devastated.





At the height of the civil war we met local organisations whose aim was to provide shelter and care for children orphaned by the war and whose relatives could not be found.

With our support, those local partners continued their work throughout the war, with staff risking their own lives for the sake of the children. We have now expanded our programmes in Sierra Leone and focus on three main areas:

Integrated child and family support
This project targets the most vulnerable children and their families within individual communities. The aim is to strengthen families that are at risk of breakdown due to extreme poverty, illness or death of a parent.

Beneficiary families are identified by working with local community leaders and organisations. The support for each family is individually tailored to that family’s needs.

Vulnerable children living alone
This project targets the most vulnerable children who are living on the streets of Freetown. Support is focused on children between the ages of 6 and 12, with the aim of reunifying them with their family, extended family or wider community.

 

The project helps these children return home. However, reintegration into family and community life can be difficult and requires ongoing guidance and support. When they join the project the children are individually counselled, given access to healthcare and provided with nutritious meals. Emergency placements are available when deemed necessary.

Meanwhile, the project works with the family and community to mediate the child’s safe return and assess whether the family requires extra support. Once the reunification has taken place, social workers monitor each child’s progress and care.

Young mothers
The young mothers on our programme include girls who were trafficked into sex slavery during the conflict, or who have been sexually exploited.

During the conflict, many girls and young women were held captive as “bush wives” by rebel fighters.

Social disintegration following years of conflict has contributed to a further increase in teenage pregnancy. Many of those who become pregnant feel they have no choice but to abandon their babies. Extreme poverty and social stigma make these very young mothers vulnerable to further abuse.

The young mothers in our programme receive education and life-skills training that improves their own and their children’s nutrition and health prospects. The young mothers also attend local schools or learn a trade or craft in the community or in the programme’s own training centres whilst their children are cared for at our day nursery.

‘Saturday classes’ within the programme enable the young mothers to learn and spend time together. They learn practical homecare, healthcare, nutrition and life skills. Peer support activites help build their confidence and self esteem.

The programme also includes access to primary health care for the mothers and their children. Healthcare, preventative health education and awareness raising are essential to reducing Sierra Leone’s exceptionally high maternal and infant mortality rate and the spread of HIV/AIDS.

 

 

 

 

 


home | what we do | where we help | donate | get involved | find out more | press centre | contact us | site map | terms of use

Hope and Homes for Children is a registered charity. No 1089490