Kidsave Sierra Leone: Reuniting Orphan with Family

Kidsave has worked in Sierra Leone since 2010, finding families for children displace by war. After the 2014 Ebola virus crisis – Kidsave changed its focus to finding families for children orphaned by that virus in two of the hardest-hit districts – Bo and Kenema.

This work has never been easy to fund. Sierra Leone is a very poor country without the resources to help these children get out of dead-end institutional care and into families. Kidsave has worked for five years to find families, provide microloans and bedkits, books and uniforms for children stuck in orphanages.

To date, 650 children have been served and given the chance for a better future because of Kidsave’s work with our partner, the Foundation for Integrated Development.  

GlobalGiving donors have helped fund this program in part, and Kidsave is very grateful for that support. But funding has not been sustainable and Kidsave can no longer subsidize this work without specific funding for this program. The program is now on hold while we try to secure enough funding to go forward with the plan for 2020.  

We hope to find families for 80 more children in 2020. The work is painstaking and thoughtful, it requires traveling to remote villages, speaking with elders, assessing the appropriateness of families, holding events for people to meet children in need of families, training social workers and new parents, and monitoring placements to be sure the children are going to school, getting enough to eat, cared for properly, and thriving.

To our friends at GlobalGiving, we ask you to help us continue this work in a bigger way, if possible. If you can, please share this with your friends. We want to raise $49,900 to do this work in 2020 and place 80 children in families.

Thanks for your continued support as we build to re-launch and sustain this work in 2020 and beyond. Your donations and help spreading the word about the need are greatly appreciated.

Nineteen children who were orphaned during the 2014 Ebola crisis and have been living in orpanages ever since, werer recently placed with sutiable kin or in new families by Kidsave and its partner social workers in Sierra Leone.  Kidsave not only finds suitable parents, it goes deeper, to be sure the match is lasting and really gives that child the boost they need.  Our social workers persevere, monitoring the children and providing extra resources as needed to be sure the match is a success. 

Sometimes, that extra boost is as simple as an extra mattress and bedding. Sometimes it means providing a poor mother with a  microloan to be able to afford the extra food to feed one more child. Kidsave recently followed up on the last group of children placed and found that 17 of them were unable to attend school because their families could not afford school uniforms and books.  For just $300 -- or less thatn $18 each -- these could all be purchased.  One Kidsave supporter learned about the need and quickly sent in $300. She told Kidsave she felt wonderful -- enabling 17 children to go to school!  A small price for such a great investment in their future.   

Here are some photos of the kids with their supplies and in their new uniforms.

Links:

• About Kidsave
• About Reunification in Sierra Leone