Older News from Sierra Leone

In May 2006 David visited Sierra Leone to seek God’s will for the future of FHMI and to look at several projects supported by  Mission Direct. They assess local projects in Sierra Leone that benefit the poor and then assist with building ,decorating, refurbishment and income generating projects.

We looked at three of their programmes in Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone, the last 2 have similarities to our own proposed projects. We plan to use elements of these last 2 projects in our own future developments.

• A home that cares for senor citizens - only one of its kind in Sierra Leone
  
• A rehabilitation programme for street children
• Vocational training project for polio victims
  

 The King George's Hospital for the elderly have benefited from Mission Directs support through  building refurbishment, income generation assistance and the establishment of a pigery.

 

The St Georges Foundation in Freetown are involved with rehabilitating street children - getting the 'street' out of the children - and reuniting them if possible with parents and relatives. They continue to support the child through school after they have been reunited. This is a particularly interesting project for FHMI as we see this type of project being part of our plan where it acts as buffer site between the raw street children and a more peacable residential children's centre - what we call a Chidren's Village. 

We also visited a vocational training centre for polio victims. Currently they have tailoring, and hairdressing facilities. Mission Direct had a team on site who where putting the finishing touches to a row of accommodation units adjacent to the workshops.

We will also be looking at a health care education programme for mothers and mothers-to-be.

Many babies are either abandoned at birth or lose their mothers in childbirth. We will be looking ways we can help these babies either in the immediate family home or in a special home attached to our orphanage programme.