Disaster Relief

MUDSLIDES REPORT MAY 13

REPORT TO GLOBALGIVING MAY 2018

Organisation: ChildHelp Sierra Leone

Country:        Sierra Leone

Project Locations: Western area - Freetown and Bombali District

Donor:           GlobalGiving Foundation (UK/USA)

GlobalGiving Foundation Total Funding: USD $ 6,365 ($3,865 crowdfunding and $ 2,500 grant provided)

Number of beneficiaries supported: 208 school children – ongoing support

Reporting date: May 2018

Description:

The Sierra Leone Mudslide and Flooding Relief is a disaster emergency relief activity for children and their families in rural communities in Sierra Leone that has suffered and experienced the worst mudslides and flooding hits, with their houses, properties and lives submerged and damaged from July to September 2017. The continuous cutting down of trees and building thousands of unhealthy homes in hilly and moist zones in dangerous zones caused such grave destruction. Thousands of people including children were killed and flooded. Today, thousands has been displayed and unable to rebuild and restore their lives, hope and normalcy. The affected school going children and youths has poor access to education, livelihood, water and sanitation.

Since August 2017, ChildHelp has been part of the development of the meeting the need of the children affected by the flooding and mudslides by relocating them to their homes in the rural communities, Looking Town – Makeni, Gbendembu, Kalangba, Manjawor and its surroundings. Meetings and consultations with authorities were done in the best interest of children to be relocated alongside with their parents. Children dealt with were aged 7 - 19 years from the affected six (6) community locations (Culvert, Dworzak, Kamayamah, Kanikay, Kaningo and Regent) and other flooded communities in the Bombali district were also relocated.

In August 2017, 93 school children relocated were provided with emergency relief in the form of food, education, health and housing facilities. From September to November, 349 children affected were also identified and 115 children with the most urgent need were taken care of. GlobalGiving Foundation provided a grant of USD$ 2,500 in addition to USD$ 3,865crowdfunding from friends, to accomplish support to those relocated in the form of food, clothing, health and livelihood. 82 Family heads of the affected children were supported with ongoing activities - farming and income generation is for these coming raining seasons that will help them take care of their children relocated in their new settlement.  

In addition to the provided grant from GlobalGiving, 115 more children will be continuously provided with access to complete their basic education, provided with used clothing, Books, School fees, school uniforms, buckets and cups for safe drinking water as an hygiene practices for better health, home nutritional supplies for better health, engage with community members on the value of accessing and retaining in schools, sponsor school children Study Groups for learning through the provision of a safe place to study, hold monthly school children’s interface meetings at school level and monitor and supervise the project implementation jointly with the community and school managements and general stakeholders.

Challenges: More funding is needed. The present donations to meet the need of those relocated and affected to access basic education, rights and livelihoods is not enough to support them in their new resettlement, to be lifted out of poverty. More school supplies including uniforms, bags and shoes and books, school desks and chairs, livelihood, water and sanitary facilities.  If support is provided, they will be lifted out of poverty. The families need farming and gardening, Village-Saving and Loaning, and micro-enterprise supports that would help them to be financially equipped and self reliant. 

ChildHelp is convinced that supporting these returning families and their children will help them break free from the cycle of poverty and trauma. Friends and supporters, ChildHelp is so grateful for your kind contribution made that has made an impact in the lives of beneficiaries.

ChildHelp knows that, there are other ways you could have spent this money, but you believe in our cause, so you chose to invest it in our project. You are mostly welcome to part of our team and let our success be yours too. Let others know of our project and needs in your network, online and offline, that, there are still more children affected, still out there without support. More funding is needed to maintain and support those relocated to access their rights to social welfare and education. Without you, we cannot make such impact and save lives.

Thanks to all our supporters of the ChildHelp’s Mudslide and Flooding Relief and other projects in the GlobalGiving. Thanks also to the most honored supporter GlobalGiving Foundation for their good and best practice toward our children and our nation. God bless you all.