School Feeding Program in Sierra Leone

I’ve just returned from my first trip to Sierra Leone in several years.  The Ebola outbreak – known in Sierra Leone as “the Ebola period” – kept me from travelling to this wonderful country that I missed so much. Ebola is gone but so many challenges still remain.

The trip was full of amazing moments but so too some sadness.  While A Brighter Tomorrow for Africa (BTA) is clearly doing so much and making such a difference (more later), the country’s economy is in terrible, terrible shape.  The price of everything has more than doubled.  There is a shortage of petrol.  There is more unemployment than ever and there are many, many children living on the street – some as young as two years old.

So please – keep helping. Keep supporting BTA so children can eat (when they would not otherwise) and these children can be educated and these children can succeed.  Please do that at a time when it is more important than ever.

Very Good News at This Tough Time – Thank You...

• Our feeding program in the Upper Banta chiefdom is up to 1200 students – we provide lunch to children of ages from nursery school to Senior Secondary School.  They only get food at school.  This nourishment – for years running now because of you! – means they can study and pass exams.  Some grades are up to 90% passage rate of the national exams.
• The support we gave to the Ben Hirsch orphanage in the province of Kenema during the Ebola period literally saved lives of these children who are either Ebola survivors or children of two parents who died of Ebola and are having a terribly hard time getting adopted.  Our support in the form of food and medical supplies came at a time when so many non-profit-organizations pulled out of Sierra Leone.  We didn’t and these children are doing so well because of it.  And so, so grateful.
• We visited a small school for street children ages 2 – 4.  Yes – street children.  They come now each day to get food and start their A, B, Cs and numbers.  Now that I’ve been exposed to this, I will wholeheartedly find a way to add sending funding to these kids as soon as I can. 

I love this work.  The children love us.  And I am sending love to all of you and a great appreciation to you for continued support. Let's work together to make Sierra Leone whole again.