Blog Archives

Mercy Hospital celebrates two birthdays

6/21/2019

The first female child to be delivered via c-section at Mercy Hospital was born on Thursday, June 20th. Previously, all c-section babies delivered at Mercy had been male. June 20th also happens to be the birthday of Mercy’s Hospital Administrator, Jinnah Lahai. Jinnah said he considers it a particular blessing to welcome a new baby into the world at Mercy on his birthday.

The mother of the child is Hawa Kamara. Hawa is a destitute patient, so her surgery was completely covered by Mercy Hospital. She came to Mercy ready to deliver, but it quickly became apparent that she needed a c-section to ensure the health of both herself and her baby. Surgical Health Officer Lawrence T. Kargbo performed the successful surgery. Both mom and baby are doing well and Mercy Hospital is excited to have welcomed a new child into the world! Happy birthday baby girl and Jinnah!

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Microfinance Program Puts a Smile on Recipient's Face

6/19/2019

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Launched in 2017, the CRC’s microfinance program has provided training and microloans to sixty different recipients, fifty-four of whom are women. A microloan can be the first step in a family’s ability to strive for and achieve financial stability and independence. It can be a life-saving opportunity particularly for households headed by single women.

Tennah Massaquoi is an elderly woman who is the sole caregiver of her two grandchildren; all four of her adult children having passed away. One of her grandchildren, Sally Kaitor, is enrolled in the CRC Program. Life was very difficult for Tennah; she struggled to support and take care of her grandchildren. However, during the CRC’s annual assessment process, staff identified Tenneh Massaquoi as particularly vulnerable, and encouraged her to enroll in the CRC’s Microfinance Program. There she received training in budgeting, saving, managing a small business, and earned a certificate with a small loan of approximately $90. Tennah has used that loan to launch a small business selling groundnuts. Her business is doing well, and she is realizing a small profit which she has been able to use to help take care of her grandchildren. “Before my four children died at a young age, I thought they were going to be taking care of me, the CRC has been my only hope,” Tennah says. It is customary in the Sierra Leonean culture for grown children to provide care for their parents in their old age, but Tennah doesn’t have that opportunity. “Now I consider the CRC as my children,” says Tennah heartwarmingly. The Microfinance Program that the CRC provides continues to support more individuals, like Tennah, in achieving financial stability.

Tennah Massaquoi working with her groundnut business.

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CRC Visits Remote Students

6/13/2019

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The Case Management Team of the Child Rescue Centre provides ongoing monitoring and support for more than 500 programs for children, regardless of where they live. Part of the case management process is for caseworkers to visit students at home, at school, and at work in order to ensure that all is well personally, socially, academically, and spiritually within their community.

Joseph Junisa, Henry Kebbie, Amie Nallo, and Deborah Kanneh, recently organized school visits to CRC students living outside of the Bo District. Together, they traveled to Kono, Kenema, Moyamba, Freetown and Rutile to visit with students and their families. While there, they helped students write letters to their sponsors, checked on their health and well-being, and assessed their academic performance. The visit also enabled these caseworkers to check in privately with the students and with their parents, to make sure that each families’ relationship was strong, and the living environment well kept in their communities.

During one school visit, a case manager came to notice -- after overseeing how all the children would interact together-- that the CRC effectively connects friends and classmates together. These kids love to play together, eat their lunches together, and love to walk home from school together. The CRC creates a loving and safe environment for students to freely express themselves and find common interests between them and their classmates. The caseworkers were happy to report that all the students are happy in their homes and schools, and performing well academically and socially.