The Child Reintegration Centre has rescued ten teenaged boys from the street and reunited them with their families.  The CRC has helped each of the boys re-enroll in a local secondary school or in a technical-vocational education program.  

The CRC counseling unit held a workshop for the boys and their parents to help them with the challenges of reunion and separation from street life. Among other topics, the workshop addressed the dangerous effects of drug and alcohol abuse, as most of the children reintegrated from the street have been abusing substances to help cope with the hardship of street life. 

The families, all of whom are economically vulnerable, will receive a stipend to help the care for their children, as well as much needed mattresses, linens, and toiletries. 

Dr. Aruna Steven and Matron Augusta Kpanabaum of Mercy Hospital facilitated the medical information portion of the workshop.  With their enrollment in the CRC, the children become eligible to receive free health care at Mercy. 

Representatives from the local chapter of All for One witnessed part of the workshop.  The CRC is helping organizations like All for One transition away from institutional care towards family care for vulnerable children. 

The children and their families all expressed gratitude to the CRC, for being reunited and for having the opportunity to get an education.  “With what I have learned, I say 'bye bye' to cigarettes and marijuana,” former street child Musa said. "Learning a skill is better than collecting and selling metals on the street."

Congratulations to these Child Reintegration Centre students who graduated from Njala University this month.

• Comfort Bangalie - BS in Social Work 
• Solomon Bockarie - BS in Peace and Development Studies 
• Precious Musu Sellu - diploma in Public Health

Precious has the added distinction of being the mother of twins!  That's quite an accomplishment. 

The CRC has launched their new Attachment Theory “Train the Trainer” workshop, with the aim of helping child welfare organizations understand the impact of trauma on children, and learn how to help parents and caregivers in their programs develop healthy relationships with the vulnerable children in their care.   
 
The Train the Trainer workshop was created to expand the impact of the AT Workshop that the CRC team uses to train caregivers enrolled in its program.  The CRC hopes to offer this training to social workers in child welfare organizations all over Sierra Leone, so that the families in their care will have access to tools they can use to build stronger, healthier family relationships. 
 
The University of Maine and CRC collaborated to create the Attachment Theory curriculum three years ago for the orphanage staff, with plans to extend the training to caregivers as the CRC transitioned to a family care program.  With this training, the CRC has trained 20 social workers who manage thirteen different organizations from Makeni, Pujehun, Kenema and Bo, who are now empowered to train their own caregivers.  The potential is for Attachment Theory to positively impact children and families all across Sierra Leone.  

The Attachment Theory "Train the Trainer" workshop was the first opportunity for the CRC to host participants in the newly renovated onsite lodgings. Meals were also provided for the guests. 
 
David Musa, the CRC’s Transition Coaching and Mentoring Department Senior Consultant, led the Train the Trainer workshop.  The workshop opened with a devotion by Lucy Jusu and welcoming remarks by CRC Director Olivia Fonnie, who thanked the participants for attending and assured them they would not regret their attendance. 
 
David took the participants through a demonstration of what it means to be a “Participatory Trainer.” The CRC case managers each taught a different topic related to the care of orphaned and vulnerable children. Imourana Bockarie provided a daily recap of the concepts taught in the workshop.

At the end of the training, each participant was awarded a certificate, and provided with a flash drive with all relevant materials, as well as hard copies of the training manual and workbook to take home.

Workshop participant Vanessa said that "every module was of great importance, not only to my organization but also to my personal life. I only ask that the workshop time be extended the next time."  The CRC is considering making future workshops longer to give participants more time to engage with the material.

Participant Dennis said, "I will use what I have learned for the children in our orphanage to build more trust, confidence, and love."

KEY WORKSHOP TOPICS AND FACILITATORS:

• Introduction to Attachment Theory and Secure Attachment – Deborah Kanneh
• Impact of Trauma – Amie Nallo
• Understanding Attunement – Emmanuel Lamin
• Temperament & Child Resiliency – Abiebatu Mattia
• Emotional Regulation – Rosa Saffa
• Caregiver Well Being – Deborah Kanneh​

​Scenes from the workshop:​​