Most Saturdays the Child Reintegration Centre grounds come alive with the sight and sound of dozens of CRC students arriving for a time of socializing and writing letters to their sponsors. Last Saturday as usual, SAC Coordinator Henry and his assistant Assiatu welcomed a group of kids to spend a few hours together. This is a wonderful time for the kids to practice their writing skills and have fun meeting friends. The event generally opens with singing and a prayer, and ends with snack time. The result: letter and photo updates for our wonderful sponsors and new friendships between CRC students!
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The Child Reintegration Centre and Street Child UK collaborate to identify homeless children and rescue them from the streets of Bo. Recently, Street Child encountered 17-year-old Melvin who had been living on his own for several years and referred him to the CRC for assistance. Even while he was homeless and essentially orphaned, Melvin had continued his education. He recently completed Secondary School. The CRC is in the process of reuniting Melvin to live with his extended family in Liberia. Melvin's story:
My mother was Sierra Leonean, my dad Liberian. My mother migrated to Liberia and engaged in a relationship with my dad. My father won the Diversity Visa lottery and traveled to the US. At that time my mother was carrying me in her womb, according to what she told me. Since my dad went, he did not call and mum too did not call him up to the time she gave birth to me. When I was growing up, she told me about her family at Moyamba District in Sierra Leone. I was in grade 10 when my mother got ill, in the year 2017, I was crying for help and someone came to help and we both took her to the hospital for treatment. Whilst in the hospital, my mother told me to go home and bring the house documents, and she handed them over to the neighbor who helped take her to the hospital. Before the death of my mother, she asked the neighbor who helped me carry her to the hospital to take care of me, and she accepted. After the death of my mother, the neighbor threw me out of the house my mother left for me. Over the years I have taken care of myself from the money I made by making and selling shoes in nearby communities. I have been using the money to educate myself and save some for rainy days. One day, I decided to go in search of my relatives to connect with them. But they denied me and some police men took me to their station and later sent me to Bo, so I can find my way out to Liberia. While roaming on the streets of Bo, an organization called Street Child took me to the CRC. The CRC is like a home. I enjoyed the facilities here and I like the way the staff were talking to me while in the interim home. Because of what has happened to me, I am now well determined to enter university and continue my education since I have completed grade 12. With education I can fight for my right and my people will accept me in the family. The Child Reintegration Centre has long encouraged Senior Secondary graduate students to take the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE) required for college acceptance. Although the government and the institutions responsible for public examination have been working hard to improve the examination process, the WASSCE is becoming increasingly difficult for students to pass. The CRC recently held a meeting with the Senior Secondary students to review the education policy and encourage students who don't do well on the WASSCE to consider attending technical or vocational institutions, so they can learn or skill or trade that will enable them to enter the workforce and become self-sufficient. "I am encouraging you all who were unable to get their requirements to college to also consider the option of going to a vocational institution, since there are lots of successful Sierra Leoneans who are vocationally trained and qualified," CRC Director Olivia Fonnie told the students. The CRC is supporting many students who pursue alternatives to a four year university degree. CRC student Seinya gratefully accepted a Promise Scholarship to pursue an accounting certificate. "I thank God and the CRC for their support in my life. I promise to do my best in my studies to uphold the standard of CRC and contribute to national development in Sierra Leone," she said. |
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April 2024
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