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news and announcements

The road to reintegration: leading orphanages from institutional to family care

2/26/2020

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​Based on the CRC’s success reintegrating children out of residential care to live with their forever families, the CRC is launching a Reintegration Department to help other orphanages learn how to make the same transition. The CRC is the first residential program in Sierra Leone to transition to a family-based model of care for vulnerable children. In 2000, the CRC began rescuing street children in the waning days of the civil war. During that desperate time, there was no way to trace families, and the parents of abandoned children were presumed dead. Out of necessity, the children were placed in residential care for their safety. 

In 2003, the CRC began extending assistance to children in extremely poor families through the auspices of the Child Support and Family Care Programs, providing different levels of support depending on the needs of the child and their family. In 2010, the Sierra Leonean government passed a mandate that youth in residential care must be reunified to live in community, with a parent if they could be found, or with other relatives. The CRC’s residential program began scaling down, finally reuniting the remaining children with families in 2018. 

With the residential program closed, the CRC’s entire focus shifted to empowering vulnerable families to stay together, and to reintegrating children separated from parental care back into safe and loving families. Through the CRC’s Family Strengthening Program, parents learn about healthy parent-child attachment and coping strategies. Few of the parents of children enrolled in the CRC are literate, and they may have been subjected to trauma or abandonment themselves, so these are new and important concepts for them. Parents have the opportunity to enroll in microfinance classes to learn small business skills (most parents survive through petty trading or sustenance farming), and upon graduation, receive a small loan to start or improve a business. The elements of the Family Strengthening Program work together to help families move away from the desperate measures imposed by extreme poverty towards longer term solutions and stability.  

The CRC’s new Reintegration Department will help other organizations in West Africa learn how to strengthen families and provide them with the tools they need to stay together, instead of being torn apart by poverty.  Led by long time CRC team member David Musa, the Reintegration Department will assess an organization’s readiness for transition, teach the organization’s leaders how to develop a transition plan, and coach their staff through the process. As one of the key implementers of the CRC’s reintegration process, David is uniquely equipped to lead other orphanages to a family-centric model.  The CRC and HCW are collaborating with 1MILLIONHOME (www.1millionhome.com) to hold a multi-national workshop for orphanages in West Africa who are interested in learning how to transition from institutional to family care. The workshop, with the whole-hearted support of Sierra Leone Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs Mabinty Tarawallie, will be held in Freetown in October 2020.
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Reintegration Manager David Musa visits the home of John, who was recently reintegrated with his family after being separated by the Ebola crisis.
If we can encourage other organizations to reunite their kids with families, it will be an excellent marker for the CRC. And it will be
good for Sierra Leone.

​David Musa
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Checking in with former residential student Abdulai

9/20/2018

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Saffiatu Dakowa is happy to have her son Abdulai (right) at home again.
​CRC Case Manager Victor Kanu recently visited the home of former residential student Abdulai Dakowa, who is now enrolled in the Family Care Program.  His mother Saffiatu is so grateful to be reunited with her son.  

Saffiatu enrolled in the CRC's first microfinance class, and started an African soap business with the small loan she received upon graduation from the class.  She joined the local "osusu" (lending group) and has been able to turn a profit and save money to support her little family.

Victor found that Abdulai is doing well at home with his mother, brother and sister.  He helps with cooking and some domestic work, and participates in morning devotions with his family.  His mother says that Abdulai is practicing his Christian life at home. 

"I wish to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to you for the valuable assistance your organization has rendered to me in the upbringing and education of my son Abdulai  at this very difficult time," Saffiatu told Victor.  "This offer to us has contributed so immensely to the future of Abdulai," she says with gratitude.
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CRC student wins school debate competition

7/20/2018

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Fourteen-year-old Hannah Smith attends the Methodist Girls High school in Bo where she is enrolled in Junior Secondary 1. Hannah and her younger brother Paul were enrolled in the residential program, and were recently reunified to live with their father, who is disabled.

Hannah’s school organized a quiz and debate competition for 16 children across 3 classes (JSS1, JSS2, and JSS3), to observe the African Day of the Child commemoration, with the objective to identify competent pupils in the school. Questions were designed and selected for all junior secondary school subjects.

At the end of the competition, Hannah Smith emerged as the victor in the debate category for JSS 1 and a certificate was presented to her in recognition of her participation and achievement.

“I was really happy,” Hannah said.  “The reason I’m so happy is that when I stood for the competition and won it, my friends were all very happy for me.  I studied hard to bring success, encouraging other children in my community, the CRC program, and in the school to be bold and study hard.”  Hannah shared her thanks and appreciation for the teachers in the school for helping to prepare her.

Hannah also gives credit to the CRC staff as well for helping her to be successful.  As a result of CRC support and what they had taught her, Hannah benefitted from their stories, reading, devotions, and preaching of the gospel.  

One of the school’s teachers, Mr. Ibrahim Sillah said “Hannah Smith is one of our best students in the school and it was not a surprise she came out as the victor in the competition. And as for her performance in class, she came in second in the first examination, first in the second examination and we hope she will earn the best result in the ongoing examination!”

- Deborah Kanneh, Family Care Program Coordinator
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Sponsors Gaylew and Roger Hutchison were excited to hear Hannah's news. "We're very proud of Hannah!" Gaylew exclaimed.  Roger shares his wife's pride, "We're so very proud that she is our sponsored child."  Hannah displays her certificate, joined by FCP Coordinator Deborah Kanneh, and her teacher Mr. Sillah.  
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