Robert Fox
Sierra Leone Street Kids Project
Fundraising for Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund
Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit the Sierra Leone Street Kids Project.
My name is Bob Fox, and I am a volunteer charity worker for Meal A Day. I look after a small country, in West Africa, called Sierra Leone This page has been set up with the goal of raising money for the desperate plight of the thousands of kids living on the streets of it's cities.
The Street Kids Project
The street kids project at Freetown has been running since April 2012. So far, we have been able to rescue 17 out of the estimated 50,000 in the capital Freetown alone. This has been a great achievement, but we also realise there are a huge number of children who we have not yet been able to help, and this is our ultimate goal.
The start up funds were provided by Meal A Day to whom we owe an enormous debt of gratitude, but now we have to rasie the money independently to keep the project running
Who are the Street Kids?
There are a number of reasons why children end up on the streets in one of the poorest countries in the world - some run away because they have been abused, some have been passed onto extended families because their parents can’t afford to feed them and then get pressed into domestic slavery, whilst others are trafficked from the villages to become street sellers or prostitutes from a young as 5 or 6 years old. They all have a story to tell.
Explotation of the Most Vulnerable
Usually street kids fall into the hands of older children or adults called ‘braas’ and ‘sissies’ (brothers and sisters) who have only one reason to befriend a street kid - exploitation. Once in the hands of the ‘braas’ and ‘sissies’ they are expected to work 12-14 hrs day or, more likely, be forced into petty crime, solvent abuse and gang activities. The penalty for non-compliance is often extreme abuse, both physical and sexual. Young street girls are particularly vulnerable and are often picked up from the streets on a promise of a better life and education, only to be trafficked to other towns, or African countries, for the purposes of domestic slavery or prostitution.
A Way Out
Our aim is to help lift some of these poor abandoned children out of this inevitable downward spiral, by re-uniting them with their families, before they become too hardened to life on the streets. This is no small task. It will involve us clothing them, feeding them, and providing them with an education to help them on their start to a better life. We believe that beyond the daily physical needs, education is the best tool we can give them to help them out of the poverty trap, which is the root cause of most of their problems.
Making it Happen
We need to raise £20,000 in 2014 to keep the project running at its current level and rescue an additional 10 children, but is it possible? Only with your help, so please, support us now, by either a one off donation or by becoming a more regular supporter and completing a standing order to donate a fixed amount monthly.
Watch the Street Kids Video
Donating Through JustGiving
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.