By Aime Turberville | Development Coordinator
For a child separated from their family, finding a relative can mean finding a way home. Recently, Kidsave and our Sierra Leone partner, Integrated Development Initiatives (IDI), worked to trace the families of 17 children in the Bo and Pujehun Districts. The search was not easy. Many of the children were very young and had little knowledge of their family history; some lacked birth certificates or family records, and relatives sometimes lived in remote communities. Despite these challenges, 13 children were successfully reunited with extended family members and welcomed home. After reunification, Kidsave and IDI provided counseling, caregiver training, starter supplies, and ongoing monitoring through community child welfare committees to help families build a safe and stable future together.
This work is part of a larger effort to help Sierra Leone move away from institutional care and toward family-based care. When one orphanage recently closed because deteriorating conditions made it unsafe for children to remain, Kidsave and IDI developed individualized plans for all 48 children. Seventeen children were immediately reunited with family, while others were placed with carefully vetted and supported community-based families. This included nine children with disabilities and special needs who were matched with specially prepared caregivers and received specialized training, ongoing coaching, and connections to health, education, and therapeutic services.
For the children whose families have not yet been located, the search continues. They remain in safe, community-based settings while Kidsave and IDI work with local communities and social welfare partners to trace relatives and identify permanent family solutions. These children remind us why Kidsave's work is so important: an empty orphanage is not the goal. Family is. With the support of our GlobalGiving community, we are helping children return to families whenever safely possible while strengthening those families so reunification can last.
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