Ashford Church donate over £1,000 to Sierra Leone orphanage
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The Reverend Tony Kaunhoven hands over a cheque for £1,181, contributing a further donation to the Sally Koroma Orphanage in Sierra Leone.
Holy Trinity Church, Ashford-In-The-Water, is committed to raising £2000 per year over a three year period and this latest instalment is very gratefully received on behalf of the Orphanage in the Tonkolili District of central Sierra Leone.
In 2002 Sierra Leone's ten year civil war came to an end leaving the country as one of the poorest in the world, its citizens receiving the lowest standard of education and health care on the planet.
Far removed from the bustle and smog of Freetown along mile 91 (A stretch of road spread across the centre of the country and aptly named due to its 91 mile distance from the capital) lays the ‘Life for Relief Orphanage’. It is maintained and run by 'Mama' Sally Koromo, a resident who fled to the relative safety of Freetown with so many other thousands of individuals when the rebels struck in 2001 and have since ventured home.
Upon her return she discovered some of the thousands of children left homeless and without parents in the aftermath of the violence and began to take care of them. At first she opened her home to a few children, feeding them from her own garden and the equal generosity of her neighbours. Six years on she is responsible for the feeding and education of 250 children, bringing them up in the safety of the orphanage with children who have witnessed similar atrocities in their young lives.
The money donated by Ashford Holy Trinity Church pays for the children’s school fees, books and uniforms, costs that the church have committed to raise and donate for 3 years. Over this period Mama Sally is developing 13 acres of farmland near the orphanage that when cultivated will supply both food for the children and reap a modest income, contributing towards the running costs of the orphanage.
Village Aid is proud to be able to support the work of Mama Sally and her staff and to contribute to work that ensures a future of self sustainability for the orphanage and its 250 young residents.