Struggles
The headlines are clear… war… famine… disease… tragedy. The results can be devastating. The losses are catastrophic and many are left feeling hopeless. Is there anything that can be done?
We realize that we may not be able to prevent all tragedy, but together we can help to minimize its effects. We can help survivors. We can care. We can act. We can restore hope.
Believing that every individual is created by God with innate value, RESTORE HOPE and its partners invest in the human potential. Through partnerships with local communities and organizations, RESTORE HOPE equips and empowers local people to address the challenges they face in their lives. Utilizing sustainable and reproducible methods and by encouraging local ownership, we provide knowledge and skills to equip local groups to resolve their own challenges and plan for a healthy and stable future.
The wounds of a bloody civil war have begun to heal. In the years since violence has subsided, the enemy is no longer a gun clad rebel terrorizing remote villages and urban centers. The subtle enemy is a lingering post war trauma and depleted spirits which tell this battered nation that things can never really
change. With an economy that has never healed, a lack of basic infrastructure, and the ever present threat to life and health that results from diseases like Ebola, malaria, cholera and typhoid – Sierra Leone lives in a state of lingering trauma where the weak and vulnerable are often left defenseless. Many orphaned, lost or abandoned children are forced to survive on the streets where they are victimized by the heartless for personal gain. Many are simply alone when no family remains to care for them. For widows and vulnerable children, survival requires sacrifice of body, health and dreams. Maintaining a spirit of optimism is an ever present challenge.
UNICEF estimates there are over 340,000 orphans in Sierra Leone, a country with a landmass the size of South Carolina. Many of Sierra Leone’s war orphans are now bearing their own children. Many of those children are born to unmarried women who participate in transactional sex in order to eat or pay school fees. Many children are forced by poverty out of school and into the workforce in areas where unemployment rates can be as high as 90%. A life of begging, child servitude, human trafficking, crime or prostitution is a dark reality for some of Sierra Leone’s lost children. A lack of opportunity is the reality for most.
Hope for the Future
Passionate to make a difference in the lives of children, the partners of RESTORE HOPE united with the understanding that helping someone today will only truly help if it helps them to create a better tomorrow. Seeking long-term solutions beyond short-term aid, we are working to holistically address the needs of abandoned, orphaned, disadvantaged and abused children through various ministries to include sponsorship, education, medical and dental care, interim protective care and family placement.
In partnership with Love One Another Children’s Ministries of Sierra Leone, RESTORE HOPE has established an interim care home for boys ages 4-12 in Bo where boys rescued from crisis scenarios receive protective care and assessment while awaiting a permanent home. Hillman House for boys is a special place where boys escape the fear of trafficking, abuse and the streets to reside in a safe haven under the loving guidance and nurture of house-parents who seek justice and a healthy future for victimized children.
Since 2010, Hillman House has created a respite where boys can thrive. In this growing place, our boys get a second chance at childhood. They learn the value of loving other people and loving themselves. They discover their own voice to speak and to sing. Hope replaces fear and darkness. Laughter replaces tears. They play hard and study hard. They go to school. They experiment with technology. They learn the value of work, discipline and respect. Hillman boys are nurtured toward a bright future where opportunity is real and tomorrow is full of hope.
Click here to begin your support of the Hillman House for Boys!
Our dream? That you will join us in offering this same hope to girls. They, too, were meant to sing! Help us provide the 2015 financial support for Restore Hope’s Link House for girls. Your partnership can make a world of difference!
Click here to begin your support of the Link House for Girls!
