We greeted them when they arrived with three small preformances us girls came up with for the occasion. (And made Louisa an honorary member of the Girls Club!) Then Lousia, Mrs. Kouris and Fr. Gibson gave us a presentation on what Lousia does in her home country, Sierra Leone, in West Africa. For a brief history of this Third World country, click here.
What they said to us we so moving, and often heartbreaking. Sierra Leone is still trying to recover from the horrible, decade long, civil war caused by the diamond mines that are found in this small land, a bit smaller than Indiana. The war destroyed the agriculture of Sierra Leone, and left hundreds of 'amputees' and widespread poverty - 95% of the population is without work. The United Nations listed Sierra Leone as one of the ten least livable countries in the world. The saddest part is that no one will help them. Fr. Gibson said that Sierra Leone is a forgotten country. No one, not even Food for the Poor or Catholic Relief Servises will send aid. They are too intimidated by the government.
Louisa (You can read her whole story here) met Father Gibson when she was 17. Her family had not had food in two days, and her brother was in desperate need of medical care. Fr. Gibson gave them aid, and in thanks Lousia (a Muslim) began attendin daily Mass. She was baptized in the Catholic Church at 19. Lousia also began to search out those who needed aid the most, and was inspired to open a home for orphan children, children of single parents, and children who do not know where their parents are. This was how Savior of the World Children's Center was born.
Currently, Louisa has adopted 33 children. She is only 25 years old. They are very poor, all living in a tiny rented house, without running water or electricity and eating one main meal a day. Currently, they are in the process of building a new house, where Louisa wants to adopt more children and start a Catholic school.
Like I said before, they are in need of money and aid. If you can donate, then please go to this site, where there is an address to send money. I know they appreciate an support they can get!
It was a very wonderful opprotuinity to meet this corageous young women.
This is Louisa. She told us that she dyed the fabric for the clothes she is wearing herself!
Fr. Gibson. Yes, he is related to Mel Gibson! He is Mel Gibson's cousin. We found out that not only is he one day older than one of the mom's who was at the talk, but Bl. Mother Teresa was at his ordination, and gave him his missionary assignments while she was alive!
This is Louisa with some of the club members, when we presented her with a wreath, like the ones we wear.
I mentioned amputees in my blog post, and I thought I would put a 'footnote' about these poor people here.
ReplyDeleteDuring the war in Sierra Leone, rebel armies would go from village to village, killing, burning and maiming.
In some villages, they would take all the women and children and ask the mothers if they wanted their children long-sleeve or short-sleeve. When all the mothers had answered, the children were either in 'long-sleeve' groups, or 'short-sleeve' groups. If the mothers had said long-sleeve, the children's hands were cut off. If the mothers had said short-sleeve, the children's arms were cut off. Some had both feet cut off as well.
Those that survived now live in what are called 'amputee camps', and live at the mercy of charity. The government does nothing to support them or help them at all.