A Box of Sweets Gift (Digital download)
Who doesn't love sweets? Your gift will buy the children in the Interim Care Centre a box of sweets.
We will email you a digital version of the gift certificate and provide the gift to a child living, or formerly living, on the streets in Sierra Leone.
Who doesn't love sweets? Your gift will buy the children in the Interim Care Centre a box of sweets.
We will email you a digital version of the gift certificate and provide the gift to a child living, or formerly living, on the streets in Sierra Leone.
Who doesn't love sweets? Your gift will buy the children in the Interim Care Centre a box of sweets.
We will email you a digital version of the gift certificate and provide the gift to a child living, or formerly living, on the streets in Sierra Leone.
How your gift has helped Laughter Africa children in the past:
We all feel like a treat once in a while. And that’s the same for the children in the ICC. Every now and again, we get them a box of chocolates to share.
The new year started sadly for Laughter Africa when one of our old boys Alhaji Koroma died on 8th January 2024. He was 18 and a half. He died after a long battle with sickness.
We first met Alhaji at our mobile project in Portee. He came to the ICC in July 2021 after living on the streets for one year. He absolutely loved chocolates!!! We reunified him with his mum and he stayed home ever since. His nickname in the ICC was Blues boy and he was an open and cheerful young lad who had so much left to give. He had so many friends because of how kind he was. Lamin, one of our social workers, went to visit Alhaji's family to give our condolences and to give a small contribution towards the funeral so that Alhaji could get the send off he deserved. Whenever I see a box of bon bons, I always remember Alhaji – those were his favourites!
We sadly lost Fatmata who also lived in Portee on 4th May 2024. She was 22 years old. She was sick for a long time so she decided to visit a traditional healer upline and that’s where she died. She was another big fan of sweets! After her death, we visited her family to pass on our condolences and we are now providing school support for her sister so that Fatmata’s legacy lives on!
Another young person who loves sweets is Alimatu. She has a very sweet tooth! She came to the ICC in October 2022. She is 19 years old. She lived on the streets for two and a half years.
After the death of her father and grandmother, Alimatu ended up living with her aunt. However, her aunt didn’t pay school for Alimatu. Instead her aunt forced her into child labour. Alimatu was made to sell water, ginger beer and juice. Her aunt would beat Alimatu and would only give Alimatu food sometimes. The last straw came for Alimatu when her aunt’s husband tried to sleep with her one night. When Alimatu told her aunt, her aunt didn’t believe her and drove Alimatu from the house.
Alimatu didn’t have an easy time on the streets. She says, “ After I was assaulted, I ended up pregnant. My son’s name is Idrissa and he is now 4 years old. I gave birth on the streets as I didn’t have money for the hospital. My friend Aminata died while living on the streets. She died in the fire disaster in Wellington on 5th November 2021. She was 18 years old. She went to visit her boyfriend and she invited me but I wasn’t feeling well so I stayed behind. If I had gone- I would be dead too!”
We reunified Alimatu with her family in the middle of November 2022 and have been paying school for her ever since. In November 2024, she sat the WASCE (the Sierra Leone equivalent of A-levels) and is now patiently waiting for her results. Alimatu is determined to be a nurse one day.
We particularly buy the children chocolate at Easter and sometimes even have Easter egg hunts. Here are some messages from the children and young people in Bomeh from last Easter: