Emergency Response Gift (Digital Download)

How your gift has helped Laughter Africa children in the past:

On Monday 9th January 2023, there was a huge fire in Susan’s Bay. It’s a densely populated area with flimsily constructed houses made from scavenged materials, so the fire took hold quickly and ravaged the area leaving thousands of people displaced. Fatmata was one of the young girls displaced. We met her five years ago and she’s stayed off the streets ever since.  She said, “I just ran and took my baby. My brother took some of the baby’s clothes. I was so scared. The whole house was destroyed.” Her beautiful baby boy Idrissa was less than one month old (we had paid for her medical treatment during labour). Thanks to your kindness, we provided Fatmata with an emergency response pack which included clothes, toiletries and baby supplies. Sadly Idirssa tragically died in June 2023. We have been supporting Fatmata through her loss and she recently enrolled back into school in September 2023.  

Another example of the gift of emergency response is the fire that broke out in Susan’s Bay on Wednesday 24th March 2021. Many people jumped into the bay to save their own lives but had to helplessly watch on in horror whilst their livelihoods were destroyed.  So many people, including the girls from the mobile project, lost everything.  We heard the story of 17-year old Fatmata who was having a fun night with a group of friends at a local football match. They returned to see the whole community on fire, including the Sugabar, where she had stored all her possessions. Fatmata was heavily pregnant at the time and lost all the money she had been saving and the baby things she had collected in anticipation of the birth. Laughter Africa staff attended the Ministry’s Emergency Response meeting, and we sent our team to check on the safety and provide medical care for street children in the area. The Laughter Africa team worked tirelessly on the ground at Susan’s Bay for a few weeks after the fire to check on the street children. Aminata, who was living on the streets, gave birth three days after the fire in the toilets at Susan’s Bay and was living in the toilets with her newborn baby until we found them. Although the Susan’s Bay project had finished when the fire broke out – we were in the middle of our Reunification Week - the project was a huge help in reaching the children in need, since the girls living on the streets already knew us, and they trusted us.   

Nine girls, living on the streets in Susan’s Bay, turned up at the ICC looking for help after the disaster. The nine girls included four pregnant girls  and two girls with young babies. Laughter Africa supplied clothing and toiletries for the nine girls  and provided nappies, pap and clothing for their babies. They stayed in the ICC for a few weeks. In fact, one of the girls, Fatmata, gave birth in the early hours of Saturday 3rd April 2021, while she was staying at the ICC. The labour took all night but Laughter’s nurse, Isata, stayed by her side throughout. The delivery was successful. We reunified Fatmata with her grandmother and provided her with a ‘help a baby basket’ as well as lots of training. We’re so proud that she has remained off the streets and is doing a wonderful job at raising her child Fatima. She’s even furthering her education, enrolling in a hairdressing course. She is doing very well and is star of her class.

Meanwhile, four young people living in Susan’s Bay, whom we had previously reunified with their families, sadly lost everything in the fire. We provided them with an emergency response pack which included sanitation items, clothing, education supplies, toiletries etc.….One of the girls was pregnant and another girl had a 7 month old baby. One of the young people was Hassanatu. We first met her five years ago when she was ten years old. She has stayed home in Susan’s Bay ever since her reunification. Her house burned down in the fire and she lost everything she owned. She had nothing left. We provided her with an emergency pack (which included school uniforms, text books, education equipment, female hygiene products, clothes, sanitation equipment, toiletries, buckets etc…). Hassantu had it extra tough as she had her exams (the NPSE) a few months after the fire. However, she didn’t give up. She kept her head high and she completed her NPSE. She is about to start JSS3.

Of all the stories I have heard from the fire, the one story that touched me the most was the kindness the girls living on the streets showed to others who were affected by the fire in Susan's Bay. One of the volunteers from the mobile project, Musu, lost everything in the fire. The girls living on the streets knew this and bought clothes and other essential items for her (without anyone asking) so that at least she had something to wear. They told her, "You have been there for us, now let us be here for you." I was so proud of them. It showed me the impact that we have had on them and the values that we instilled in them: kindness, compassion, and dignity.

Meanwhile on 17th October 2022, a huge fire swept through the Cockle Bay area. Some of the street children lost everything in the fire- their whole lives were destroyed. We responded straight away and reunified 7 of them with their families. We paid school for them and they are doing extremely well.