MAY 2011
We are pleased to have our web site up and running again. Below are some of the news highlights to bring you up to date with recent events.
MEDIA
Government licences have been granted to operate 24 hour Gospel Radio and TV. Mercy Radio has now been operating for about 4 months on 101.0 fm. The radio studio and offices are based at Decca Street in Freetown but purpose built facilities for the production and transmission of TV programmes are still to be constructed. The development of the TV station is dependent upon the finances becoming available but the aim is to be fully operational by the end of the year. These will be the first 24 hour terrestrial Gospel TV and Radio stations for West Africa. As well as Sierra Leone, transmissions will also encompass French Guinea, Liberia and Northern Ivory Coast.
Programming is intended to not only promote the Gospel but also to offer moral, social and health education to support, inform and uphold all the best practices for the development of Sierra Leone as a nation. The government are very much aware of these goals and clearly supports every effort we are making. In time it is hoped that these stations will provide enough revenue to provide help to the orphans via the work of Mercy Children.
CHILD TRAFFICKING
The trafficking of children (for both the sex industry and domestic servitude) is
a growing illegal enterprise in West Africa. Mercy Children have become very aware
of this problem and are actively involved with the Sierra Leone Ministry of Social
Welfare in assessing and tracking the movement of this new form of slavery. Children
in remote areas are given incentives to visit Freetown where they have to earn their
passage by street vending. Once they have raised enough money they are shipped out
via French Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Senegal on to Europe, South America and Asia
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To help us combat this trade we are currently in need of 4 quad bikes to help our workers to access the remote areas from where the children are disappearing. These areas are not easily reached by any other mode of transport. Any one who could buy or donate one please contact us via the phone number on the ‘Contact Us’ page.
THE ORPHANS & DESTITUTE
Mercy Children currently works with approximately 2000 children per day, providing some education, accommodation, food, love and security. It is unable to offer all the children all of these provisions or for all of the time.
We have one school in Moyamba along with 50 beds but we get about 400+ students per day as the word spreads through the surrounding villages. We also have a Primary School within the compound in Freetown and this caters for around 60 students
Rice and other food staples are being distributed to orphans throughout the west and south of the country.
Of great concern are the children who are destitute and have to sleep out in the open. There is a great need for a centre for the destitute, especially in Freetown. This problem is particularly acute during the monsoon season when the children find difficulty to keep dry and out of the rain.
THE CHURCH IN FREETOWN
The church in Freetown continues to grow with a congregation of around 700 members. A lot of the newcomers are being attracted to the church via the teenagers broadcasting on Mercy Radio and taking their work very responsibly.
ORPHAN VILLAGES
We have concerns that NGO’s are unable to have more than 100 orphaned or destitute children on one site at any one time due to poor care outcomes from previous care regimes. However this appears to be a very limiting policy when there are an estimated 320,000 known orphans in the land. We need a change in policy in order to fulfil our vision to promote orphan villages staffed with trained adults looking after up to 500 children. These villages will include Primary and Secondary School provision, Health Centre, Farm and vocational training facility. The aim is to provide beds for life (or until a villager has reason to move out such as in the case of marriage).
TRACTORS WANTED
We are currently looking for 4 tractors, ploughs and other agricultural accessories to assist in the growing of more staple crops on 500 acres of land that we have access to and which is not currently being farmed.