Deciding to tidy away Christmas cards in the bookshop at the weekend, Jan Foord found an envelope on the doorstep addressed to her, containing £1000 for the Health Centre in Sierra Leone from an anonymous donor. 

This wonderful gift will be added to a generous donation received before Christmas of £500 and funds generated from a December stall outside Zion Community Church, which totalled a further £500. 

And minutes after receiving Jan’s email, sharing the news of the ‘bookshop’ donation, to her surprise, Janet O’Shea received another donation of £1200 to put towards university fees for Abdul and Mariatu.

Praise God!

Abdul and Mariatu

Abdul and Mariatu are the two oldest children at Bethesda. At a very young age they were rescued from the streets of Freetown by Magnus Bendu and brought to live at Bethesda orphanage. He gave them a home, new brothers and sisters, and ensured that they had a good education and studied hard. Now their time at Bethesda is coming to an end and they are moving on to further education - something they could never have dreamed of doing living on the streets. 

When Janet visited Bethesda in 2018 with Bethany and Esther Green, they spoke to the children about their career aspirations and received many answers: Pastor, Doctor, Lawyer, Nurse, and even Prime Minister! 

Abdul and Mariatu have continued to apply themselves to their studies. Abdul has been appointed Head Boy and Mariatu is Student Chaplain. Both are working towards their final exams, and depending on the results, they will be eligble to go to university. Abdul hopes to study law and Mariatu hopes to study medicine.

An appeal was made at the end of 2020 by the Sierra Leone Mission for financial contribution towards the cost of enabling these bright, hardworking teenagers to achieve their dreams and go on to serve their communities. The estimated cost of Abdul’s four-year course is £542 and Mariatu’s seven-year course is estimated at £620. We thank God for his answer in prayer of bringing such a generous donation to the SLM to help these deserving young people gain access to opportunities that will change their lives! 

With the creation of the new Health Centre, it would be equally amazing if Mariatu will one day be able to work there.

Health Centre

The completion of the Health Centre will make a vital difference to people’s lives, as Magnus describes:

‘The healing ministry in Sierra Leone is a huge need. This is an even greater need for children whose health care facilities in Sierra Leone is one of the poorest in the world. For many years now, we have always been among the worst countries in terms of maternal, infant and child mortality rates. Beyond the statistics, I see this practically every now and then. Many children die of illnesses and diseases that could have been prevented with access to health care facilities. In the location where the new clinic is being built for instance, there is no specialized clinic or hospital for children in over 50 miles radius with very bad roads to add to the problem. The only hospital focused on children which is 28 miles away serves the entire city of Freetown and its environs, which means those from the rural areas will sometimes return with their children dead without going beyond the queue.’

Magnus adds:

‘The new clinic, which has been named the Ralph O’Shea Memorial Children’s Clinic will initially focus on providing primary health care for children and also treat other patients generally. The structural part of the building is at a very advanced stage. This is thanks to the SLM for supporting the initiative and to the late Morgan Pearce of the UK who mainly funded over 95% of the work done so far, yet preferred to be anonymous until his departure to be with the Lord on the day we started roofing. His legacy in Sierra Leone will never die.’

Thanks

The Connexion and the Sierra Leone Mission express huge thanks to all those who have so kindly and generously contributed to these life changing causes. We also give thanks to God for his amazing answer to prayer and need.

How to give to the Sierra Leone Mission 

Click on the Donations button at the top of the website page. This will take you through to the SLM donations account.

You can give by Bank Transfer to: 

Barclays
Sort code: 20-16-08 

Account number: 30799076 

Account name: Sierra Leone Mission 

If you would prefer, please send a cheque to: 

Janet Foord, 2 Cheyne Close, Church Milton Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 2SQ 

Every pound given, goes to support our brothers and sisters in Sierra Leone.