Magnus made four visits to see street children in recent months. Two were in the provinces, Makeni and Kono, and the others in Waterloo and Freetown Central.

(NB The photo featured is from Unsplash images, courtesy of Documerica. Magnus was not able to photograph children during his visits)

Magnus’ report

'In Makeni, I partnered with another children's home, and many children and youths turned up, including some with physical disabilities, which were probably caused by epilepsy. We gave them bread with sardines and Le50 each, and by 12.30am numbers grew to approximately 40 in an unfinished building. The partnering home also provided items of clothing for each of them. We were not able to take photos as a matter of policy, which argues that it's dehumanising.

'After Makeni, I visited a place called Mabella in Central Freetown, but we were unfortunately not able to share the bread and sardines properly. A group of big boys invaded us mid-way in our distribution of the food and also took my phone from Alie, a Connexion member, who was assisting me. They threatened us and told us to leave immediately, thinking that we were police officers. Thankfully, someone gave me another phone to replace the stolen one.

On 28 June, I also used our Council of Churches trip in Kono to visit the homeless children with one of the pastors, and by 1am there were large numbers of children present. On the whole, it was peaceful, but the unavoidable big boys also came to disrupt. They are all drug addicts of the popular 'Kush' drug, which nowadays makes visiting street children extremely risky. These bigger boys should not be out with the homeless, and girls are very difficult to meet now because they are very vulnerable to abuse, or may be housed by older females to use as prostitutes. At Kono, we were thankfully able to share around 45 parcels of food before the bigger boys arrived to disrupt us.'

Prayer for Magnus

Magnus works tirelessly to try to help and save these highly vulnerable children. We ask for prayer and support for him and this hugely important mission. 

About Kush

Over the past couple of years there has been a massive rise in drug taking among the children and in particular the drug ‘kush.’

Below is a YouTube clip explaining the real dangers of this drug, which is mixed with human bones. It is so addictive, users can become hooked after a single hit, then find themselves quickly trapped in a cycle of self-destruction. Working to help these children has become more dangerous as they are desperate for food.

 

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