Bethesda Orphanage in Brama, Sierra Leone was originally founded in 2013 to provide a place for children to come for food. But on one particularly rainy night in September 2013 the visiting children asked to stay, thus beginning the future of Bethesda as a full-time home and sanctuary. 

Today Bethesda accommodates 19 children, who now live in a purpose built home that was constructed in 2016, following a miraculous answer to prayer.

The house is run by Magnus Bendu, assisted by Marie the ‘House Mum’ who takes care of the home, meals and the children’s general needs and James, the ‘House Dad’, who gives the children extra tuition and is responsible for the maintenance of the building. The Orphanage also has a security man who lives on site.

The aim of Bethesda is to rescue abandoned or ‘lost’ children from the streets and give them a secure and loving Christian environment in which they can grow and thrive.

Many of the children are unaware of their exact age, but roughly they range from 8 to 18 years. Two of the older children, Abdul and Mariatu, are leaving to start University, but Bethesda will still remain their home.

Funding the Orphanage relies entirely on charitable donations, much of which comes through the Sierra Leone Mission; as does the raising of additional money to keep the children healthy and enable them to reach their potential.

Sponsoring a child is invaluable in helping to achieve this. The sum of £27 per month gives enough to cover the cost of food, clothes, health care and education for one child.

If you, or your church, would like to sponsor one of the children, please get in touch with Janet O’Shea: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Janet will then send you details of the child you are helping and set up a standing order. Your sponsorship has the power change a child’s life completely, so please do consider.

Thank you!

(The photo shows the children of Bethesda Orphanage, pictured with Magnus Bendu on Christmas Day 2021)

Following the generous support for Abdul's and Mariatu's progression to university, the two students from Bethesda Orphanage in Sierra Leone, would like to express their gratitude.

Thanks from Abdul

Our destiny is not created by the shoes we wear but by the steps we take. This is to express my gratitude and how thankful and happy I am with what is happening to me. Words are not enough to express my happiness and gratefulness to all of you. It is with vast pleasure that I send this special thanks from me, Abdul Mansaray, to all of you who conferred as a body to support me and my educational career in order to see me become a renowned person in the world at large. As Christians, we must always welcome the lost and receive people of all kind with Christ's love to support the weak and needy.  

Let me take this opportunity to thank you all for the support you are giving me. This support has a great impact in my life, thinking back where Bethesda took me from. If I was not taken from my past life as a small boy 12 years ago, by now I would have been hopeless or in prison or dead. 

Today I am talking about University. As I go to College I am going with a rest heart as you have given me a computer and a phone which will make learning easy for me. I really appreciate them and may God bless you. I promise to make you proud and to assure you that I will do my best to fulfil my aspirations. Please continue to pray for us, for God's direction and protection.  

Thanks from Mariatu

On behalf of all of the children at Bethesda at Brama Town in Sierra Leone West Africa, I would like to thank you all for your generous support to the orphanage. I am happy to tell you that your generous and selfless support made me achieve more than I ever imagined. 

Everything that has happened to me is just like a dream. Through your unimaginable support, you have made us achieve personal happiness, social life and academic success. We have gradually progressed from one stage to the other, just because of your support. If it were not for you, we would not have come this far. Besides academic achievement, our ways of life have been transformed morally and we have also influenced our peers to something good. As a member of Bethesda, you have made me understand the importance of helping the poor and needy. Your investment in my life will never go in vain because when my life fully succeeds, I will try very hard to replicate your generosity and kindness to hopeless children wherever they are, in the street, at homes or the villages. This is closest to my heart. 

Kindly note that my achievement this far couldn't be done without your intervention in my life. Therefore, I deeply appreciate your willingness and determination to come in and sponsor us. We hope and wish that our association and relationship will be maintained even in the future. Together we can always change the world to become a better place. Thank you.

A serious fire broke out in the early hours of 21 February at the Milton Margai School for the Blind in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

The fire ignited at the centre of the school building, which cut off a means of escape for the 30 resident girls who were asleep in their dormitory. Matron raised the alarm and she, with members of the local community, bravely ran through the flames to rescue the pupils. 

Thankfully, there were no fatalities and none of the girls are badly hurt, but they are receiving counselling to help them to deal with the effects of trauma.

Sierra Leone Mission has donated £1000 to help with the initial rebuilding costs, and any further donations would be greatly welcomed to assist the school.

To Donate

If you would like to make a donation, please click on the Donations button, located at the top of each website page. Please state if you would like your donation to go towards a particular project.

Alternatively donate by Bank Transfer:

Barclays Bank
Sort code: 20-16-08, Account number: 30799076, Account name: Sierra Leone Mission 

(NB We are very grateful to receive anonymous donations, but when making a bank transfer donation, the donor's name is needed for auditing purposes. Please be assured this information will remain private.)

Or send a cheque to:

Sierra Leone Mission. Postal address: Janet Foord, 2 Cheyne Close, Church Milton, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 2SQ

You may recall an article we posted on the website this time last year about Abdul and Mariatu. They are the two oldest children at Bethesda Orphanage, having been rescued at a very young age from the streets of Freetown by Magnus Bendu. They were brought to live at Bethesda, which gave them a home, new brothers and sisters, and ensured that they had a good education with opportunities to study hard.

With their time at Bethesda coming to an end Abdul and Mariatu were making plans to move on to further education - something they could never have dreamed of doing living on the streets. 

They continued to apply themselves to their studies throughout their time at Bethesda. Abdul was appointed Head Boy and Mariatu was elected Student Chaplain. Having worked hard for their final exams, they hoped for results that would make them eligible to gain a place at University. Abdul to study law and Mariatu 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 the next stage of their education. The estimated cost of Abdul’s four-year course was £542 and Mariatu’s seven-year course was then estimated at £620. Thanks be to God for his answer to prayer in bringing a generous donation to the SLM to enable them the possibility of going to University. 

We are now delighted to inform you that both Abdul and Mariatu received good exam grades and as a result have been able to apply for University courses. Abdul had at one time considered studying Law, but decided to apply for a BSc course in Computer Science, as an alternative, at the Canadian University of Modern Technology. During his application interview, however, he was advised to switch to Mass Communication. This option  reduces the need for a strong background in science (which has been limited for Abdul) and also offers a path to study Law as further study. Mariatu continues to seek a career in medicine and has successfully gained a place on a BSc course in nursing at Njala University. 

We are hugely thankful to the sponsors who came forward with money to cover Abdul's and Mariatu's University tuition fees (which have since doubled). However there are still additional costs that have not yet been funded...  

Both Abdul and Mariatu will need a personal computer and mobile phone. The computers are estimated at £368 each and the phones are £103 each. In addition, the costs that will be incurred for their food is estimated at £23 per month.

Prayer is a marvellous thing and every time help is needed, God prompts the right people to come forward. Our prayer today is that God will again prompt 'someone out there' who may consider making a contribution, or perhaps a one-off payment, to cover these additional costs. And in doing so they will enable a hugely exciting and beneficial adventure for two street children.

Thanks be to God!

Donate

If you would like to make a donation, please click on the Donations button, located at the top of each website page. Please state if you would like your donation to go towards a particular project (eg Abdul and Mariatu).

Alternatively donate by Bank Transfer:

Barclays Bank
Sort code: 20-16-08, Account number: 30799076, Account name: Sierra Leone Mission 

(NB We are very grateful to receive anonymous donations. When making a bank transfer donation, the donor's name is needed for auditing purposes, but this information will remain private.)

Or send a cheque to:

Sierra Leone Mission. Postal address: Janet Foord, 2 Cheyne Close, Church Milton, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 2SQ

Our communities of children in Sierra Leone were delighted to receive their shoe bags on Christmas Day.

Especially excited were the children at our new church in Kamakontakay, who had never seen a shoe bag before - let alone receive one!

The shoe bags contain treats and toys donated and packed by members of our Connexion churches in the UK. These gifts are an extra special gift for our Sierra Leone children, whose families live hand to mouth and are unable to afford toys and treats. 

Bethesda

On Christmas Eve the children from our orphanage in Bethesda had fun day trip to Bureh Town beach. They were invited to the beach by the charity, Home Leone, who very kindly covered the cost of the outing.  

On Christmas Day they attended church, where they received their shoe bags, before going on to enjoy a special Christmas lunch of chicken, which was generously funded by Ebley Chapel in Stroud.  

Donate

If you would like to make a donation towards our mission in Sierra Leone, please click on the Donations button, located at the top of each website page. Please state if you would like your donation to go towards a particular project.

Alternatively donate by Bank Transfer:

Barclays Bank
Sort code: 20-16-08, Account number: 30799076, Account name: Sierra Leone Mission 

Or send a cheque to:

Sierra Leone Mission. Postal address: Janet Foord, 2 Cheyne Close, Church Milton, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 2SQ

The container of goods and treats for our communities in Sierra Leone arrived on 4 December this year – in good time for Christmas.

The shipments contain a variety of goods and treats, which are hugely appreciated, including bedding, towels, books, clothing, toys and the all-important shoe bags of treats and Christmas presents, put together by our dedicated church members in the UK. 

We have since been sent some lovely photos of the children in Brama School proudly wearing their new jumpers, cardigans and hats.

Last year the containers were stuck at Freetown docks for several weeks before being released, which was frustrating for all concerned and involved higher duties needing to be paid. This year, thankfully, things ran more smoothly at the destination port, though the journey was not without a few hassles on the way from St Ives to Crawley for transportation! 

Read on to hear the tale from Janet O’Shea. 

Sunday 17 October

The St.Ives team gathered to load two Luton vans to the gunnels with boxes ready for transporting them to Redcoat at Crawley, a round trip of 591.4 miles, which should take 6 hours 3 minutes each way. Van 1 was driven by Mark accompanied by his wife Kirsty and my son-in-law Andy and Van 2 was driven by Naomi, a retired midwife, who was recovering from a broken arm, plus Nina (my granddaughter) and me - nurturing a back problem. 

Monday 18 October at 7.00am

First hitch of the day. Van 1 has two flat tyres and Van 2 needed some coaxing to get out of the car park. This may have given a warning light to Nina, who has experienced a few other ‘adventures’ in the company of her grandmother, but filled with positivity we pressed on and upwards via the A30. 

We cheered as we passed from Cornwall into Devon. Mark was ahead, but he needed to get to a garage because an engine light had suddenly appeared. Losing power is never good, God is always good, and Mark was able to pull over into a ‘proper’ lay by before the cabin filled with smoke! At this point Nina gave me a look of ‘I don’t believe this!’ 

The rental firm was contacted and we were told to stay put. Two and a half hours later a young man arrived with a ‘replacement’ van. You really have to picture this: three ladies, one with a broken arm, another with a bad back, young Nina and a young man whose job description does not include packing boxes into a van – in the pouring rain!

With sleeves rolled up we heaved, hauled, pushed and forced the boxes from the broken van to the other, now named Van 2b. It took us an hour and a half to nearly complete the job, but we really struggled to fit in seven banana boxes full of shoes. 

Later on we found out that the ill-fated Van 2 had burnt a hole in the piston and needed a tow truck to travel up from West Cornwall to retrieve it – and on its return journey the van was also involved in an accident! 

Meanwhile, we had a mission, to arrive at Redcoat by the 5:00pm deadline – and by now it was 2:00pm. We’d learned that Van 1 had arrived and unloaded, with the crew waiting for us at Crawley ready to unload our van. We finally arrived at 5:02pm and it took a further hour to load the container.

At 6:15pm Van 1 and Van 2b left Crawley for the journey home. It’s all downhill so it shouldn’t take long!! By this time the occupants of Van 2b were starving and desperately needed the rest room – but we vowed to get onto the A303 before we stopped. 

The Mattia diner seemed like a good place to stop so we checked the opening times and found that it shut at 9:00pm. Great! Visions of a burger and a visit to the ladies room filled our minds. We arrived at 8:10pm to be told that last orders were at 8:00pm. Okay, we thought, but asked if we use the rest room. No, was the response we’d have to use the garage loos. The garage loos were out of order, so we returned to the restaurant to explain our situation, but they wouldn’t let us in!

We happily found a much-needed stop before we set off to Exeter and the last leg of our journey. We eventually arrived back at our respective homes at 1:15am Tuesday morning. 

So, would I do it again? The simple answer is ‘Yes!’ I have personally had the privilege of accompanying Magnus as he distributes clothes, bedding, towels, sleeping bags etc, all in the name of Jesus. Then there are the shoe bags. Who doesn’t want to bring joy to children who have nothing? 

This shipment definitely came with some challenges, and I did not disappoint my granddaughter. We certainly had another adventure! 

A special dedication service was held last Sunday at Mile 91, Sierra Leone, attended by Connexion pastors and members of the local community. The school, where the service was held, is named Mile 91 because it is exactly 91 miles from Freetown.

Your prayers are always welcomed for the Connexion schools, orphanage and churches in Sierra Leone. 

If you would like to make a donation to help to support the local communities please see details below:

Donations via website

Please click on the Donations button, located at the top of each website page. If you would prefer your donation to go towards a particular project, please state.

Alternatively Donate by Bank Transfer 

Barclays Bank
Sort code: 20-16-08, Account number: 30799076, Account name: Sierra Leone Mission 

Or send a cheque

To: Sierra Leone Mission. Postal address: Janet Foord, 2 Cheyne Close, Church Milton, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 2SQ

A new church has been established in the village of Peterya in Kabala, Sierra Leone. 

Kabala is one of the main towns in Northern Sierra Leone, and has an ethnically diverse population. The community as a whole is predominantly Muslim, but there is also a substantial Christian minority. 

Pastor Mark, a keen evangelist, who attended the church at Bureh Town, will be leading the new church in Peterya.

Mark has also established a school for the village children in Peterya, which currently operates in a borrowed ‘parlour’.

The number of recorded cases of Covid 19 in Sierra Leone has thankfully remained low. Current figures record a total of 6396 cases and 121 deaths in a population of 8m. However, the testing and tracking infrastructure in Sierra Leone is limited, which means the actual case numbers may be considerably higher.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) also advise potential travellers to Sierra Leone to be aware that even basic medical services can be very difficult to access, particularly in villages and remote areas.

Our Connexion Minister, Magnus Bendu, has described ways in which the pandemic has affected Sierra Leone.

He recalls that when the virus first arrived, the whole country was gripped with panic following the memory of the earlier and deadly spread of Ebola in 2014. When news reports started to pour in of how quickly the virus was spreading and taking lives in Italy, Spain and the UK, this provided a stark and frightening reminder of how weak the medical system is in Sierra Leone.

The social and economic impact on the nation has been significant, despite the low infection and death rates from the virus. Prices of basic commodities and food have risen exponentially due to the nation’s dependence on imports, and the restriction of movement and normal activities has presented a further threat to an already weak economy. A large percentage of people in Sierra Leone have extremely low incomes and live hand-to-mouth in order to survive. 

Opposition to restrictions of movement and mask wearing were further exacerbated by a prevalent and ongoing mistrust of any Government in power, plus the disbelief by many people of the existence of the virus. 

A vaccination programme has begun in Sierra Leone, but the number of people who have received, or will be able to receive the inoculation, is small. 4% of the population have so far received one or more dose, and just 1.4% have been fully vaccinated.

(Magnus’ full report can be read in the autumn edition of The Voice)

Donate

To make a donation to help support our communities in Sierra Leone, click on the Donations button at the top of the website page. If you would like your donation to go to a particular project, eg the new Health Centre, please state.

Alternatively donate by Bank Transfer 

Barclays Bank
Sort code: 20-16-08, Account number: 30799076, Account name: Sierra Leone Mission 

Or send a cheque

To: Sierra Leone Mission. Postal address: Janet Foord, 2 Cheyne Close, Church Milton, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 2SQ 

In August we posted an article giving an update on progression of the new Health Centre in Brama, Sierra Leone, with an estimate from Magnus that a further £27,000 would be needed to complete the building work.

Following this, we were enormously thankful to receive an anonymous donation for £10,000. This was immediately sent to Magnus to enable him to purchase more building materials and continue with the construction. This week, we are even more delighted to announce the receipt of £17,000 from another anonymous donor!

Praise the Lord Almighty!

Once completed the Health Centre and patient wards will be able to serve communities from 35 villages in the local vicinity. Trained staff will work in the clinic and also support communities in the villages, helping them to improve general hygiene and implementing vaccination programmes. They will also be able to provide post-natal health care for mothers and their babies. 

There is a serious need for available health facilities in Sierra Leone and this centre will primarily serve children, babies and mothers. 

Sierra Leone Health Facts

• The child and infant mortality rate in England and Wales in 2018 was 3.8 per 1,000. In Sierra Leone it was 78 per 1,000. 
• Between January and March 2020 in Freetown alone there were 581 maternal deaths. 
• Maternal deaths account for 36% of all deaths amongst women aged 15 - 49 years. 
• Sierra Leone is the most dangerous place in the world to be pregnant. 
• There are only 245 doctors in Sierra Leone serving 7 million people. 
• 1 in 17 women won’t survive pregnancy or delivery. 
• 60% of population live below the poverty line. 
• 1 in 3 people do not have access to clean water. 
• 3 in 5 people live in rural areas. 
• MOST deaths could be prevented! 

Prices for building materials are continuing to rise in Sierra Leone – as they are globally. In light of this, we hesitate to confirm that these remarkable donations for £27,000 will be enough to fund the entire construction. There are likely to be hidden costs as well as further price increases.

Our prayers and huge thanks go to those who have so generously contributed to this important project, which will transform so many lives!

Donate

To make a donation to help support our communities in Sierra Leone, click on the Donations button at the top of the website page. If you would like your donation to go to a particular project, please state.

Alternatively donate by Bank Transfer 

Barclays Bank
Sort code: 20-16-08, Account number: 30799076, Account name: Sierra Leone Mission 

Or send a cheque

To: Sierra Leone Mission. Postal address: Janet Foord, 2 Cheyne Close, Church Milton, Sittingbourne, Kent, ME10 2SQ