LIFE’s Orphan Support Is Changing Young Lives in Sierra Leone

In Sierra Leone, a country still rebuilding decades after civil war and the Ebola epidemic, childhood is often defined by instability. More than half of the population lives below the national poverty line, and the loss of one or both parents remains common due to disease, economic hardship, and limited access to healthcare. For many children, the absence of a caregiver is not just an emotional rupture, but a practical one: school fees go unpaid, meals become irregular, and medical care is postponed or abandoned altogether. 

The consequences are visible across both urban neighborhoods and rural districts. Children who lose parental support frequently leave school early, entering street vending or informal labor to survive. In districts like Bombali, Bo, and Kailahun, families already stretched thin absorb orphaned relatives with little outside support. Education, often seen as the most reliable path out of poverty, becomes fragile. Without a consistent income, even modest school expenses can end a child’s formal learning indefinitely. 

It is within this context that Life for Relief and Development (LIFE) has focused its orphan sponsorship efforts in Sierra Leone. During the first quarter of 2025, LIFE directly supported 130 orphaned children across Western Urban, Western Rural, Bombali, Bo, Port Loko, and Kailahun districts. The program addressed immediate needs, food, clothing, healthcare, and school fees, while also restoring stability. With consistent sponsorship, children were able to remain enrolled in school, access medical care, and maintain personal bank accounts. An uncommon but deliberate step designed to build long-term financial awareness and resilience. 

The importance of this support extends beyond material assistance. For children who had dropped out of school or were at risk of doing so, sponsorship reintroduced routine and possibility. It reduced the pressure to work on the streets and allowed children to focus on learning rather than survival. The program also provided psychosocial reassurance: a clear message that their circumstances, however difficult, were not permanent and that people do care. 

For Bockarie Lahai, whose father died, leaving the family without income, the change was immediate. “After the death of my father, I was left without hope,” he said. “However, thanks to the intervention of LIFE and their sponsorship support, I now have hope for a good life with my own family one day.” 

Another beneficiary, Gibril Sharr, lost both parents at a young age and spent years moving through his community without consistent care. “I now live happily like any other child that is well cared for,” he said, noting that his education, food, and basic needs are now provided reliably. 

Taken together, these stories reflect more than individual relief. They point to a broader truth about humanitarian work in fragile settings: sustained, predictable support can interrupt cycles of loss. In Sierra Leone, where national recovery continues unevenly, programs like orphan sponsorship do not merely respond to crisis. They create continuity where there was none, and for children who have known disruption early, continuity may be the most transformative gift of all.