The Sierra Leone mudslide is truly awful and hearing stories first hand this week makes you almost cry.
Yet the tragedy of Sierra Leone slums go on. As Home Leone is focused on a long term low cost housing and community development solution, we decided to take help to those we are working with in the flooded slums of Freetown.
We delivered rice, clean water and sardines to 130 families across Freetown with funds given to help. To hear peoples comments and how helpful it is to desperate families is moving. Below are a couple of peoples stories
Hawa
Hawa is a 38 year old widow who lost her husband whilst pregnant with her 5th child. The children are 12/11/9/6/3. She lives in a mud house in Clienetown slum on the East side of Freetwhich has a bedroom and parlour. She thinks the whole space is 2m x 4m. Each month she pays 50,000 ($7) for rent. The owner reclaimed land from the sea, built a shack on it and rent’s to Hawa. This is built below the water table so each rainy season for the past 3 years, water comes up through the floor to about 30cm. Hawa and the children then manage to sleep above the water.
She has all her children in school and tries many ways to save to pay for the fees and look after these children. She went right thorough school to 18 but is unskilled, though would be keen to learn anything.
She is a water seller. She buys her bundles of water for 2,500 Leones and then sells them at 2 for 500 making a profit of 2,500 per bundle. She also makes sousou, a local dish to sell.
She battles each day but has a sense of hopelessness as cannot see how things will change.
Mohamed
Mohamed is aged 27 and never married but looks after his 10 year old son. He reclaimed land from the sea and built a shack on it in which he lives. For the first few years it was fine but has flooded for the past 3 years, for about 6 weeks through the rainy season. The house is made of mud and tin, the idea someone lives in it is dreadful. For toilets, they use communal toilet long drops and this is open air.
He has lots of initiative and works hard. He failed his exams at 18 but wants to take it again. He has a job working on airport engines which pays him the minimum wage of 500,000 Leones ($67) per month. He has received training funded by YMCA. He is desperate to leave the slum community but believs he needs about 1 million Leones ($135) to do so to get started elsewhere. Tel 077 310694. He has a passion and hope to make the future better but the current challenges are almost overwhelming, especially when he or his son gets sick.