The Council of Churches in Sierra Leone (CCSL) is an umbrella Christian Organization comprised of twenty Protestant church denominations and ten para-church organizations.\u00a0 The Council exists to empower and work with its member bodies and communities to fulfill their ministries in obedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
In the 2011 population estimate, Sierra Leone\u2019s population totaled 6 million; of that number 2.3 million were 18 years old and younger.\u00a0 Within this population are an increased number of street children.\u00a0\u00a0 Several local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) including the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone (CCSL), are trying to address this issue by working with street children in an effort to reduce their numbers and reduce their vulnerability level.\u00a0 The current economic situation in the country has led to an increased level of hardship for these unfortunate street children.<\/p>\n
The Council of Churches in Sierra Leone (CCSL) has identified 140 vulnerable children between the ages six to 18 years among the street children in the City of Kenema in the Eastern Region of Sierra Leone.\u00a0 These children are described as particularly vulnerable.\u00a0 Some have parents who are blind beggars, some are children of physically handicapped parents, and others are the \u201ctrue street children\u201d \u2013 those abandoned or separated from parents and relatives or whose parents have died.\u00a0\u00a0 These children are those without recourse and resources to shape their lives and guarantee a positive future.<\/p>\n
At present CCSL has a program in Kenema where it is providing educational assistance to seventy children.\u00a0 Thirty-one of these children are in the secondary school level, with the remaining 39 in the primary school level.\u00a0 Due to the number of street children, CCSL has decided to increase the number of street children it is presently assisting from the current number of 70 to 140 to include all of those mentioned above.<\/p>\n
To improve the quality of life of these vulnerable children and orphans and their caregivers in Kenema, CCSL will provide educational assistance, caregiving, love, and support.\u00a0 They hope to provide educational support for children currently living in the street and reintegration of many of these children back into their family units.\u00a0 CCSL also will provide women with basic business skills and provide parents and\/or caregivers with income-generating loans.<\/p>\n
CCSL hopes these interventions will result in the following:<\/p>\n
Successful implementation of this program will require collaboration, awareness-raising, participation, monitoring, evaluation, and sustainability.\u00a0 Parents and guardians will be encouraged to continue to keep their children in school.\u00a0 The government and other stakeholders will be encouraged to establish and carry out policies to keep the children out of the streets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","region":[20007,20030],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n