Protecting Children and Strengthening Family. Services for strong and lasting bonds.
Wellington, Freetown, Sierra Leone
West Africa
Child and Family Permanency Services has been operating as a shelter for children in Sierra Leone since 2019. We were founded as the Child Prosperity Centre, and opened our doors on the campus of the Sierra Leone International Mission School in Wellington, Sierra Leone, a suburb of the national capital city of Freetown. We have been operating an interim care facility for children separated from their families, and a professional social services agency, working diligently to reintegrate the children in our care with their families and make their families whole again.
We are a recognized community resource in the Wellington Community and with the Sierra Leone government for children and families struggling to survive, not only so that children can be reunited, but also an agency that focuses on the entire family and community to build resiliency, so that families will be strengthened and able to care permanently and safely for their children. When placements with family members are not the correct solution for child safety, we seek family in community-based placements that will be permanent and nurturing for the child.
Very few of the available international community resources from the global north are directed to Sierra Leone, in part because of the poor infrastructure and destabilizing factors of economy and politics, which is why our work and the work of our partners there is crucial to the long-term stability and survival of these families and their children.
Our work to create family resiliency to overcome future crisis through education and practical resources our clients can leverage in their community after they are no longer in our care is increasingly important.
Child and Family Permanency Services Sierra Leone (CFPS Sierra Leone) is on a mission to
provide loving and safe environments for the vulnerable children of Sierra Leone.
We operate with a philosophy that we provide emergency and temporary assistance only, with a clear goal for those who we serve to be self-sufficient and fortified against future crisis after our short-term stabilizing interventions. Per the request of the government to aid in times of crisis, we also used the facility and staff resources to provide emergency housing to families effected by mudslides, fires and other disasters in the community to assist in restabilizing efforts.
Sierra Leone: Projected GDP per capita of USD 532 in 2026. Over the next several years, growth is seen only slightly above the average for Sub-Saharan Africa, leaving Sierra Leone as the third poorest country in the world in 2026.
Sep 28, 2023
CFPS works in Sierra Leone with local and national government officials, with local NGOs and INGOs, and community leaders.
In addition, we acknowledge the support of our international partners who help to underwrite this important work.
We are excited to introduce our latest project, “The Bridge” – a safe temporary place where beneficiaries can reside until contact tracing, family investigation, and attachment theory is carried out.
The Bridge is a crucial part of this mission. It will allow us to provide a secure interim care site where children can reside while we work to ensure their safety, reunite them with their families, and implement attachment theory.
While reintegration directly off the streets is possible in some circumstances, it is not the best way to work with extremely vulnerable children.
Support the Bridge for children.
Become a one-time or dedicated donor through our Family Empowerment Advocate Program.
“…Absolutely one of the best child reintegration services out there, the integrity, professionalism, and compassion of CFPS leadership is unsurpassed; we are proud to be associated with their work in child protection and family permanency…”
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Dr. Laura Horvath