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 as 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.
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
In 2023, one of our partners altered their plans and ceased funding the interim care home, child protection work, reintegration services, and family strengthening supports we had been providing. The other two partners responded with increased support, recognizing the significant impact our services had on the wellbeing of children in the region and the importance of our continued success. We rebranded the organization, and began the work of registering as a local Sierra Leone NGO in our own right, with local autonomous management and a local governance board. Our partnerships with SLIMS and Helping Children Worldwide continue to this day, as we build toward total independence in managing our fundraising and facilities, as well as our services.
Sierra Leone is one of the poorest countries in the world, located on the Western Coast of West Africa. Over 71% of the world’s poorest children reside in Sub-Saharan Africa, and in Sierra Leone, the statistics about poverty, in particular child poverty, are particularly stark, and are headed in the wrong direction for ensuring family stability. That is the reason our work to create family resiliency to overcome future crisis through education and practical resources they can leverage in their community is increasingly important.
The Poorest Countries in the World – Focus Economics
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
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.
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.
Johnny Donoghue, Country Director, CFPS. September 2023