22 Mar Sierra Leone based orphanage
DAWN Aid (Delivering Aid Where Needed) is a UK Registered Charity founded by David Johnson, founder and CEO of EOS Risk Group, a UK based global security risk consulting practice. The charity is driven by the Christian faith of its founder and follows these principles.
The mission of DAWN Aid is to invest in projects that assist child victims of conflict.
The funding of DAWN Aid is provided by yearly tithing from EOS Risk Group, based on a percentage of yearly Group profits. Since its foundation, donations and investment in the charity by EOS Risk Group have exceeded $150,000 USD.
2022 Investment in House of Promise – Sierra Leone based orphanage
Sierra Leone is situated in West Africa and it is bordered by Guinea to the northeast, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the southwest. The country has a total area of 71,740 sq. km (27,699 sq. mi) and with a population of 7.1 million (2015 Census), 2 million of which currently inhabit the capital, Freetown. Islam is the major religion in the country.
Sierra Leone was granted full independence from the United Kingdom in April 1961. The Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) were victorious in the first elections held in May 1962. This was followed by military rule and a subsequent election in 1967 when democracy was restored.
Corruption in the politics of Sierra Leone became rife (and is still so) to such an extent that civil war broke out in 1991. In this war, tens of thousands died and over one third of the population was displaced. The underlying sense of injustice, that the ruling classes were benefiting from the income generated from the natural resources, especially diamond mining, whilst the poor grew poorer still was largely responsible for this war. Today the poor are even more destitute whilst the affluent grow even richer.
Figures from UNICEF (2006) indicate that there are some 320,000 orphans in Sierra Leone, out of a population of just over six million then. This number is likely to have increased. The high illiteracy rates coupled with extreme poverty make the life outcomes for these children really bleak. Poor families cannot offer a home to an orphaned child as they are barely able to provide for their own children, let alone one who is severely traumatised.
Houses Of Promise – the charity
Houses of PromisE (HoPE) was born out of a strong desire to support children in Sierra Leone who were victims of the Civil War. Our mission is defined as for the public benefit, the advancement of the Christian faith by, but not limited to, relieving the needs of orphaned children in Sierra Leone, and providing practical and financial support to churches, missions and ministry leaders in Sierra Leone to enable them to carry out evangelism and missionary work and deliver charitable projects in disadvantaged communities.
The chairman, Pastor Alieu Amara & his wife Kadie, both originally from Sierra Leone, have good contacts on the ground and a sound understanding of the local culture. They have a vision and passion to reach out and support orphaned children. They desire to build a network of homes that will House, Clothe, Feed, Educate & Support these children, providing them a future filled with hope.
The Project
Back in 2017, Pastor Alieu & Kadie worked with two churches to purchase a piece of land in Kent, near Freetown. The churches supported the initial construction for an Orphanage. The Orphanage is now weather-proof, but the churches felt it would be better for a separate charity to be set up, dedicated to completing the work and running the Orphanage.
In 2021, Houses of Promise was established as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO), with its own board of trustees, who are now wholly responsible for overseeing the rest of the build and overseeing the operation of the orphanage when opened. The expectation is that Orphans will be housed within the next few years.
Currently, the project needs finances to progress the work in the following areas….
⦁ Electricity – Solar Panels, batteries, wiring, installation, etc.
⦁ Water – Plumbing (we have already purchased a large water tank)
⦁ Mechanically drilled Well – an on-site well to provide continuous water supply in the dry season
⦁ Interior decoration and furnishing
⦁ Kitchen
⦁ Sanitaryware
⦁ Landscaping
The photos below show some of the build to date.
Early ground-breaking and foundational work
Early construction work
Interior work and the installed 5000 litre water tank
A frontal view of the building
Construction of the perimeter walls