Sierra Leone
Our work there at a glance:
- Support for children's hospital in Freetown
- Running a shelter for street children
- Skill Support (financial support for training)
- Deployment of medical staff and social workers
- Further training of local staff
- Hygiene project in the slums
Our goals
Rebuilding the medical infrastructure.
Rebuilding the medical infrastructure.
Physical and psychological support for street children.
Physical and psychological support for street children.
School education and (re)integration in families and schools.
School education and (re)integration in families and schools.
Musicumentary in Sierra Leone
Mirta – Revolución feat. Gert Kapo, Roland Peil & Regis Molina
Latest news
Project reports
Counteracting the High Child Mortality Rate in Sierra Leone
The high child mortality rate continues to be a major global challenge. The mortality rates of newborns and infants in Sierra Leone are among the highest in the world at 34 and 82 per 1,000 live births respectively.
Outreach as pediatrician for Cap Anamur in Sierra Leone
Friederike Scheu spent six months working for Cap Anamur in Sierra Leone. As a pediatrician, she has worked at the largest children's hospital in the country. During her assignment, she gained a lot of experience. Among other things, that the work in Sierra Leone is very different from that in Germany.
Rebuilding the Medical Infrastructure
Cap Anamur has been working in Sierra Leone since 2003 to rebuild the completely collapsed health system. In Freetown, we operate the Ola During Childrens Hospital. There, deployed medical professionals also work to care for the children and provide continuing education to medical staff.
Street Children Learn for an Independent Life
In the street children's shelter Pikin Paddy, we give boys and girls a perspective through various projects so that they can shape their lives independently in the future. In addition to school support, we also offer interested young people the opportunity to learn craft skills that they can use for professional purposes.
A Day of Games, Fun and a Colorful Carousel
From morning until early afternoon, up to 600 children from the slum area were given the opportunity to ride on a carousel for the first time in their lives.
Our Skill Support Offers Children and Young People a Perspective
In Sierra Leone, we want to create a perspective for the street children in Freetown. In addition to reunification with the families, we also support the boys and girls to go back to school or to complete an education.
Key health data
Life expectancy
60/54 years
(women/men)
Infant mortality
69
per 1,000 births
Doctors
0,1
per 1,000 inhabitants
Cap Anamur engagement in Sierra Leone
1988 – 1999
2003 – today
The situation in Sierra Leone
Political situation
A long civil war in the 1990s destroyed large parts of the country. Social structures such as politics and the economy or the health and education systems collapsed at that time. There were no longer any prospects for the future, certainly not for the traumatised children, thousands of whom had been forced to participate in the war as armed soldiers. The situation in the country has been difficult ever since.
Social situation.
After years of rebuilding, the Ebola virus ravaged West Africa between 2014 and 2016, killing nearly 4,000 people in Sierra Leone alone. Once again, the health care system was shut down across the country.
In the capital Freetown, there are also countless children living on the streets who have left their families for various reasons and are now on their own. Defenceless against the dangers of the big city, the mostly minors try to earn their living with odd jobs.
Since 2003, Cap Anamur has once more been active in Sierra Leone with the reconstruction of the medical infrastructure as well as comprehensive aid for street children.
On the road in the slums of Freetown: Dr Werner Strahl (Chairman of Cap Anamur) talking to children.
Our engagement in Sierra Leone
Ola During Childrens Hospital (ODCH)
Ola During Childrens Hospital (ODCH)
Cap Anamur looks after a children’s hospital in Freetown, the country’s capital. Here, we organize and finance the delivery of medicines and medical equipment, as well as the construction and repair of buildings and the hospital’s infrastructure. We send medical staff to treat patients, but also train local staff and optimize administrative processes in the wards and in management.
"Pikin Paddy" shelter for street children
"Pikin Paddy" shelter for street children
By running a shelter for street children, we ensure that those affected receive psychosocial and other support through us. There are school-like classes, the children can participate in the sports and creative programme, get regular meals and a safe place to sleep, and receive medical care, if needed. The support culminates in the re-placement of the children with their families and schools.
Hygiene project
Hygiene project
We have installed a hygiene project in the slums of Freetown. Cap Anamur started the hygiene project as a preventive measure during the Ebola epidemic and it is still running today. A total of ten toilet blocks there are cleaned and stocked with hygiene products three to four times a day by 26 local staff. About 2,000 people visit these toilets daily.
What happens next
Five years after Ebola, the health system in Sierra Leone has still not been restored. Moreover, since 2020, the Corona pandemic has led to significant limitations in medical care. That is why we will continue to support this hospital, which is so important for the country, in 2023 with technical, personnel and financial support.
