Enable the Children Beach Outing

World Hope International’s Enable the Children Project in Sierra Leone is serving families with disabilities in Sierra Leone. Their website shares, “Poor health care contributes to high rates of physical and mental disability in Sierra Leone. Unfortunately, a widespread cultural misunderstanding of disability, complicated by the lack of health care or other public support services, makes children living with physical and mental disabilities some of the world’s most vulnerable children. Extensive poverty, traditional beliefs, and illiteracy often leave the affected children rejected or abandoned and seen as a curse on their family.”  The organization provides therapy services to more than one thousand children living with disabilities in Freetown.

For many years, Enable the Children has worked with The Raining Season’s Hope Apartment to support children we care for with special needs. Their staff visits the center, teaching our caregivers how to help the children using play, developmental positioning, and feeding support. This allows our staff to continue supporting the children in a practical way that increases the children’s quality of life. The physio team does physical therapy with some of the children and has also provided equipment such as tilted chairs, standing frames, and splints for both upper and lower limbs to help the children.

This past Saturday, five children and five staff members from the Hope Apartment had the opportunity to attend World Hope International’s annual Enable the Children’s Beach Outing. This event invites families and children living with disabilities across Sierra Leone to help strengthen the community, empower families, and reduce the stigma. Approximately two thousand people attended the event this year, held at Abeerdeen Beach in Freetown. During their time there, our children and staff enjoyed eating and dancing. 

We are thankful that other organizations, like World Hope International, are working to support and advocate for some of the most vulnerable in Sierra Leone. We are grateful for their hearts and desire to empower those living with disabilities and their caregivers. Thank you, World Hope International, for inviting The Raining Season to your event. Thank you for your time and effort in planning this event for so many children and families in Sierra Leone. Our children and staff enjoyed the outing and the opportunity to connect with others.

Many blessings,

The Raining Season