CCTS
Review 31

by Paul Clifford, Freelance Consultant and RTC Associate

Introduction

I have been working with the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society (SLRCS) since the height of the civil war in 1999. This latest piece of work I was asked to do was commissioned by the British Red Cross Society (BRCS) in conjunction with SLRCS and was undertaken by me as an Associate of Responding To Conflict (RTC). The work was to evaluate the work of SLRCS’s Child Advocacy and Rehabilitation (CAR) programme in conjunction with a Sierra Leonean consultant hired by SLRCS.

The decade long civil war in Sierra Leone is one of the most brutal in history. As well as those who willingly fought the government, thousands of children were abducted from their families and were forced to become child soldiers or sexual and domestic slaves for the Revolutionary United Front (RUF). Many of the child soldiers were forced to commit atrocities against their own families and communities. This had the effect of traumatising the child soldiers and cutting them off from family and community and making them totally reliant on their new ‘family’, the RUF.

The child soldiers were mainly, but not exclusively, boys. The fate of the abducted girls was usually to be used and abused as domestic and sexual slaves. They might be assigned to a particular officer or passed around the men. Many of those who survived returned with children and/or sexually transmitted diseases.

When the war officially ended in 2002, the children were ‘free’. But, whereas there was a state rehabilitation process for the adults, there was no such provision for the children. Mostly unwelcome in their own communities, many of the boys slept rough and wandered aimlessly in gangs and many of the girls went into the commercial sex trade. They had lost their education so had no education or other skills to fall back on, to try and survive.

SLRCS, along with other agencies, set up programmes to work with some of these children. One of the difficulties SLRCS faced at the beginning of the work was that there were false rumours circulating during the war that the Red Cross movement had aided the RUF. This arose partly because of the Red Cross charter which states that they will offer humanitarian help to people regardless of their affiliation. Thus the Red Cross movement did give help in an impartial manner to people on both sides of the conflict. Because of these rumours, SLRCS had to overcome a lot of hostility and suspicion from some communities.

There are five centres currently operating: in Waterloo, just outside of Freetown, in the west of the country, in Port Loko, Kambia and Kabala in the north and in Kailahaun in the east. These are areas that were behind RUF lines for most, if not all, of the war, and where people suffered greatly. Waterloo was the first to start in 2000 (before the war had ended) and Kailahaun, the last in 2005.

There is an initial assessment undertaken by the Red Cross branch and staff in each area, to assess the need based on agreed criteria. The branches play an important role in community sensitisation and getting the crucial support of local chiefs. Community sensitisation is undertaken with communities to explain the aims of the project and to advocate on behalf of the children in order to meet the eventual aim of reintegrating the children back into their communities. This is particularly relevant because of the hostility many of the communities were feeling towards their children for their roles during the war and their behaviour after it.
This is followed by a registration of children, according to the project criteria. The community is involved in this process, bringing vulnerable children to the attention of staff; this is important to get the community involved from the outset. Hundreds more children meet the criteria for registration than can be accommodated on the project since each centre can only accept 150 children per year. A selection of the most vulnerable children is thus made by the CAR centre staff, with priority often being given to girls and especially, child mothers. This means that, overall, more girls than boys are accepted at the centres, though the numbers and ratio varies from centre to centre, as the circumstances in each catchment area are different.

The programme is designed with a number of components. The 14-18 year olds undertake a 10 month training whilst the 10-13 year olds spend a minimum of 3 months at the centres. Basic training is given to all children in literacy and numeracy. Each child is allocated an activist as counsellor and key worker to give trauma counselling and healing (each activist has a caseload of 15 children). A meal is provided for each child each day, which for many is their only meal of the day.

After the basic training the 10-13 year olds then leave the centres to go to school while the 14- 18 year olds are trained in a specific trade in order that they become self reliant. There is a range of sporting and social activities and education on health related issues. Activists keep in touch with the families of current beneficiaries and undertake follow up on past beneficiaries. Community sensitisation work continues, including issues of child protection and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and regular meetings are held with parents/guardians. Community support activities are undertaken to try and ensure that the children return to child friendly communities. These activities are also designed to alleviate the plight of these communities following the war and to raise the profile of the Red Cross. Upon graduation each child is given a start up kit to help them establish themselves in their chosen trade. The centres meet with the communities to sensitise on the purpose of the start up kit and that it cannot be sold. They also advocate with the communities to help the children get established, sometimes paying rent and creating structures for them to work in.

By the end of 2005, some 2400 children had enrolled in CAR centre programmes: 1565 had graduated, 750 were enrolled on current programmes and 85 did not graduate.

All the testimonies we received from the beneficiaries themselves, project staff and the communities described the beneficiaries as being traumatised when they enrolled at the centre. Through counselling by the activists, the attitudes and behaviour of the children have changed dramatically. Previously withdrawn children are now participating; previously wild and unruly children are now behaving in a disciplined and respectful way. The communities are delighted at the change in the children and are welcoming back children they had previously rejected.

Many of the beneficiaries attested to the fact that they felt isolated and uncared for prior to coming to the centre. Current and past beneficiaries described how they have made good friends at the centre and feel part of a strong peer group. Many of the past beneficiaries are now working in co-operatives with their peers. We witnessed for ourselves very positive interactions between beneficiaries. It is inevitable that some tensions do arise. Wherever possible these are dealt with immediately by staff and where appropriate through counselling.

Child and human rights are promoted and advocated in the communities through the use of regular community sensitisation activities. Communities are informed about relevant provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). They are also informed about how to deal with traumatised children and their responsibility towards enhancing the welfare of the children. They are encouraged to see the children as useful members of the community rather than as problems. They are also encouraged to provide protection for the children during difficult times.

All the past beneficiaries we spoke to attested that the skills they learned at the centre have given them the possibility to generate income and become more self-reliant. The start-up kits have allowed them to set up in business, become apprentices or work in their own communities. Inevitably some are more successful than others and some are struggling to generate enough income because of the poverty of the communities in which they live. Some of the centres help where they can by paying initial rent for premises, helping them get apprenticeships and by constructing production centres where the beneficiaries can work co-operatively. Some centres also lobby on their behalf to get contracts for them to help them get started. Many of the beneficiaries we spoke to talked to us about their development plans.

Some of the communities have been helped through community development activities such as micro credit, seed rice, animal re-stocking, stores, dry floors and sinking of wells in co-operation with the branches and other agencies. The communities are also benefiting through the skills the beneficiaries bring back, such as re-building, furniture making, clothes making and sewing, agricultural skills and baking. Many of the beneficiaries are also teaching the skills they have learned to others in the community, creating a multiplier effect.

All the communities we talked to expressed great satisfaction at the work the centres undertake with the beneficiaries. By their own admission, many had given up on the children and did not believe that it was possible for them to change. Even at Kailahaun, which has only just started, parents were expressing their admiration for the staff and the way they work with the beneficiaries, bringing about positive changes in their attitudes and behaviour. They are appreciative of the basic literacy and numeracy skills which enable the younger children to go on to school and the older children to carry out their trade. They appreciate the support given to the younger children throughout their first year at school; the start-up kits for the older children as this helps the children get established in their chosen trade; the seeds and tools given to agriculture students as these are a benefit for the whole community; the efforts the centres make to help the children get established, such as paying rent and building production centres; the skills the beneficiaries bring back, which did not previously exist in the communities and from which community members benefit.

The communities also value the community support that they receive from the centre. One community had used the micro credit facility from the centre to set up a revolving fund, which has grown enormously and has benefited a large number of them. Others had used the seed rice they had been given not only to help themselves but also other neighbouring communities. The community support has also promoted group work, where community members work co-operatively with each other, e.g., creating a market garden. This fosters unity in the communities and is much appreciated by them.

The satisfaction the communities feel is also indicated by their desire for the centres to continue their work in future and all the communities stated that there were lots more children in their own and other communities that would benefit from attending the centres.

The dissatisfaction the communities expressed was that they need more community support than they are being given. Many expressed problems concerning water and sanitation, the need for proper structures for primary schools, the desire for more micro credit, especially the women, who are normally the primary carers for the children. Some of the communities expressed the need for better feeder roads, including the repair and construction of bridges.

The work that SLRCS has undertaken in its CAR centres is tremendous, as attested to by the beneficiaries themselves and the communities they come from. One of the difficulties is that these and other centres are only able to deal with relatively small numbers of the war-affected children. There are still thousands of traumatised children who have not had the benefit of attending one of these programmes.

Another difficulty is that Sierra Leone remains one of the poorest countries on earth. Large numbers of people do not have access to sufficient food, safe drinking water or adequate health care. Unemployment is still very high and corruption is still endemic.
One of the main factors giving rise to the war was the disaffection and alienation of youth, who felt that they were completely marginalised within society. Unless these issues of poverty, unemployment and corruption are addressed, there is a real danger that large numbers of youths will remain disaffected and alienated and that, at some point in the future, they may once again join a violent movement whose aim is to overthrow the government.

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