Greetings! you may have seen the heartbreaking news that our founder Bishop John K. Yambasu has died as the result of a road accident in Freetown, Sierra Leone on Sunday August 16. As we mourn the loss of Bishop Yambasu's life, we remember with deepest gratitude his legacy of care for vulnerable children and families. Please read HCW Executive Director Melody Curtiss' tribute to Bishop Yambasu here.
Rev. Tom Berlin remembers his friend Bishop John Yambasu: "He had a deep calling of Christ to care for the vulnerable"
By Rev. Tom Berlin, Floris UMC Lead Pastor

I met [then Rev.] John Yambasu in 1997 when I took my first Volunteer in Mission trip to Sierra Leone in the midst of the country’s rebel war. Rev. Yambasu had a remarkable ability to engage people from anywhere in the world in ways that drew us into his joyful circle. It was obvious on that first trip that he was a man with natural leadership gifts and a deep desire to see the church become a blessing to his nation. Rev. Yambasu invited me to call him John, and as the week progressed and I knew we would be friends.
 
When rebels invaded Freetown in January 1999, John called me and said that he had to gather funds to get his family to a refugee camp in Guinea. I asked members of Floris UMC for their assistance and they offered the funds in one Sunday. I invited John to preach at Floris UMC to share the story of what was happening in his country. Floris UMC took up a “Millennial Offering” to mark 2000 years of the Christian faith by partnering with Rev. John Yambasu to start the Child Rescue Centre, whose initial mission was to care for children whose lives were severely impacted by the civil war.

Rev. Yambasu gathered 40 homeless children and began feeding operations that served many more. His work was driven by a deep calling of Christ to care for the vulnerable. His ongoing passion for this ministry inspired and convicted us to continue the work and sustain this vital ministry over the past 20 years. Later, as the Bishop of the Sierra Leone Annual Conference, he led the transformation of this ministry and renamed it the Child Reintegration Centre. Read more
NEWS ABOUT OUR PARTNERS IN SIERRA LEONE
CRC alumnus Abdulai Swaray follows his passion

​"I was born during the 'Blood Diamond' war in Sierra Leone, West Africa and I lived in the jungle from 1993-1998. I was rescued from the street by the Child Rescue Centre and in 2009, I graduated from the orphanage home and went off to university.

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Child Reintegration Centre prepares students for exams

While Sierra Leone schools remain partially closed due to the COVID pandemic, the Child Reintegration Centre education department has been holding test preparation classes for students facing promotional exams.

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"GO FOR BO" GOING VIRTUAL, JOIN US TO RUN OR WALK
Every year, Ebenezer UMC in Stafford, VA hosts "Go For Bo," a fun, healthy, community event to support the CRC and Mercy Hospital. This year, Go for Bo is going virtual! You can run or walk anytime between October 4-10 and log your results on the RaceJoy app, on the race site, or e-mail your results to the race director. Everyone is welcome to go at their own speed. Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 overall male and female runners. Early registrants get a dri-fit race shirt. Register to participate or donate at the links below.
"Virtual mission trip" connects educators from Sierra Leone and the US
By Sharon Gardner, literacy intervention teacher and First UMC of Colleyville Partner Church Representative
 
Jill Barker, Donna Edwards, Kerry Mueller and I, all educators, had the privilege of being part of a "virtual mission trip" to collaborate with Education Manager Mabel Mustapha and CRC Director Olivia Fonnie. Since the planned July 2020 mission trip to the CRC had to be cancelled due to COVID-19, our plans for a Teachers Learning Collaborative, Phase 3, had to be put on hold. 

TLC is an initiative for teacher-leaders from Sierra Leone to lead professional development for other teachers, assisted by educators from the US. Olivia and Mabel talked with HCW and asked if we would be interested in collaborating virtually, so that Mabel could share some of the training materials with teachers in schools. Mabel was also interested in learning more about study skill strategies.

We met several times online, and it was delightful! We discussed and shared information back and forth to support teachers and students.  This was a marvelous way to “go” to the CRC without leaving home, and to be in partnership with our sisters and brothers in Sierra Leone.

Interested in learning more about virtual or in-country mission opportunities? Email [email protected] for more information.
Share the joy of Christmas with our CRC students in Sierra Leone
Can you help make the annual Sponsor A Child Christmas party an unforgettable event for all of the CRC students? Click on the button below to share the joy of Christmas with vulnerable children and youth.
Let brotherly love continue

"Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 

Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."

Hebrews 13:1-3
Learn how the Child Reintegration Centre and Mercy Hospital are transforming the lives of vulnerable children and families: www.helpingchildrenworldwide.org.
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Helping Children Worldwide is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization
www.helpingchildrenworldwide.org | EIN 76-0729857 | CFC #44370
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