By Alexis Leal
For years, brothers Mustapha and Ansu Kemoh dreamed of something many of us take for granted — a family.
They were just two and four years old when they lost their parents to the 2015 Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone. Amid the chaos that followed, they were brought to the Dawar Islamic Orphanage in Hanga, where they spent nearly a decade growing up without a single visit from a relative. Life became routine — the same walls, the same schedule, the same ache of wondering if someone, somewhere, still thought of them.
That changed when Kidsave’s partner, Integrated Development Initiatives (IDI), in collaboration with the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, launched a family reunification effort in the Kenema District. The initiative aimed to return older children from orphanages back to family and community care — a monumental step for Sierra Leone’s child welfare system and for dozens of children who had spent years waiting.
IDI’s social workers spent weeks gathering information, tracing relatives, and traveling to remote areas, sometimes walking miles to reach the last known homes of the children’s families. Their persistence paid off when they found Ms. Rugiatu Sannoh, Mustapha and Ansu’s aunt, living in Nomo Farma, a village nearly 65 kilometers away.
When Rugiatu received the news, she was overcome with emotion. She had long believed her nephews were lost forever after the Ebola crisis. “They are my sister’s children,” she said. “They belong with me.”
A hosting event brought them together for the first time in nearly ten years. The reunion was filled with both joy and disbelief — long hugs, tears, and laughter from the boys who couldn’t believe they were finally with family again.
“This day can be remembered as a new beginning,” Mustapha said during the ceremony. “We will forever remain grateful to Kidsave and IDI Salone for finding us our family again.”
Since returning home, the brothers, now a few years older, have adjusted beautifully to community life: they now attend school regularly, help their aunt around the home, and enjoy spending time with other children their age. For them, simple moments — playing hide and seek, listening to village elders’ stories, and sharing meals — have become daily reminders of love and belonging.
Their story is one of 57 successful reunifications completed this year by IDI with Kidsave’s support. Eleven of those children were hosted by caring for families through community events held in Dama, Dawawulo, and Sendumie, where hundreds of residents came together to witness the power of family and community.
In addition to reunification, over 600 community members participated in training programs on child welfare, protection, home management, and leadership — ensuring families were prepared to welcome children into safe and supportive environments.
Monitoring remains a key part of the program. IDI continues to check in on over 100 children across 25 communities. Nearly half of those have now successfully completed their six-month follow-up period, thriving in their new homes.
Furthermore, the program recognizes how essential empowerment and stability are to build a strong household. With support from Kidsave, 55-year-old widow Muniatu Sillah has been able to provide for her family and create a nurturing home for her two children. Proudly, she shares, “Today, I can feed my family and meet their needs. We have a happy home.”
