Thank you for supporting Boima and people like him, who are doing everything they can to help their communities in the fight against extreme hunger.
Boima’s story
The world produces enough food to feed everybody, but more and more people don’t have enough to eat. Around the world, the lives of 200 million children are at risk from malnutrition.
Boima is from Sierra Leone. He works with families throughout his community, teaching them about healthcare and nutrition.
Boima has seen first-hand the damage that malnutrition can do: “I feel so sad when I see these malnourished children, because children hardly ever survive malnutrition here. It is very difficult for them to come back to full health.”
That’s why he works with Sister Anthonia and the Handmaid Sisters to take care of people in his community.
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Being a leader
Boima is a Town Chief in a remote part of Sierra Leone. He takes his responsibility towards his fellow community members very seriously. He works hard to keep people in his community safe.
“If we look around and see healthy children, it’s a joy to the community,” Boima says.
No one should be out of reach of healthcare
Working alongside experts from the Handmaid Sisters clinic, and supported by donations like yours, Boima is a vital source of healthcare in an area with little-to-no access to hospitals.
“The main problem here is the road network. It is difficult to get anywhere. There is no healthcare centre here in our community, so we have to walk to the closest one that is three miles away along a bush path. To walk can take 90 minutes if you are walking fast. But if you are sick or pregnant it can take more than three hours.
“As a community health worker, I educate the community on health issues. We also attend to emergency situations. If someone needs first aid, we give it.”
Boima is a Town Chief in a remote part of Sierra Leone.
Education is key to making a difference
Boima supports new mums and babies with advice about nutrition and health.
“Education is paramount to solving the issue of malnutrition,” says Boima.
“Last year, we had a lot of malnutrition, but we started to give children therapeutic foods. We now have less cases of malnutrition in the community – this year we’ve not seen any!”
Hope for the future
Pope Francis urges us to tackle the causes, not just the symptoms, of hunger. Thankfully, your donation is an act of love which does just that – and gives hope to your sisters and brothers around the world.
Boima told us: “My hope for the future is to see healthy children around the community and not children who are malnourished. When we look around and see malnourished children it makes us sad, and it feels like we are not taking good care of them as a community. If we look around and see healthy children it is a joy to the community!”
Thank you for your kind donations, without which we could not do our work.