Hellen's Story
Hellen is rebuilding her life after the war in Sierra Leone destroyed her village.

Hellen Kamara is 17 years old. She lives in Moyamba , Sierra Leone . During the country's 11-year civil war, Hellen lost her school, her home and many of her friends. The poverty already so prevalent in her country became even more widespread; the rebels looted, burned and destroyed, leaving communities like Hellen's with nothing.

"My family and I were living here since the starting of the war," Helen says today. "We later had to leave for the capital city Freetown because of the bad things we faced from the rebels in the township."

These bad things were many. Hellen's family home was burned to the ground and the only secondary school in the area was destroyed, the structure burned and the furniture stolen for firewood. She watched as rebels tortured her parents. Boys were forced to become soldiers and girls were raped and assaulted. Hellen was one of these girls.

To escape the violence, Hellen and her family fled and hid in the nearby bush. Poverty here took an even greater hold: without a home to live in or proper food to eat, Hellen and her family were always on the move and were forced to eat whatever they could find. "We slept in the bush and [had to eat] all sorts of food in the bush. We walked by foot and I came across so many dead bodies. My colleagues were raped."

Hellen's story is shared by thousands of children in her country. Today, they and their families are still struggling to recover after the destruction of the war. Many schools, homes and health care facilities are still unusable, thousands of children are unable to pursue their education and poverty is widespread. In fact, Sierra Leone is ranked the poorest country in the entire world.

With the help of friends around the world, things in Sierra Leone are improving. In Hellen's community, Free The Children recognized the need to rebuild the all-girls secondary school. St. Joseph 's was constructed in partnership with the local community and with funds raised from North American youth and adults. Today, it provides a safe place for young women to develop new skills and become empowered to make a difference in their communities.   

Despite all that she has been through, Hellen is confident for her future and the future of her country. "With all the experiences I have faced in life, from war to peace, after much struggle, I hope to see a brighter future," says Hellen. "My thinking is to become a professional lawyer, to help see that Sierra Leone continues to be a peaceful and straight-forward country."