Rescued from Horror

In a makeshift shelter in Sierra Leone’s capital, Freetown, sits 20-year-old Aisatu Kargbo whose face betrays the anguish she has suffered in her short life. The country’s 11-year civil war may have ended, but for Aisatu, her experiences remain deeply entrenched in her memory.

When she was just 13, Aisatu’s parents were shot dead by rebels. Her one brother and two sisters escaped but Aisatu was not so fortunate. She was captured and taken as a bushwife by the rebels, forced to meet their every demand. One day when Aisatu tried to flee, the rebels raped her and, as a punishment, put a hot wire rod through her eye.

In this West African country of just 5 million, the war has claimed the lives of over 50,000 people and caused as many as 2.5 million to flee from their homes. The rebels terrorized the population, raping women and girls, pillaging villages and hacking off limbs of their victims. For those who were able to escape the unimaginable horrors, Freetown became a sanctuary and the town is still overcrowded with internally displaced persons (IDPs). Most are women and girls, vulnerable without their families. Often with few possessions except the clothing on their backs, to survive, they have little alternative except to engage in commercial sex and face the deadly threat of HIV/AIDS.

Aisatu was one of the lucky ones – she managed to reach Freetown where her luck changed following a chance encounter with one woman, Juliana Conteh. “Aunty Juliana”, as she is known, is a 42-year-old Evangelist missionary with a motherly demeanor who is the Director of the Women in Crisis Movement (WICM). Moved by the dreadful plight of the displaced women roaming Freetown, Juliana set up WICM in 1997. Starting out with a one-room shack, she provided food, clothing, shelter and support for women such as Aisatu, who have experienced immense emotional, physical and psychological damage. The project is a lifeline for these women who need to rebuild their confidence and their lives. Aisatu is more optimistic about her future – “I was alone in the world and now I have a family again,” she says.

Since 2001, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has been supporting WICM, which has come a long way since its origins as a makeshift save-haven. Now a three-story building on the outskirts of Freetown, it houses a vocational training centre for the women and offers daycare facilities for their children. The scheme has provided shelter for approximately 2,500 women, training them in a variety of practical skills such as sewing, poultry farming, craftwork, and has established a literacy program. WICM helps the women to establish alternative livelihoods to the sex work they often engage in out of desperation. According to Dr. Mamadou Diallo, the UNFPA representative in Sierra Leone, WICM is a “token in a sea of needs, but it shows that these things can work.”

This is just one example of UNFPA’s work to promote women’s health and wellbeing. Currently, one of the most important aspects of UNFPA’s work in Sierra Leone is to provide HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. UNFPA has also set up drop-in centers that offer counseling, training and preventative services and treatments for reproductive health problems and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). UNFPA helps people around the world plan their families and avoid unwanted pregnancies, advocate safe pregnancy and childbirth, and combat violence against women.

What’s Next for Aisatu?

Aisatu recently underwent treatment to restore sight in her eye - “ Earlier I was shy and ashamed of my face and now I am a beautiful girl and can see with both my eyes,” she says. For Aisatu and the other women and girls who seek refuge in the centre, WICM offers a sense of community and belonging. It has enabled them to get back on their feet and, as Aisatu says, feel part of a family again. With the work of organizations such as UNFPA and their partners, people like Aisatu have hope that they can rebuild their lives.

What Can You Do?

Begin by learning more about the situation in Sierra Leone and how UN agencies and their partners are working to restore peace in this war-shattered region.

If you want to help women like Aisatu, please contact Priya Marwah, Humanitarian Response Unit, UNFPA marwah@unfpa.org.

To donate money, contact the UNFPA field office in Sierra Leone, Dr. Mamadou P. Diallo, Representative, mdiallo@unfpa.org.

To contact WICM, e-mail the organization at womenicm@yahoo.com


FIND OUT MORE about how the UN works to support women’s rights. Go to the links next to Aisatu

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