Duchess pleads for help as a fire destroys lives
THE DUCHESS of York has told of her devastation after a fire ripped through a village she visited only weeks ago in one of the poorest countries in the world.
Street Child aims to create educational opportunity for children
The blaze destroyed more than 300 homes in a slum village in Sierra Leone which was visited by the duchess last month. It displaced 1,000 people who now live in makeshift shelters at a sports ground. The duchess has launched a fundraising appeal for the homeless villagers of Kroo Bay, one of the largest slum villages in Freetown.
The duchess, Street Child's founder patron, said: "Only three weeks ago I was in Kroo Bay. People there live in tiny tin shacks and many of them make their living picking over rubbish on a vast dump.
Number crunchi 60% "I was devastated to hear a terrible fire has wiped out the homes and livelihoods of many hundreds of people. Thankfully, no lives were lost and the We Yone school which my charity Street Child supports was also saved.
People Leone living poverty "But many families have lost everything, including children's clothes, pencils and books, and are living in the open air on a sports field.
"I am asking people to support Street Child's emergency appeal to allow us to help this community rebuild their homes and livelihoods."
The fire was believed to have been started by a naked flame from a candle. There is no electricity supply and residents rely on candlelight.
Due to the dry conditions and the densely populated nature of the area the fire spread quickly.
The "streets" are only wide enough for one person and fire-fighters were unable to access the blaze, leaving residents to fight the fire themselves using seawater.
During her trip the duchess visited the Bomeh dump site and met two young boys, Ousman and Musa, who make a living by scavaging the dumpsite.
She visited Kroo Bay Community School which has been run by the We Yone Child Foundation for five years.
The Duchess said: "Sierra Leone is a country that has had everything thrown at it - the brutal civil war, the ebola crisis which left tens of thousands of children orphaned and the annual rains that cause homes to flood and schools to close.
"What struck me was that every single child or parent I met, no matter the tragedy or the hardship they had suffered, all shared the same top priority - above all else, children wanted to go to school and learn and adults wanted to send them."
3 weeks ago I was in Kroo Bay, Freetown, one of the world's poorest places. People there already have so little so I'm devastated to hear of a terrible fire. Hundreds of families are living in the open air. Please, support our emergency appeal https://t.co/5LFMFRVt6m pic.twitter.com/O6BrcZYWhG
— Sarah Ferguson (@SarahTheDuchess) 8 March 2019
Street Child, which aims to get children living in some of the world's toughest places into education, has already provided funds to support efforts in Kroo Bay and is looking to raise further funds over the coming days with an emergency appeal.
The duchess visited Sierra Leone in support of Street Child's Count Me In campaign which ran from November to February. Funds raised were matched by the UK Government.
The charity launched the campaign on its 10th birthday with a gala dinner held at Kensington Palace attended by the Duchess of York and Princess Eugenie.
Visit: street-child.co.uk or donate at street-child.co.uk.