Emergency Response

While the effects of COVID-19 were still being felt, baby Christiana was born in Bombali district. Her small cry broke the quiet. She came into a world where food was very expensive, families had less money, and many people were unsure about the future. Her birth brought happiness to her family, but it happened during a time when just getting by each day was very hard.

Christiana is the youngest in a family of six. Her parents, Sarah and Thomas, already bore the burden of caring for four children – Monica (16), Wotay (8), Augustina (6), and Moses (2), a foster son. With Christiana’s birth, the stakes became even higher. The pandemic had crippled the local economy, and food security slipped further out of reach for many families like theirs.

Christiana’s family

“Things were very hard for us as a family,” Sarah remembers those hard days, her voice full of sadness. “We had nowhere to get food from. Our only remedy was going in search of bush yam to boil and eat. If I do not have enough food, Christiana and her siblings will suffer from hunger and starvation too.”

Like thousands of families across Sierra Leone, the economic shock of the pandemic meant slashed incomes and empty cupboards. Parents were forced to make impossible choices, often sacrificing their own meals so their children could eat, even if only once a day. For infants like Christiana, born during the pandemic, there was a high risk that she could become weak and sick from not getting enough good food

Recognizing the urgency, ChildFund made one of its top global priorities clear: “Ensure that children get the food they need.” This promise turned into real help for families who were struggling. ChildFund gave them cash to help with their most urgent needs, like food, health, and staying alive.

Sarah was one of the recipients.

“This money really saved us,” she says, holding baby Christiana in her arms. “As soon as I got it, I went straight to the market to buy food so we could cook and eat. Things were very hard. We had no food.”

Baby Christiana in the hands of her mother.

The help made a big difference right away. Now, there is food in Sarah’s home. But it means more than just having meals to eat. For baby Christiana, it means a healthy start in life, because her mother’s breast milk is now full of the nutrients she needs to grow strong and well.

Sarah cooking a nutritious meal for her family shortly after receiving cash from ChildFund.