Posted: 28th February 2017
When some of our 2016 volunteers met Samuel, he was in a terrible state. He was completely riddled with scabies – 100% of his body was covered with scabs and he was even unable to open his eyes properly.
He was too lethargic to scratch – although the blood trails from previous scratching episodes were evident. The team were able to give him new clothes and feed him and for the first few days, he just slept. Samuel’s father died fighting in a Commonwealth division in Iraq and a year later his mother died. For the last eight years he has been sleeping in the market using a market table to sleep on at night, doing small jobs for money during the day.
As the MD trip was coming to an end, a couple of the team took Samuel to some children’s homes, but all were full. Rachel – the wife of our driver, offered to take him in. Rachel has already taken on six other children and is feeding 15 Ebola orphans that sleep rough in the area. She has a small home, but willingly offered the space. She works seven days a week and grows her own food. The woman is a saint and we hope to be able to extend her house for her at some point.
Sam was overjoyed to have a mum. Since then, he has started school in year six primary – he has a lot of catching up to do, but what a journey! From street to school in four weeks – with some scabies treatment and a lot of love, a life has been transformed.
View our latest mission trips to Sierra Leone.
