When I was a very little girl, civil war raged around my home in Liberia. My parents were killed in the war, leaving my brother and I orphaned and alone. I remember the day we were found and rescued by a new momma who took us into her home, as her own children. Our new momma had such a heart for unwanted children that she started an orphanage where my brother and I grew up, among dozens of other children.
When I turned 18, I had to leave the comfort of my home because the government of Liberia insists all children must leave an orphanage after they turn 18. I was forced to leave my brother and move in with a family I didn’t know and travel many miles to go to school, but this wasn’t going to slow me down. I didn’t miss a day of school; I excelled in my classes, and became one of the first five students that Orphan Relief and Rescue worked with to graduate from high school and start college! My dream is to be a nurse and one day, hopefully, work for Orphan Relief and Rescue!
Now in college, I have some added responsibility; my own apartment, passing classes, and hours of community service – all apart of the Greater Opportunity Program. Most days after class, I go to the office to spend time with the staff and volunteering to help with chores around the house. Several nights a week I go study or use the office computers to help with my homework. I love to go with the ORR staff to mentor children in different orphanages. I’ve been there; I know how it is to grow up in a home with so many and to often be unnoticed.