Service Volontaire International

About the local hosting organizationWings of hope rescue home is a home for homeless and unsupported pregnant teenage girls, victims of rape and child sexual abuse. The girls are aged between 12-17 years old. The home takes the girls in and gives them a place they can call home. The home is owned by a loving man who acts as a parent to the rescued girls with support from 9 other staff including a nurse, matron, and caregivers. He is a former baker who was inspired to start such a project being a pillar of strength to needy girls as he loved to visit children's homes. He provides for their basic needs including food, shelter, clothing, and educational needs. The objective of the project is to give young girls a normal life, it helps to reduce abortion cases and child abandonment. Until April 2024, 52 girls had been supported, and 25 babies were taken care of. After the girls are brought in, the project staff walks with them through the journey of pregnancy, and at nine months the girls are taken to hospital for delivery. After delivery, they are brought to the project at Wings of Hope, where they are trained on the basics of motherhood like how best to breastfeed, how best to clean their babies, how to identify when the baby is sick, and report to the project staff for assistance. After six months of breastfeeding, the project enrolls teenage mothers to school and helps them pick up the academic broken pieces and move on academically with the main purpose of preparing them for their future. The project has girls who went back to study and have attained university qualifications. Other girls are in Tertiary colleges, high schools, and primary schools. The grown-up babies are also enrolled in junior school. We have 11 of their babies now in school too. The project collaborates with government structures to help deliver justice for the girls before releasing them back into the community. The project faces challenges of limited facilities like beds, mattresses, food, water, mosquito nets and finances.

Presentation of the programme• Supporting in mentorship and career development for the girls • Teaching girls and children about personal growth and knowing their rights • Helping in the improvement of facilities and broken furniture • Helping in fundraising for the assistance of the girls through education • Helping girls in taking care of babies and young children • Helping in cleaning, cooking, and serving of meals • Helping children in skill development e.g. doing music, dancing hairdressing, etc

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