Show some love to the Children of post-conflict and post-Ebola Sierra Leone.
Teddy Bears and Toys will bear witness to the plight of kids affected by war in Sierra Leone bringing smiles and hope to the hundreds of amputee kids and kids of amputee parents. The B-Gifted foundation is planning to make donations of gifts to hundreds of kids from amputee camps in Sierra Leone starting during Christmas, the New Year, and throughout the year. Do you have toys for kids, books, and playstations? this can be a salve in the wounds.
In March of 2010 Andrea Patten one of B-Gifted numerous friends who runs the program (what Kids Need to succeed) introduced us to two American artists Keisha Luce and Kirk Terrograssa. The artists were visiting Sierra Leone to work on a documentary Project ‘Testimonies’ with B-Gifted Foundation in Sierra Leone lending a supporting hand to the host artists. ‘Testimony’ is a figurative sculpture installation joining oral history that explored the personal and cultural history of bodies amputated, shaped and altered by Sierra Leone’s decade long civil war. In the tradition of documentary art such as photography and film, these artists developed documentary sculpture (using life molding techniques) as a vehicle to examine the social, personal and historic issues surrounding disfigurements, resulting from war and conflict.
The project brought to light the personal stories of ordinary people, living under the extra-ordinary consequences of war.
B-Gifted Staff and their American Artist friends, visited several Amputee camps, Oslo Amputee Resettlement Camp in Makeni, Northern Sierra Leone, the Grafton Amputee Camp in Waterloo, the Four Mile Amputee Camp. Apart from the challenges faced by the amputee parents, we realized that many of these bare-footed kids, with beautiful faces and smiles bore some share of the gruesome consequences of the war. The kids were not going to school, had poor health, and faced daily hunger and starvation. This situation is worsened because these amputees who once lived a normal life before they were amputated had good jobs, but can no longer fend for the family because they are deprived of arms and legs. They relied on begging for meager food and money which is not forthcoming. Their parents whose arms or legs or limbs have been amputated are the forgotten victims of the nation and the world seem to look away from their plight. But we must no longer look away from their children who will grow up with the thought of war. Bringing Teddy’s, Toys and gift to their homes will show love, uplift their souls, and bring a glimmer of hope
and radiant smiles to their faces, Show some love', is a project that will hep salve the wounds of amputees and their children by providing gifts and showing some love and care to them through the gesture of donating gift such as teddy bears, toys, books, pencils and other essential items that can help these children cope in the aftermath of war and now Ebola . This show of love, bring peace and joy in their hearts, and make these children realize that others do care for them and they are not alone. B-Gifted Foundation is a not for profit which believes that peace is not only a core human value but a core human rights. Using the Teddy bear initiative as a starting point, B-Gifted hopes to collect Teddy bears, toys, books, and other essential items for the hundreds of children
