Optimistic Voices
Vital voices in the fields of global health, global child welfare reform and family separation, and those intent on conducting ethical missions in low resource communities and developing nations. Join our hosts as they engage in conversations with diverse guests from across the globe, sharing optimistic views, experiences, and suggestions for better and best practices as they discuss these difficult topics.
Optimistic Voices
Cross-Border Collaboration Brings Trafficked 11-Year-Old Em Back to Her Family
The remarkable journey of an 11-year-old girl named Em demonstrates the life-changing power of cross-border collaboration in child protection. When Em was trafficked from her home in Liberia to Sierra Leone under false promises of education, she instead found herself forced into domestic labor and street selling. After becoming separated from her trafficker and lost on the streets, local authorities connected her with the Child Reintegration Center (CRC).
Through counseling sessions, CRC discovered Em wasn't from Sierra Leone at all, presenting a complex international challenge. What happened next showcases the extraordinary impact of professional networking in child welfare. George Kulanda from CRC and Prezton Gonkerwon Vaye from Red Meets Green had previously met at a child protection training workshop where they exchanged contact information. This connection became the crucial link in Em's rescue, demonstrating how seemingly small professional relationships can transform lives.
The multinational effort expanded to include multiple stakeholders across both countries, coordinating Em's safe transport to the border, completing necessary documentation, and arranging temporary placement while family tracing continued. In a touching development, Em's parents learned about their daughter's whereabouts and traveled to claim her, resulting in an emotional reunion filled with "joyful tears." Today, Em is back in school and dreams of becoming a doctor to serve her village community. Her mother now educates neighbors about trafficking risks, creating ripple effects of protection throughout their community.
This story reminds us that behind every trafficking statistic stands a child with dreams and potential. When organizations unite across borders, even the most complex cases find resolution. As Elena, the youth co-host wisely observed: "There's always light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to be resilient and willing to seek it." Subscribe now to hear more inspiring stories of hope and resilience on Optimistic Voices: A Child's View.
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Welcome to Optimistic Voices, A Child's View, where we share incredible stories of resilience and hope through the eyes of children.
Speaker 2:I'm Elena, and this is my co-host, Dr Melody Curtis. In this special series, we'll talk about real kids who face tough challenges and the amazing people who helps them find a brighter future.
Speaker 1:Each episode features a special guest who will take us on a journey, one filled with adversity, compassion and hope. Today's story is especially inspiring, but I want to warn our audience of some triggering details. This is a story about a young girl trafficked to Sierra Leone. The first group of helpers tried to reunite her with family and discovered, to their dismay, that her family wasn't even in Sierra Leone. The girl was from Liberia and had been brought across the border between the countries Through a connection helping children worldwide established between the Child Reintegration Center in Sierra Leone and Red Meat Screen in Liberia. The two organizations were already in collaboration with one another, and so these two amazing child protection agencies were able to work together to get the child safely back to her family. Let's welcome today's guest, Preston. Oh Preston, I am going to mess up your last name and your middle name. Could you say that for me?
Speaker 3:Gon-ko-won-vi, prest Gon-ko-won-vee, preston Gon-ko-won-vee.
Speaker 1:Preston Gon-ko-won-vee. Yes, is that correct?
Speaker 4:Yes, and George Kolanda, I am George Kolanda from West Africa, Sierra Leone. I work with Charity Integration Center and I'm the Senior Case Management Supervisor at the Child Reintegration Center.
Speaker 2:We can't wait to hear this story of your important collaboration. Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your connection to the girl. I think we can refer to her as M, rather than using her name to preserve her dignity and the family's privacy. Is that okay with both of you?
Speaker 4:Yes.
Speaker 1:So President, can you share with us what it is you do and your connection with M?
Speaker 3:Thank you for having me here, melody. I'm grateful to serve as a social worker. I come from Doblo Nimba County, liberia, and I now live in Canada with my cherished family. With 17 years of experience in social work, I have been blessed to dedicate my life to making a positive impact both in my community here in Canada and in Liberia. I serve as a visionary for Red Meets Green, a non-profit organization focused on family reunification and empowerment. My connection to Em, who is the child we're talking about, is professional. As a social worker with Red Meets Green, I had the honor of being part of the team that facilitated her reunification with her family after she was found on the streets of Sierra Leone. Through a heartfelt collaboration with Helping Children Worldwide, the Child Reintegration Center that Josh represents and local authorities, we worked diligently to ensure her safe return to her family in Liberia. Return to her family in Liberia. This journey has been incredibly rewarding and I'm thankful for the opportunity to witness God's hand in her story.
Speaker 1:George, I'm curious how did she come to your attention? How did Em get to the Child Reintegration Center and how did you know to get in touch with Red Meets Green? What is the connection between the Child Reintegration Center and Red Meets Green?
Speaker 4:First I will speak on how we got to know them. We are contacted by the Family Support Unit, Bow West Division here in Sierra Leone to say that there was a missing child that was allegedly trafficked, that they needed our support and help in really redefining the child back to her family. So we are able to go there and meet with um the inspector then that was dealing with the case, inspector massacoy. So he gave us all the necessary details about the child. We brought her to our interim care facility. While she was there she had somebody talking to her and attending to her needs.
Speaker 4:While she was there and whilst we continued to trace her family here in Sierra Leone, we did all we could, but to no avail. We were not able to get any trace of a family for her here in Sierra Leone. From the interactions and the counselling sessions we were able to find out that she came from all the way Liberia, our neighbouring country. So, having found out that, we were able to reach out to the immigration at the Sierra Leone-Liberia border to check whether somebody must have made a report of a missing child, particularly for Em, and nothing like that was done for her. So, because of the connection and meaningful collaboration, what we do with Red Meat Green. We're able to contact them to let them know that there was a missing child here from Liberia and we needed their support and they were swift to come to our aid and willing to help us. So we had to travel from Sierra Leone and we met at the border which is called the Go Water side, where we handed over to Red Needs Green and the Ministry of Gender Task Force of Liberia.
Speaker 1:I know it's a sensitive question, but what is it that led you to believe that she had been trafficked from Liberia to Sierra Leone? Did she share the circumstances of how she got there? Yeah, she told us.
Speaker 4:She was taken to Sierra Leone by an aunt. She was taken to Sierra Leone by an aunt which she barely knew. Somebody went to her parents to say that the person wanted her to come spend some holiday time here with her in Sierra Leone. When she came here she was not with all the promises the person gave her parents. She could not see some of those promises and she was not being treated fairly. So she was subjected to kind of manual labor. Also because from her interaction and the sessions she was able to speak up to us to say that the person made so many promises to her parents that she was coming to an orola here in school.
Speaker 4:But then she was at some point. She said she was beaten and there was some marks on her body and she was occasionally giving water to hawk in the streets and so these were things she had been going through and for some time she kept enduring and so there was a time she had to um stay a bit longer out of the home and she could not trace her home back and the person that took her from Liberia could not make any formal police reports. So with the with the knowledge the police people have, especially the family support units, they saw that that could be a possible traffic case. Because if somebody, a child, gets missing and you're supposed to make a police report, making a police report makes it formal that you know that child and you are sure of the child's relationship with you. So avoiding that part of making a police report creates suspicion and makes room for more investigation to happen.
Speaker 4:So, ignoring this aspect of making a formal police report, the police people there, with their experience, they were able to tell us that this was a kind of a possible traffic case. Though it was not done in a normal way that people do it. It was done with somebody that they knew also and since then nobody ever showed up to say this is their child also. And even when Em got back to her family in Liberia, even when we had the videos of her smiling and happy, nobody ever showed up to say that she or he was responsible for taking her here to Sierra Leone. That was a trafficked case.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Preston, what was happening when you first met Em and what did you learn about her?
Speaker 3:Well, thank you. You know, Em's journey is a testament of both the challenges and the resilience of children in Africa. Her parents, with their best intentions, sent her to Monrovia for educational opportunities. Sadly, she fell victim to a trafficker who promised her education but instead forced her into being a house help in Sierra Leone and helping them to sell and just hard labor as a kid. In her desperation in that home, she briefly escaped and was discovered by the police on the streets. That is the story that I heard when I first met Em and her family.
Speaker 2:That sounds so difficult. How old was Em at the time and how did they cope with everything?
Speaker 3:em was 11 years and was turning 12. That's what I understood. In fact, when the reunification was done, it was it was the day the day right after her birthday. That that's when the reunification was done. So she was 11, the person 12.
Speaker 2:And Preston, what happened after George connected with you. How did you help Em find her family and ultimately get home?
Speaker 3:Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 3:It's a long story but I'll make a short. For the purpose of this program, all glory to God for the power of collaboration among like-minded individuals and organizations, collaboration is key. We were alerted by Child Reintegration Center, which George represents, when M was found in Sierra Leone. Immediately, a significant effort was initiated between Red Miss Green, an American nonprofit organization headed by Ashley Storr, and the Ministry of Gender in both Liberia and Sierra Leone, the Chari Integration Center and Helping Children Worldwide to bring M. So, through our combined efforts, arrangements were made for a safe return to Liberia and the Ministry of Gender in Sierra Leone and CRC transported M to the border, where our team from Red Miss Green and the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection of Liberia met. The CRRC team and the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection of Sierra Leone met them at the border and, after the necessary documents were signed, m was handed over to our team, which is Red Miss Green, and the government of Liberia and, upon arriving in Monrovia, m was placed in a UNICEF-funded safe home while we began tracing her family.
Speaker 2:It's hard to imagine going through something like that.
Speaker 3:But, in a beautiful twist of fate, her parents heard about her whereabouts and they traveled from their village to the Ministry of Gender in Liberia, to the office of the Ministry of Gender in Liberia, where they presented proof of their identity as parents of M, and the moment they were reunited, it was so much joyful tears of joy reflecting the love and hope that God brings to our lives. So that's what the process was like, so far as I can say.
Speaker 1:Let's take a moment to celebrate the people who made a difference here the Child Reintegration Center and Red Meets Green and I'm wondering if you want to tell me a little bit about the relationship between your two organizations, george and Preston. How is it that you all know each other?
Speaker 4:Yes. So thank you, melody, myself, george from the Child Re Centre and Preston from Red Midscreen. We came to know each other when we attended the Rising Tides in Freetown family training workshop, which was a five day activity. So that was when we met and we were able to exchange contacts because we are all in the same social work and child welfare space. So because we believe that I was a meeting point and we had hopes that we could meet one day and collaborate meaningfully, which God made possible for us to help Em to get back to our loving families. This is where we back to our loving families.
Speaker 1:This is where we get to the happy ending.
Speaker 2:So where is Em now?
Speaker 3:Since being reunified with her family, em's life has transformed dramatically. She has returned to a loving home where she feels safe and secure, and this support has restored her physical and emotional health and brought immense joy to her family. Em is now able to attend school, where she is discovering her talents and igniting hope for her future.
Speaker 1:What a relief to hear she's safe and loved. I'm so glad your organizations and people came together to help, because you help children like Em all the time, and to see you collaborate in this way for a very special child is very exciting to me. I'm so happy that we could share this story.
Speaker 2:Did she share any dreams or goals for the future?
Speaker 3:Yes, em's dreams of continuing her education and aspires to become a doctor so she can care for the people in her village is so amazing. She wants to help her people. As a doctor, she hopes to be a role model for other children, especially those who faced similar challenges. Her successful reintegration into her family and commitment to her studies reflect her resilience and determination to build a better life With the continued support she and her family received from Red Mist, green and other partners, including feeding, medical support, school fees, psychintegration team for helping Children Worldwide and the government of both countries for their invaluable support in helping this kid to return home, where she happily now lives with her mom, her two brothers, who are both under 15. And also a very big thanks to her mother, who has been a strong support for her and for her children, and her mother is even now helping neighbors and community to understand the importance of keeping children safe from trafficking in the form of seeking opportunities.
Speaker 1:That is such a great story. Before we wrap up, would you be so kind as to share a note of optimism that you'd like our listeners to take away from this story, each of you, starting with Preston?
Speaker 3:I mean collaboration is key and I'm very optimistic as a social worker, knowing that family is the fabric of the society and when the fabric of the society is weak, the society becomes weak, weaker. And when the fabric of the society is strong, the society becomes weaker. And when the fabric of the society is strong, the society becomes stronger. So Red Meets, Green Child Reintegration Center, Helping Children Worldwide, and many organizations that are supporting families to stay together, to be united, to build bonds. It is just a great way of programming and we will encourage such a programming approach to continue with support through prayers and just in any way that this can be supported, especially looking at Em's case and how efforts with these organizations have helped Em and her family to be happy again, and we're all grateful to just be a part of this service. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you, George. What makes you optimistic when you think about Em's story and all the things that happened?
Speaker 4:Yeah, thank you, Melody. I strongly believe the goal to get children into safe and loving families is not done by a single person, it's not done by a single group of people. It's not done by a single person. It's not done by a single group of people. It's not done by a single organization. It takes the efforts of all of us to share the little love we have, share the resources we have and our efforts to see that children are safe and they're loving families. Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you, and we'd like to end our special Child's View episodes with the optimism of our child, our youth co-host, elena. What is it about Em's story that makes you optimistic?
Speaker 2:My note of optimism from Em's story is that it reminds me that we can all make a difference, no matter your age, your look or where you are in the world, and it also reminds me that there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to be resilient and willing to seek it.
Speaker 1:We hope today's story has inspired our listeners to look around and see how they can be a part of someone's journey. We're all potential collaborators who can help somebody else, whether it's through kindness, volunteering or simply listening. Small actions make a big difference, and reaching out to the hand of somebody next to you to help can really move the ball forward.
Speaker 2:Thank you, Preston and George, for sharing this incredible story, and thank you, listeners, for joining us today on Optimistic Voices A Child's View.
Speaker 1:If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe, share it with your friends and leave a review. Together, we can bring more stories of hope to light.
Speaker 2:Until next time, remember there's always hope, and every a review Together, we can bring more stories of hope to light. Until next time, remember there's always hope and every voice matters. Bye, for now.
