The Children Of Kroo Bay

What could be worse than living in the World's poorest country? - How about living in the poorest neighborhood, in the poorest country. Welcome to Kroo Bay, a small community in Sierra Leone, Africa, that has been built on mounds of trash. This is the story of the children who call it home.

Sierra Leone is a small country in Western Africa, bordering the Northern Atlantic Ocean between Guinea and Liberia. Over forty percent of its population of six million consists of children between the ages of 0-14 years. The country has had many wars, which have left lots of people homeless. With almost 70% of its population without jobs, Sierra Leone is now considered one of the poorest countries in the world.

Kroo Bay, situated on the outskirts of Sierra Leone's capital Freetown, used to be a fishing settlement prior to the wars. However, now it's the area where the people of Freetown dump their garbage in.

Over 5,000 people including many orphaned children live here in flimsy structures that are built from leftover sticks, discarded metal, mud and trash.The orphaned children have also made themselves a home on an abandoned fishing boat, where they can get some shade from the hot sun and spend their days hoping that things will change for the better soon.

While food has always been scarce, things have been worse lately, as the price of staples like rice have gone up 50%. As a result, families have less food for themselves and their children. Kids who used to eat three meals a day, now have to survive on just two or even one meal a day. Also, the meals are not balanced, consisting mainly of cooked rice or cooked cassava, a root vegetable that resembles a sweet potato.

In order to try earn money, even children who are living with their parents, are encouraged to look for scrap metal or other items they can sell, instead of going to school.

To make matters worse, Kroo Bay lies at a junction where two rivers meet the Atlantic Ocean. Hence, during monsoon season, the area tends to flood and the children often get very sick. While there is a medical clinic, very few people have the money to pay for the care. They therefore depend on home-remedies, which has resulted in most of the children suffering from coughs and other respiratory diseases.

A charity called 'Save the Children', is trying to help out as much as they can, by cleaning the garbage from the rivers and sandbagging the banks to prevent flooding. They are 'employing' the local people to help with this project, providing them a small salary and food in return.

They are also trying to renovate the health clinic and work with the government to provide free healthcare. They have even started a kids club, where kids are encouraged to play soccer, learn drama, play games and do other fun stuff.

However, despite all their troubles, the residents of Kroo Bay still manage to keep their chin up, smile and have some fun. Something to consider the next time you don't get to buy those brand name sneakers or the Nintendo DS game that you can't live without!

To read more about the residents and even write to the kids of Kroo Bay, or to learn about how to help them go to : http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/kroobay/people_places.php

Sources:Telegraph.co.uk, All Africa.com, BBC.Co.Uk