Local women trying to help children in Sierra Leone

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By Mary Louise Speer | Friday, May 9, 2008 8:52 PM CDT | () comments

Moline’s Suzanne Pitz and her daughter, Emily Pitz, are looking for mothers to help raise enough money to furnish and finish construction on the House of Hope orphanage in Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. Their goal is to get 1,000 moms to donate $10 each.

“It’s a shock when you get there how things are. The civil war went on for 10 years. It was a very traumatic time,” said Suzanne, who recently returned from her first trip to Sierra Leone and reflected on a conflict that plagued the West African country throughout the 1990s. “What I realized when I’m there, it’s not so long ago. There’s a lot of amputees in Sierra Leone.”

Suzanne is a member of Faith Walk World Outreach Center, a church in Silvis, and runs the Art and Suzanne Pitz Ministries with her husband, Dr. Arthur Pitz. Carolynn Bjurstrom, also from Faith Walk, traveled with Suzanne and is helping with fundraising for House of Hope.

About 350,000 orphans live in Sierra Leone. Suzanne discovered the residents there want very much to create a better future for themselves.

“I made a vow to the people. I would find a way to talk about them without saying the P word (poverty) all of the time,” she said.

Pastor Abdul and Prophetess Faith Conteh oversee House of Hope, and when finished, the home will provide a place of refuge for about 30 children left orphaned by the war. The plans are to find sponsors to assist with basic, educational and medical expenses, enclose the compound and raise food crops, involve the children in raising poultry and teach and demonstrate Christian faith and values.

“I am so ready to work on our House of Hope project. Not only to help 30 children survive, but to help them find skills,” Suzanne said.

Suzanne never expected to get an email from Faith Conteh about a year ago that said, “I feel led of God to ask you to bring your Bible School to our country.”

How does a woman in Sierra Leone find a woman in Illinois, Suzanne wondered. That initial contact led to launching a campaign to raise money for the orphanage. “We’re trying to match Sierra Leone donors with American donors so we work hand-in-hand on it,” she said

“We’re hoping that through our service that we can bless these people,” said Emily Pitz, the mother of Sophie, 2.

Emily read “A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a boy soldier” by Ishmael Beah, a native of Sierra Leone. “I think the book does a very good job of explaining how people can exploit a child,” Emily said. “For me it was very overwhelming, emotionally.”

Eventually when Sophie is older, Emily hopes to travel to Sierra Leone and get a firsthand look at what is happening there. “That’s one of the reasons my mom went to Sierra Leone, to figure out what the needs are,” she said.

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