The fund is organized and managed totally by volunteers, which means that any donations received are not swallowed up in unnecessary administration costs. Your contributions go directly to support the projects in Africa. We are very fortunate that the Salesian Priests of Don Bosco supervise the Projects in Liberia, giving us the assurance that the funds are reaching those most in need.

Projects that have been sponsored include:

Drop-in Shelters

The civil war and subsequent instability in Liberia has meant that many Liberian children have ended up on the street. These “drop-in” centres, dotted all over Monrovia (the capital city), provide places where children can quite literally drop in for a few hours. Providing food, medical attention, a chat and basic literary and maths classes, they also double up as a shelter for street children at night and are a way that the Salesians can more easily pin point children in need of special help.

Matadi Rehabilitation Centre

This is a school for about 1,000 children, which provides training and development in sports, carpentry, agriculture and other local skills.

The Street Passport Programme

The “Street Passport” gives protection to many street children who do not have any other form of official identification. Without birth certificates, these children are treated as “non-persons” with no rights and can become easy prey for exploitation. The “passport” gives evidence that the child is registered with Don Bosco Homes and is a step towards protection against abuse. The Passport programme is a significant step in giving these children self-worth. You can read more at the U.K. Salesian website.

Transit Homes

These are homes where ex-child soldiers as young as nine can go if they escape from the army. They provide a place of security as well as psychological help, education and health care.

The Sean Devereux Library

This project has been created with the support of Macmillan Press and is a major contribution to the education of children. It is hoped that contributions will continue to build as substantial a library for street children as funds permit. We are particularly pleased about the etsablishment of the Sean Devereux Library, which is located in Monrovia and stocked with a wide range of books, mainly produced for the African continent. The books contain material to which African children can easily relate and we know, through our contacts, that the books are used by the children and young people who have received little or no prior formal education.

Sean Devereux Community School

Providing educational and vocational training programmes for more than 200 children per year. Skills developed are tie-dying print, dressmaking, soap making, swamp rice multiplication farming, farm animal rearing and vegetable crop reproduction.

The Blind school in Moshi, Kenya

This school not only caters for the blind but also the physically handicapped. The fund helped to redevelop the school to make it purpose built for blind and handicapped children enabling them to become more independent.

The Sean Devereux Health Project

Run by the Consulata Missionary sisters in the interior of Liberia. It provides food for malnourished children under 5 years old. Vaccinations, growth monitoring and extra food for expectant mothers. Resetablished the ambulance service that had become obsolete due to exorbitant fuel prices. And finally the project provides one daily ration of Bulgarian Wheat to 300 of the extremely poor children of the area. This ration is enough to keep them alive each day.

Don Bosco Centre in Sierra Leone

To provide street children with shelter and basic skills to survive in their country.

In summary

All of the projects which are being sponsored by the Sean Devereux Children’s Fund are interdenominational and are set up in the most practical and culturally sensitive way, making maximal use of local resources.