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Reading: From A Child Soldier To Saving The Lives Of Children Through Sick Pikin Project: The Journey Of Ishmeal Alfred MorganHeritage Charles
Reading: From A Child Soldier To Saving The Lives Of Children Through Sick Pikin Project: The Journey Of Ishmeal Alfred MorganHeritage Charles

From A Child Soldier To Saving The Lives Of Children Through Sick Pikin Project: The Journey Of Ishmeal Alfred MorganHeritage Charles

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Sallu Kamuskay
By Sallu Kamuskay 362 Views 5 Min Read
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In 1997, Ishmeal Alfred MorganHeritage Charles was 10 years old when his mother sent him to Kono District, in Eastern Sierra Leone, to live with his father because Kono was considered the safest place to be in Sierra Leone. The relative security was short-lived; the rebels retreated from Freetown and into Kono, killing and mutilating indiscriminately.

Rebels raided his village and conscripted him into the Revolutionary United Front–the Sierra Leonean rebel group notorious for using children as soldiers and laborers, and for using machetes to chop off the hands and limbs of captured government soldiers and of civilians.

Charles describes being saved by miracles. The first came when a government jet fighter strafed a RUF encampment, and he escaped into the jungle during the chaos. The second came when Charles, recaptured by a RUF team, was slated for amputation as a punishment for running away. Charles had been asked if he wanted “short” or “long sleeve” amputation, i.e. at the wrist or below when another jet attacked the camp and he was able to escape again.

The third miracle came after he had been captured by a pro-government militia and caged with several other rebel captives. If no one would vouch for him, Charles would be taken to the river, shot, and tossed into the current.

“A woman came out of nowhere and said she knew me,” Charles recalls. ”I had never seen her before, and I never saw her again.”

Released by the militia, but with nowhere to go, Charles was re-captured by the rebels, taught to use a gun, and forced to become a child soldier. He also served as a laborer, carrying loads of stolen supplies on his head whenever the rebels would go looting. Charles fled once more, making it to the Guinea border, where he spent almost five months living without shelter in the bush.

When peace was restored, he returned to Freetown, made up the schooling he had missed, graduating from high school, then earning a Diploma in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of Sierra Leone. He has now earned a certificate in International Humanitarian Affairs from Fordham University in New York.

Ishmeal Charles has used his education to become a strong advocate for post-conflict youths. Currently, he is Healey International Relief Foundation Program Manager in Sierra Leone, working with Caritas-Freetown, managing all their projects in Sierra Leone.

In 2018,3-year-old Mustapha, who was suffering from Biliary Atresia and needed a liver transplant  was brought to Charles’s Director, Reverent Father Peter Conteh. Charles Reverend sat with Charles and told him about the situation and asked of what could be done to save the baby’s life. Charles requested that they took photo of the baby and put it on social media and ask for people support by donating whatever little amount they had to save the baby’s life. Ever Since, Charles was inspired and embark on the journey to save sick children in Sierra Leone. Charles, through His Sick Pikin Initiative have been able to save the lives of over 54 children flying 33 children to Europe and 31 children to India for treatment.

“We have another 35 children on our least that needs help, we will continue to raise funds, ask for people to donate and use platform like yours, The Salone Messenger to be able to reach out to donors who are willing to support’’ Charles told Salone Messenger

Charles continues to stick his neck out to seek funding for helpless, sick and impoverished children and babies.

Original story: A survivor of the brutal life of a child soldier, 31-year-old Ishmeal Charles is now advocating for other survivors of that horror. He also continues to lead an 11-member Ebola-awareness team–high-risk work that helps save the lives of others throughout Sierra Leone.

Visit their website The Sick PiKin Project to donate or call them on the number  076722736

 

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Sallu Kamuskay is a Sierra Leonean communication strategist, fixer, blogger, youth organiser, event manager, spokesperson, and public relations expert. His work has been regularly referenced and published by national and international media and public policy institutions. Sallu Kamuskay was a child during the brutal war in Sierra Leone. Growing up in the midst of conflict, Sallu witnessed unimaginable abuse of children and gross violations of human rights. The horrors he witnessed during the Civil War had a terrible impact on him at a very tender age. But despite the shock of the war, Sallu never lost hope. He started on a journey of recovery, studying, and working for a better future. At age 15, Sallu entered into the world of activism and advocacy. Sallu Kamuskay was the Vice President of the Young Leaders Organisation, a member of the National Youth Council. The Young Leaders is one of the oldest youth-led organisations in West Africa. The organisation was formed by a group of young leaders, and launched by the then Head of State/President of Sierra Leone. Sallu was part of the group of young leaders who participated in and contributed to the establishment of the National Youth Council. The Commonwealth supported the training for trainers programme with line ministries and youth stakeholders in which key, representatives of youth council, student union and civil society/private sector youth platforms were engaged and empowered in the effective engagement and inclusion of youth. Sallu is co-founder and Executive Director of the Salone Messenger, a global multimedia and public relations firm based In Sierra Leone. Sallu has worked on various developmental and policy issues such as Poverty, Climate Change, Human rights, Child Rights, Education, Health, Gender Equality, Civic Engagement, Government policies, Information Communication Technology for Development and the Sustainable Development Goals, and has also been contributing to various global events and advocacy campaigns. Sallu Kamuskay is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Salone Messenger, a global Multimedia and Public Relations Firm based in Sierra Leone with the latest news and information, on top stories, business, politics, entertainment, and more. Sallu is working with a leading technology company in Africa, Techfrica, that has recently developed and launched a social media, messaging Supfrica with over 150,000 downloads on the Google play store in less than 4 days. He is the Adviser and Media coordinator for the App to give people the platform to connect and communicate to help shape their future with a very fast internet that allows users that live in deprived and hard-to-reach areas with poor internet facility to be able to communicate as it allows and stronger on 2 and 3 G network reception. Sallu has over 9 years of experience in youth engagement, inclusion, and coordination both at local and global levels, giving voice to young people and engaging young people to build a better world. He has served as coordinator for the Wave Alliance which brought together youth-led organisations who attended an international training in South Africa organized by the International Organization – Waves for Change. Sallu is working with the MLT, Waves For Change, and the Government to develop safe spaces for young people, with a view to contributing to the overall development goals of young people including health, as well as to community rebuilding. Sallu is currently the Programme Director for the Wave Alliance, which is a coalition of youth-led and community-based organisations that have successfully introduced evidence-based Surf Therapy programs to young people in communities, with a focus on mental health, peace building and sustainable development. Sallu is currently the focal point and face of Africa’s Faces Social media platform which is a global Social media platform that brings together people from across the world to share their moments, connect, share videos, and interact with friends giving more preference to excluded continents like Africa. Sallu Kamuskay has devoted his time to working for or contributing to a number of national and international organizations and companies, including the Techfrica Technology Company, United Nations, ECOWAS, European Union, Commonwealth Africa Initiatives. This work has led him to travel to a number of countries to contribute to global youth platforms. Sallu is the lead Coordinator for Peace Tour programme, an initiative supported by the European Union, Africa Union, ECOWAS focusing on uniting and empowering young people and local communities. Over the years, Sallu Kamuskay has been using his Techno phone to be able to tell stories, the phone he used to tell the story of Gbessay during Ebola who was admitted at one of the Ebola treatment centers after rumors that she had Ebola when the actual sickness was ulcer, she was almost abandoned at the treatment canter with no medication provided to her. She could have died. Sallu told the story via social media and was able to secure funding from the United Sierra Leone to buy her medication and advocated for her. She was later discharged and taken home, He did the same to a patient that died and was abandoned in the street, Sallu Kamuskay used his phone and shared the message across, the corps was later taken and buried. It could have been more disaster without his voice. The story of late America Stress 3-year-old daughter. The hero’s daughter was abandon after his father's death. He shared her sad story and was able to get a sister who has taken the child as her own and is currently providing her with educational support. The article of America Stress can be read on the link below http://ayvnewspaper.com/index.php/k2-categories/item/7350-america-stress-a-hero-to-recognize. Sallu Kamuskay feels the stories of Gbessay, America stress and that of many others need to be told. The media house we have cannot better tell these stories, they are better reporters than telling human interest stories. He created the Salone Messenger platform and brought together passionate storytellers to be able to tell these compelling stories.