Broken Trust, Brave Hearts and a True Rescue: The Princess Story

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Princess was just six years old when someone finally spoke up about the abuse she was suffering. That brave act by a Child Reintegration Center alumnus became the first link in a chain of compassionate interventions that would transform her life.

Reverend Olivia Fonney, Director of the Child Reintegration Center in Sierra Leone, takes us through Princess's journey from trauma to healing. When Princess first arrived at the CRC, she was understandably confused and frightened. Rather than place her in the dormitory setting of their interim care facility, Reverend Olivia made the compassionate decision to take Princess into her personal quarters - recognizing that institutional care, however well-intentioned, cannot replicate the warmth of a family environment.

Despite their best efforts to prepare Princess's biological parents for reunification, initial attempts failed when they couldn't keep her safe from her abuser. This setback led to placement with a foster parent - a nurse who provided Princess with stability, nurturing, and specialized care for her emotional needs. This therapeutic environment became the foundation for Princess's remarkable transformation.

Today, Princess is thriving. She's confident, expressive, and truly connected to her family after successfully reunifying with her prepared biological parents. She attends school regularly, has developed a love for reading, and dreams of becoming a teacher. As Reverend Olivia powerfully states, "No child is ever too lost or too broken to find her way back to love and stability."

Princess's story reminds us of the critical importance of speaking up when we see abuse, the power of trauma-informed care, and how communities working together can change a child's life trajectory. What role might you play in protecting the vulnerable children in your community? Subscribe now to hear more stories of resilience and hope on Optimistic Voices: A Child's View.

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Travel on International Mission, meet local leadership and work alongside them. Exchange knowledge, learn from one another and be open to personal transformation. Step into a 25 year long story of change for children in some of the poorest regions on Earth.

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A bible study for groups and individuals, One Twenty-Seven: The Widow and the Orphan by Dr Andrea Siegel explores the themes of the first chapter of James, and in particular, 1:27. In James, we learn of our duty to the vulnerable in the historical context of the author. Order here or digital download

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Thank you.
Thank you.
Welcome to Optimistic Voices, AChild's View, where we share

(01:52):
incredible stories of resilienceand hope through the eyes of
children.

Speaker 2 (01:57):
I'm Natalie Turner, and this is my co-host, dr Laura
Horvath.
Today we'll talk about one realkid who faced unbearably tough
challenges in her life and theamazing people who helped her
find a brighter future.

Speaker 1 (02:13):
Each Child's View episode features a special guest
who will take us on a journey,one filled with adversity,
compassion and hope.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
Today's story is about Princess, a young child
who was the victim of abuse bysomeone who should have been a
trusted protector.
There were many who saw thissituation and spoke up and took
action to get her to safety andto keep her safe.
This might not have been astory of optimism without their
intervention.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Let's welcome today's guest, Reverend Olivia Fonney,
Director of the ChildReintegration Center in Sierra
Leone.
Thank you for joining us.
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
We can't wait to hear this story of hope Before we
dive in.
Can you please tell us a littlebit about yourself and your
connection to Princess?

Speaker 3 (03:03):
little bit about yourself and your connection to
Princess.
Well, I am Reverend OliviaFonny.
I'm not only the director ofthe Child Reintegration Center
in Bow, but I was the formerhead of the United Methodist
Church Children's Ministry inSierra Leone, and I'm also a
United Methodist pastor.
My job requires me to overseethe work that our social workers

(03:29):
do and support families'strengthening and empowerment,
as well as to represent the CRCin court proceedings for the
interest of child protection incases brought by the government
to remove children fromdangerous situations.
That's what I do as thedirector of CRC.

(03:49):
The CRC accepts placement ofschool-aged children on a
temporary basis as we findpermanent, safe placement for
them.
Sometimes that cannot be withtheir families, when dangerous
conditions cannot be remedied.
We work hard to make familiessafe, as that is our preference,

(04:13):
but sometimes we have toconsider other options.

Speaker 1 (04:19):
I think that is kind of a teaser about how we're
going to get to the happy ending.
Olivia, as the person in chargeof the CRC, I suspect that's
how you became involved in thisstory.
What was happening when youfirst met Princess?

Speaker 3 (04:33):
Well, I was called to the Ministry of Gender and
Children's Affairs of thegovernment of Sierra Leone to
take custody of Princess.
It was a case of an abusiveuncle who injured the child when
she was living with the auntand uncle.
It was actually a CRC alumnistaying in the same house who

(04:55):
was brave and strong enough toreport the concerns.
That doesn't always happen inour culture.
People are always afraid tospeak up.
I consider this individual asthe first hero in Princess's
story.

Speaker 2 (05:11):
That sounds awful and quite terrifying.
How old was Princess at thetime and what was she like when
you first saw her?

Speaker 3 (05:18):
You can't imagine.
Princess was only six years oldat that time.
She was, of course Princess wasonly six years old at that time
.
She was, of course, confusedand frightened.
But our social workers and ourentire staff actually are very

(05:40):
used to working with childrenwho had suffered trauma and
deprivation because of a longand violent civil war we had in
Saralil.
But still, these workers notfamily these are workers and
Princess was not used to livingin the sort of institutional

(06:00):
setting you will find in aninterim care facility where we
brought her.
Also, there were many courtappearances she had to attend,
which is also strange for achild, a child of six years.
I decided to take her into myquarters where I stay at the CRC

(06:21):
, instead of housing her in theinterim home dormitory.
My house is on the grounds ofthe CRC and I have training as a
teacher and I've taken manychildren into my home over the
years.
Between the staff at the CRC wemanaged to make Princess at
least feel that she was safe.

(06:43):
She quickly became active andcomfortable playing on the
grounds, in offices around thecompound.
I mean being at home at the CRC.
Still, as much as the staff waskind and friendly, it wasn't
the same thing as being in afamily.

(07:03):
Even though our interimfacility is family style, we
know it doesn't really feel thesame as being at home to a child
.
We cannot provide a true familysetting for a child.
We cannot provide a true familysetting for a child where at
times it was obvious that weneeded to find a more suitable

(07:27):
replacement.
So we immediately began workingwith a mother and father to
prepare them to take her home.

Speaker 2 (07:36):
It's hard to imagine going through something like
that home.

Speaker 1 (07:42):
It's hard to imagine going through something like
that.
She was so young.
Melody's told me that she was atiny thing too.
Melody happened to be there andwitness her interaction with
you and your staff, livia, andshe shared with me that she even
met the parents, so she sawfirsthand how hard the CRC was
working to try to get Princessin a safe and loving and
permanent family environment.
In a safe and loving andpermanent family environment.
But what happened next?

Speaker 3 (08:00):
We worked very hard, as Melody has said, to attempt
and get Princess's family to bea safe placement for her.
We helped the families that thefather and mother get relocated
and went to court proceedingswith them.
The experience for me washorrible.

(08:20):
We also enrolled the family asa family-strengthening client
because we knew that was goingto be a long-time case for us to
manage.
Eventually we did manage toplace her back home with them
out of the interim care statusback home with them out of the

(08:45):
interim care status.
But I'm afraid it wasn't longbefore we saw issues arise.
It wasn't going to keep hersafe from the abuser, as the
family did not keep him awayfrom her, so we had to find
another placement.

Speaker 2 (08:57):
It's sad that she couldn't stay there, given the
circumstances.
What happened to her next?

Speaker 3 (09:03):
The social workers at CRC do a whole family tree for
each child we take in.
That includes family, extendedfamily, even friends who foster
or adopt the child.
They made the best possibleplacement for children, focused
first on safety and then onattachment.

(09:25):
Ultimately, it was decided thatthe best possible placement for
prisoners was with a fostercare parent who was a nurse at
the Mercy Hospital, for so manyreasons being that she had a
stable home and a nurturing homeenvironment and demonstrated a

(09:49):
genuine willingness to care forher for a long time.
As a professional nurse, shewas experienced in caring for
children with medical andemotional needs, and so that was
why we decided to have her withus.

Speaker 2 (10:05):
What a kind and loving thing you have done for
this child.

Speaker 1 (10:10):
Let's take a moment to celebrate the people who made
a difference in this story Ourguest, Reverend Olivia, the CRC
staff, the ministry officialswho brought Olivia to them, and
that CRC alum who raised thealarm to begin with.

Speaker 2 (10:28):
So where is Princess now and how is she doing in her
new family?

Speaker 3 (10:32):
During the time Princess was with the nurse, she
began to heal emotionally andregain her confidence.
She began to heal emotionallyand regain her confidence.
Eventually, after carefulassessment and preparation, she
was reunified with thebiological parent.
Today, princess is doing verywell.
She is happy, attending schoolregularly and has fully

(10:55):
reintegrated into her family.
Her parents have beenincredibly committed,
participating in all CRCparenting training.
Princess has also developed alove for reading and has even
said that she wants to be ateacher one day, which is
amazing.
It's been such a joy to witnessher transforming and see her

(11:21):
thinking and thriving in a safe,stable and loving home.

Speaker 1 (11:27):
What a transformation .
It's really amazing what canhappen when the right people
come together to help.
It's such an honestly a tributeto you, reverend Olivia, and
your amazing CRC staff.

Speaker 2 (11:43):
I bet that Princess also feels proud of how far
she's come.
Is there anything that elsethat you want to Olivia about
how she seems to you now?

Speaker 3 (11:54):
Well.
Princess carries herself well,so much more with confidence now
.
She's open, now expressive, shetalks and she's in a joyful
mood that she's with parents.
You can see the pride in hereyes when she walks and talks In
school I heard from the teacherand from the case manager and

(12:16):
even at home that she helps out.
Now at home she looks hopefuland truly connected to her
family.
It's really a beautiful changefrom the first time I saw
Princess, the mood that she wasin to now.
It's really the beautifulchange from the first time I saw
Princess, the mood that she wasin to now.
It's really the change isreally really encouraging.

Speaker 1 (12:38):
I'm sure, before we wrap up, what's one note of
optimism, olivia, that you wouldlike our listeners to take away
from this story?

Speaker 3 (12:49):
I want our listeners to know that no child is ever
too lost or too broken to findher ways or her way back to love
and stability.
Princess's story is a reminderthat, with the right support,
children can heal, grow andthrive.

(13:11):
Our resilience and ourdedication of those who walked
along her shows that it ispossible when a family, the
community, neighbors, when theycome together to prioritize
family and give them hope.

Speaker 2 (13:34):
My note of optimism from Princess's story is that it
reminds me of the importance ofliving in a world where people
and programs look out for eachother.
While it is difficult toreplicate the love a family
provides, anyone can providecare and compassion to others.
I also want to highlight thebravery and love of the first

(13:54):
hero of the story, Anne Olivia,and others in the program who
helped get Princess to safetyand bring her into this caring
environment.
This bravery and love isadmirable and gives me hope.

Speaker 1 (14:07):
We hope today's story has inspired you to look around
.
Small actions, make them big.

Speaker 2 (14:11):
Thank you, reverend Olivia, for sharing this
incredible story and thank you,listeners, for joining us today
on Optimistic Voices A Child'sView.

Speaker 1 (14:21):
If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to
subscribe, share it with friendsand leave a review.
Together, we can bring morestories of hope to light.

Speaker 2 (14:30):
Until next time, remember there's always hope,
and every a review Together, wecan bring more stories of hope
to light.
Until next time, rememberthere's always hope and every
voice matters.
Bye, for now.

Speaker 1 (14:52):
Thank you.