Dear Friends of Mission,
I would like to talk to you about the Orthodox Mission in the wounded country of Sierra Leone. Across the country there is still a profound grief since this blood-stained land has been suffering for the last 25 years. One disaster after another. This great event began with a barbaric civil war that lasted 12 years. This war has led to not only thousands of people having their limbs amputated, but also the recruitment of even young children. The war ended in 2002 but brought so much disaster, that Sierra Leone is still one of the poorest countries in the world.
The Orthodox Mission in this country started from scratch in 2007. Receiving the blessing of His Beatitude the Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, we began the sacred work of evangelization with the help of missionary societies from Greece, Australia and the USA. We performed church as well as charitable works, and I am grateful to the brothers who contributed to their accomplishment. So far, we have made 3 kindergartens, 2 schools, an Orthodox missionary college, 2 clinics, 2 orphanages, 3 large churches, and have performed countless baptisms. All these services are offered free of charge to the suffering people.
From the very first moment, the Orthodox Missionary Fraternity embraced me lovingly like the suffering people of Sierra Leone with financial aid and relief shipments of 18 containers so far with humanitarian aid.
† Themistocles of Nikopolis
