22 May 2025
Sama’s Story: An Escape to Safety
Life Without Stability
Little Sama Conteh in Sierra Leone was in her earliest years when her life took a devastating turn. A tragic road accident claimed the life of her father, a loss that shattered the only world she had ever known. In her own quiet words, Sama once said,
“Life without a father and mother is better not to be alive.”
For many children, the death of a parent is earth-shaking. But for Sama, it was the beginning of years of instability, hardship, and painful lessons far beyond her age.
After her father’s passing, Sama was passed from one place to another. Her mother, struggling with her own challenges, sent her to live with an aunt in the city, promising the chance of an education. But instead of schoolbooks and safety, Sama’s days became a blur of housework and street sales. Each morning, while her cousins went to school, Sama fetched water, swept floors, and took to the markets to sell goods. If a coin went missing, she paid the price with neglect.
This is the unspoken danger of orphanhood – when a child has no advocate, when guardianship is given without oversight, when grief is compounded by exploitation. This is when children like Sama become invisible, burdened by responsibilities and punished for what is outside their control.
After three long years, Sama made a brave decision. One morning, while out running errands, she ran away. She boarded a vehicle back to her village and returned to the one person who had never turned her away, her mother. Though her mother could not take her in full-time, she listened. She believed Sama. And she found her a safer place to live, with a trusted friend who took Sama in with care and compassion.
This turning point in Sama’s story came just as Mercy Without Limits stepped in to sponsor her in 2024.
MWL Distributing Aid
Through our sponsorship program, Sama finally received access to education. She now goes to school regularly. She is surrounded by adults who value her well-being. She has access to regular medical check-ups, psychosocial support, and our community programs that equip caregivers with parenting and trauma-informed skills.
We do not only focus on the children, we support the caretakers too. Through structured psychosocial sessions, parenting guidance, and emotional wellness check-ins, we work to rebuild safe homes where children can not only survive but begin to thrive.
Sama is now eight years old but has the resilience of a girl who refused to disappear. The trauma she endured has not vanished, but it is no longer her only story.
With the support of her sponsor, her caregivers, and our team, Sama is learning and healing. She is beginning to understand that family isn’t just who we’re born to, it is also the people who choose to protect us, stand beside us, and give us a chance.
The kind of chances that your support makes possible.
