Thousands, including children, need food, shelter after fire devastates Susan’s bay

^{A fire tore through a poor community in Sierra Leone’s capital on 25th March 2021 and left thousands of families homeless overnight. Abdul Sheriff, Save the Children}

Freetown, 26 March – Some children have been reported missing and many more left without a home, a day after a fire tore through a poor community in Sierra Leone’s capital and left thousands of families homeless overnight.

The fire began late on Wednesday 24^th March 2021 inSusan's Bay, an overcrowded slum community in the heart of Sierra Leone's capital of Freetown, where some of the poorest families live. The fire has devastated everything in its path: leaving thousands of families and hundreds of children in a dire situation among heaps of burned out rubble that used to be their homes. Some children are feared to be injured or separated from their parents.

According to authorities, an estimated 4,500 people have been affected, by the fire, many of whom are children. The cause of the fire as of yet, unknown. But given the cramped and crowded conditions of the camp, it’s clear to see how easy it was able to spread.

Save the Children has been supporting the affected community by providing water, biscuits and food packets. The organization is also looking to supply other food items and school materials and will work with the responsible ministries to ensure children are safe and protected from the trauma experienced from this fire.

For more on this story see links:

https://www.contenthubsavethechildren.org/Package/2O4C2SAYVP9Z

‘I have nothing’: Fire in Freetown slum displaces thousands (irishtimes.com)