Mamaw's House - A Program Of CFPS

26/12/2024

This January, we celebrate the 1-year anniversary of the Mamaw’s House program—a milestone that marks incredible progress and hope for young adults transitioning out of institutional care.

🌟 How It All Began:
Mamaw’s House was initiated by Jen Conrad, an adoptive mother navigating the challenges of transitioning her children who were unable to obtain U.S. visas after their adoption in 2020. Her children remained in an orphanage, lacking support to move toward independent living.

Realizing this need went beyond her family, Jen partnered with Child and Family Permanency Services (CFPS) to expand the vision. Together, they created a program to support not only her children but other young adults without advocates, building a sustainable framework for permanency services.

🌟 What We’ve Accomplished in One Year:

✅ Support for Care Leavers
We’ve provided individualized assistance to 21 young adults, helping them transition out of institutional care and into independent living.

✅ Educational Support
Secured funding for secondary school and university tuition, along with access to vital services like eye exams and eyeglasses to set care leavers up for academic and professional success.

✅ Housing Solutions
Housed 12 care leavers in our interim care center and secured two apartments for those pursuing higher education at local universities, offering them a stable foundation for their future.

✅ Psychosocial & Life Development
Implemented group therapy, individual counseling, and training in essential life skills like financial management, cooking, and navigating the local market to empower care leavers with self-sufficiency and confidence.

💛 Be Part of the Next Chapter
This work is only possible because of amazing advocates like you! Consider becoming a monthly advocate today to help us continue providing housing, education, and critical life skills to care leavers.

👉 Join us here: www.cfspssl.org

Together, we’re changing lives and creating brighter futures. Thank you for being part of this journey! 💖

11/12/2024

🎉 Celebrating Success and the Power of Community! 🎉

We are absolutely bursting with pride as we share this incredible news! One of our amazing young adults, who has spent his entire life in an institution and joined our Mamaw’s House program, was crowned Deputy Headboy of his school last week! 🏆

This achievement is a testament to his resilience, determination, and the strength. ❤️

What made this moment even more special?

He reached out to our founder for assistance in inviting other care leavers to come and celebrate this milestone with him. This act of inclusion and gratitude is a beautiful reflection of the supportive community we’ve worked hard to build.

Moments like these remind us why we do what we do. Together, we rise. 🌟

03/12/2024

Help us reach our goal today!

💔 The Harsh Reality for Many Children in Orphanages

Did you know? Over 80% of children in orphanages worldwide have at least one living parent.

These children are often taken from vulnerable families with promises of better care, education, or opportunities. Instead, they end up in institutions that prioritize profits over their well-being. Tragically, when they age out of care, many are released without preparation for life:

We have assisted care leavers when they have been sent out with no shoes, transport, or stable housing.

No attempts at proper family reunification.

Stripped of their religion and tribal language, losing their identity and culture and expected to reintegrate.

💙 At CFPS through Mamaw’s House, we’ve seen the devastating impact of improper sepration from institutional care.

✨ This Giving Tuesday, you can help us change this narrative. Your donations provide:
🏠 Safe, stable housing
🛠️ Life skills training, therapy, and higher education
❤️ Efforts to reunify families and preserve cultural heritage

Every young adult deserves love, stability, and a chance to thrive. Be part of the solution.

🌟 Donate now to transform lives: https://give.tithe.ly/?formId=a585ccf5-b971-438e-9103-92e7fb9e5bce

27/11/2024

📅 Countdown to Giving Tuesday!

💙 At CFPS, through our Mamaw's House Program, we help care leavers transition from orphan care to independent living. Your support provides essentials like housing, food, life skills training, and therapy for young adults transitioning from years of institutional care.

✨ This Giving Tuesday, join us in creating brighter futures!

>>> https://give.tithe.ly/?formId=a585ccf5-b971-438e-9103-92e7fb9e5bce

20/09/2024

We are excited about what Jen will be bringing back to the table to support and improve our services to care leavers. Through Jen’s time at the Christian Alliance for Orphans Conference, CFPS will continue to share, listen, learn, and advocate for children who grew up as orphans in institutional care, working to give them a firm foundation as they learn to navigate community, independence, and rebuilding a ill relationship.

Today Jen Conrad, the Director of our Family Empowerment and Advocacy Program, sat in on a training about partnerships. The work we do can only be done by partnering with other organizations and national leadership and initiative.

Helping Children Worldwide did a fabulous job sharing how partnership has worked for them at the Christian Alliance for Orphans conference. They, alongside another partner organization, the Child Reintegration Centre in Sierra Leone, shared the importance of this work in Sierra Leone and the impact it is making.

We are so thankful to have HCW and CRC as our partners and mentors, working to keep families together and to help careleavers transition from institutional care to independence.

13/09/2024

🌟Our Commitment to Privacy 🌟

At Child and Family Permanency Services, safeguarding the privacy and dignity of the children and young adults we support is paramount. As such, you will rarely see identifying photos of our beneficiaries in our social media posts. When we do share such images, it is only with the full understanding and consent of the individuals involved, and we may alter details such as names or locations to further protect their identity.

Many of the children and young adults in our care face sensitive circumstances, making confidentiality vital to their safety and well-being. Our team carefully evaluates each story and image shared to ensure it aligns with these principles.

We appreciate your support in helping us protect and care for those who need it most. 💙

10/09/2024

This campaign aims to support our case load by covering school fees for Pre-Primary, Primary, Junior Secondary, Senior Secondary, Vocational School, and University levels. Additionally, it will assist families with uniforms and school supplies, and provide support for state examination registration, including NPSE, BECE, and WASSCE.

www.cfpsprograms.com

10/09/2024

Today, a few of our care leavers in the Mamaw's House - A Program Of CFPS were out at the market learning valuable budgeting skills and shopping for their school supplies.

It’s all part of our mission to empower care leavers with practical life skills. Seeing them confidently manage their budgets and pick out what they need is truly inspiring.

To become an educational advocate- make a donation at www.cfspsprograms.com

06/09/2024

Meet Jen Conrad, a mother of five, three of whom were born under her heart and two of whom were born in heart through adoption. Jen is Mamaw's House Founder and Director for FEAP (Family Empowerment and Advocacy Program)

Jen holds a Master's Degree from the University of Southern California, a focus on Military and Families. She is a trained trauma therapist and spent time working with kids who were sexual abusers, or had been abused themselves.

She has spent the last 13 years in the online marketing and community building space and 27 years serving US Marines and their Families.

Her love for Sierra Leone began with sponsorship, and she made multiple trips to the country from 2015-2020.

In 2019, Jen and her husband expressed their interest in adopting their children with the Ministry of Social Welfare.

After multiple attempts, the request for United States Visas by USCIS were denied, and her two children, now young adults, have to remain in Sierra Leone.

Jen felt a passion to find a solution to equip those released from institutional care so that they can become self-sufficient and productive members of Sierra Leone.

06/09/2024

We loved receiving this feedback from one of our Advocates!

"I had been a long-term sponsor for a young man who had been in institutional care for well over 10+ years. He had been at the same orphanage since he was very young. He was told reunifying with his birth family, who didn't even speak the same language as him, was the only option for him as an adult aging out of "the system." I knew there had to be other options for him."

We are so blessed to be able to help advocate for this young adult and be a part of his transition into being a successful adult in the Sierra Leone society!

Consider becoming an Advocate today!
www.cfspsprograms.com

06/09/2024

Another way to help! One of our advocates will be sending a barrel over of items we collect! 🇸🇱