PHOTO: REACH Executive Director Mrs. Ne-Suah B. Livingstone
By Garmah Never Garmah, garmahlomo@gmail.com
Rescue and Abandoned Children in Hardship (REACH) has identified with a 14-year-old rape survivor, who recently gave to birth to boy child as the result of the sexual abuse.
The girl, who became orphan during the 2014-2015 Ebola epidemic in Liberia, was allegedly raped and impregnated at age 13, by a school teacher, who is still on the run.
According to the organization’s Executive Director Ne-Suah B. Livingstone, she read the touching story of the rape survivor on www.newspublictrust.com early July of this year, which prompted her intervention.
Mrs. Livingston made the donation to this Reporter, who broke the story about that minor (rape survivor) giving birth to a child, at the Temple of Justice on Tuesday July 11, 2020.
She provided two bags of 25kg rice, three gallons of vegetable oil, one gallon of palm oil, one cartoon of washing soap and half cartoon of bath soap among others.
The head of REACH also at the same identified with the 8-year-old girl whose womb was ruptured also in another rape crime on Sunday in Bangorma town, Grand Cape Mount County, western Liberia.
The eight-year-old rape victim was later transferred from the Sinje Health Center in the county to the Redemption hospital near Monrovia, where she is currently undergoing intensive medical treatment.
Currently, she and the baby are sleeping on a bamboo bed without mattress, no medication for the both of them. Neither does she have food.
Initial intervention was made on the 21 of July 2020 by Liberia’s Vice President, Jewel Howard, after she too had read the story on this online news website within 48 hours. The VP visited the survivor in Grand Cape Mount County and donated both cash and some none food items, promising to take care of her and the baby.
Despite of the VP’s prompt intervention, the 14-year-old rape survivor says she is still in need of help.
Mrs. Livingstone said it was based upon this that her NGO, REACH has also come to identify with her and even promised take care of the teenage mother and help relocate her.
REACH is a humanitarian and advocacy group involved with helping victims of rape and domestic violence, among others.