Our children

Fanta is our first baby. It was early this evening that her single mum had the courage to knock on our door to entrust us with this little angel. When she arrived, Fanta wasn't walking yet. She immediately became the focus of everyone's attention. Fanta, our youngest daughter, has changed the life of our foundation. We are all Big Sisters Big Brothers Mother and Father

Bintou was previously in an orphanage. It was during our visits to help partner orphanages that Bintou fell in love with a member of our team. Each time she left, she held her back to prevent her from leaving. So it was with the agreement of our partner that we decided to take her in for a few weeks with our foundation. Love is amazing, it takes many forms and is often unpredictable. Bintou is now part of our family and remains as close to Thérèse as ever.

Before arriving at the Guilavogui Foundation, Thierno's life was a real struggle. His father died before he was born and his mother during childbirth. Although his grandmother had no roof over her head, she still tried to look after Thierno. Grandmother and grandson have struggled all their lives, begging, sleeping in car parks or makeshift garages. Thanks to Josuha and her team, little Thierno finally has a roof over his head. He can now sleep in his own bed every day and look forward to a brighter future.

Tewa has just celebrated her first birthday when Ebola tragically takes the life of her mother, and sadly her father is no longer in touch. In the village, it is said that he tried to flee to Europe. Tewa was taken in by her grandmother, whose husband and five other family members also died of Ebola. Because of these difficult circumstances, Tewa had never attended school before coming to the Josuha Guilavogui Foundation. Today, she enjoys sitting in class and learning all day long. Tewa dreams of being a teacher alongside Koma and Ibrahima.

When she was very young, Sia Mama was rejected by her biological parents. Naturally, her grandmother took over, despite the money problems and the running of her shop along the city streets. In this day-to-day life where work was compulsory, she was always willing and never shied away from helping her grandmother. Sia Mama is now resting at the foundation and is also the best dancer in our family. She dreams of becoming a doctor, just like Damarice and Faya Eugène.

Salematou's father was paralysed and left the family to return to his native village. Her mother was only 16 when she married her father, who was nearly 40 years her senior. After Salematou was born, she moved in with her sister to continue her studies. Unfortunately, in the absence of Salematou's mother, her tent was unable to look after her niece properly. Salematou has been severely neglected throughout her life and suffers from great fears of abandonment. Today she finds the affection she needs in Damarice. The two are inseparable. Salematou is slowly adapting to the orphanage and clearly feels at home in her new family.

Jean-Pierre's father died when he was just one year old. His mother tried to earn a living by trading at the market in Coyah, where he accompanied her to help her instead of going to school. Like some of his new brothers and sisters at the orphanage, he was exposed to daily risks such as aggression, abuse and child labour. At the Josuha Guilavogui Foundation, he can finally enjoy his youth, go to school and grow up in a protective environment. He loves spending time in the kitchen and with Etienne, his "mentor".

At the age of two, Paul's parents split up and abandoned him. His handicapped uncle took him into his home, but his health problems meant that he could not look after the child properly. Alone, Paul wanders the streets of his home village. Alerted by his difficulties, the Foundation got involved. Paul now feels at home with "his brothers and sisters" and has finally discovered school. One day, he would like to become a policeman.

Fatherless, Moustapha was brought up by his aunt. Unfortunately, the salary of her husband, who has four other wives and many children, was not enough to meet the family's needs. Every day, there is not enough food on the table for everyone. Moustapha was also neglected for lack of attention. That's all changing since his arrival at the Josuha Guilavogui Foundation. Josh and his team are delighted to finally be able to offer Moustapha a loving home. He can also count on his role model Mohamed to help him grow up big and strong.