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Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). We don’t have a verifiable source on file yet. Know one?
What happened
Twenty-two children, aged 4 to 16, were trafficked to the United States allegedly under the auspices of ‘Help A Needy Child International (HANCI), which operates an orphanage and a home for destitute children in Sierra Leone’s northern town of Makeni. During Sierra Leone's civil war, parents placed their children in Cherith orphanage, operated by HANCI, in Makeni and then were flown to the U.S. through neighboring countries (Ghana, Guineau) for the purposes of adoption. It is allegated that the accused traffickers established their organization under the HANCI name; however, HANCI states that they do not have any affiliation with them. Maine Adoption Placement Service (MAPS) in the United States confirmed that they received 29 children from Sierra Leone via the accused traffickers. However, they did not know that the children were not orphans.
Response and intervention
Law enforcement has been involved. ’Three people have been arrested and charged according to the Sierra Leone police commissioner, Richard Moigbeh. Detective Sergeant Kulio Yanka of INTERPOL From the date of the article, August 31, 2006, the children where still in the Unitied States. The intention of the Sierra Leone government is upon the children’s return to Seirra Leone, they will be placed in an orphanage (in Makeni) under the protection of the ministry of gender and children’s affairs. Police will trace the biological parents of the children and reunite them with their families.