Ministry Focus
Ever since Kadijatu and her husband, Rev. Kashope Wellington, returned to Sierra Leone in 2003, they have been involved in both spiritual and humanitarian work to many Sierra Leoneans who have lost hope due to the 12-year brutal war that devastated the country. In 2004, Kadijatu started a skill training program, teaching widows and young women income generating skills to help them sustain themselves and their families. However, after four years of operating the school, it closed down due to circumstances beyond their control. Between 2008 and 2009, Kashope started planting a church and Kadijatu started engaging the women, youth, and children in Bible studies. As President of the Women’s Ministry, Kadijatu’s focus is mostly on women and children. She does marriage counseling, talks about teenage pregnancy, advocates for education for the underprivileged children, especially the GIRL CHILD, and against early marriage for girls. In April 2016 Kadijatu was appointed by Missions Door to serve in Sierra Leone. Through Missions Door, she is hopeful she will be able to do more with the children and youth who are struggling with social problems.
Faith Story
Kadijatu was born and brought up in a Muslim family in Sierra Leone. Though she attended Christian schools at the time, she did not know much about Jesus Christ and was not really interested in knowing more.
In the 1980’s Kadijatu was fortunate to come to the United States. After two years of being here she met an elderly lady who became her friend and mentor. She invited her to church and the sermon was on Jesus Christ dying for her sins and the sins of the world, and to love our enemies as ourselves and to forgive one another. The message touched Kadijatu because she had never heard words like that before. It took her several months to go back to church but after feeling a tug from God, Kadijatu called her friend and asked her to explain the pastor’s words. Later she was baptized and everything changed. She became interested in helping others that were less privileged than her.
In 2003, they returned home to help their people who were suffering both physically and spiritually after the terrible war in Sierra Leone.
Though they left the comfort of America, Kadijatu believes that God brought them here to prepare them, and to go back and be a part of the reconstruction of people’s lives and their country. Since their return, they have been involved in church ministry, agriculture, vocational training for widows, and now primary education for underprivileged children at Five Mile Village in Newton, Sierra Leone.
Education
Kadijatu has a B.S. Degree in Business Administration from Emmanuel College in Boston, Massachusetts. She worked for John Hancock Financial Services in Boston for about 15 years. She is currently in Sierra Leone doing church ministry, teaching school, and has been leading talks with other women’s ministries.
Her husband, Rev. Kashope Wellington, has a degree in Drug and Alcohol Education, Treatment and Prevention. He is an ordained minister and has been a TV and Radio Broadcaster for many years. He oversees the church he is planting, called Church of God on the Highway Ministries.
WAYS TO SUPPORT
Kadijatu and Kashope by making a financial donation using a Credit Card or by Direct Debit (ACH).
Learn more about where this ministry happens
In a vibrant, coastal country rich in history and culture, adversity remains a daily battle
Sierra Leone’s varied landscape is as diverse as its people. The four geographical regions are comprised of rain forests, mountain peaks, lowland plains and farmland. The capital city of Freetown is situated on a coastal peninsula, and the neighboring Sierra Leone Harbour is the world’s third largest natural harbor.
Freetown is also known for its history in becoming a permanent home for nearly four hundred liberated slaves from the United States, Nova Scotia and Great Britain in the late 1700s.
Sierra Leone is currently home to 16 different ethnic groups — each with its own language and set of customs. While it is a predominantly Muslim country, the Islamic community lives and interacts peacefully with the influential Christian minority.
The country experienced a devastating war from 1991 to 2002, which displaced over 2 million people to the neighboring countries as refugees, destroying thousands of lives and infrastructure.
While the war with guns is over, the country continues to fight another war with poverty, illiteracy and disease. Illnesses like HIV, AIDS and Ebola have devastated many families and left hundreds of children as orphans.
Your participation with Missions Door supports church planting, leadership development, a youth club and an elementary school that works with more than 100 disadvantaged children.
Faith Fact
Sierra Leone is regarded as one of the most religiously tolerant nations in the world.
Cultural Snapshot
Sierra Leone boasts a rich journalistic history, including the first printing press in Africa and the earliest English language radio broadcast in West Africa. However, while the country’s constitution guarantees freedom of speech and the press, the government has firm control over the media and often limits people’s rights in these areas.
Country Profile
Population: 7 million, 42% ages 0 – 14
Major Religions: 60-70% Muslim, 20-30% Indigenous Beliefs, 10-20% Christian
Languages: English (official), Mende, Temne, Krio
Literacy: 48%
Poverty: 70%
Ministry service area:
Specialized Ministries
Ministry location:
, Sierra Leone