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 Rosanne and George Kouris have lived in Lowell since 1984. They have been
married 31 years. and have five children. Rosanne home-schools the two youngest.
They are members of St. Edward Catholic Church. He works at a factory in
Shelby; she delivers the Post-Tribune.
The newspaper you are reading is dated Sunday, Feb. 3. It is an auspicious
date for Rosanne and George; today, they will board a plane for Sierra Leone,
Africa, where they help fund an orphanage.
Five years ago, Rosanne heard the Rev. John Gibson speak about the plight of
the people of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Gibson had previously been a Missionary of
Charity priest who worked with Mother Teresa in Albania. The bishop requested
that Gibson move to Freetown soon after the end of Sierra Leone's civil war in
2002.
"Whatever money Father Gibson would get from friends back here, he'd use to
help the refugees of Freetown," Rosanne said. "A Muslim woman by the name of
Louisa Aminata, who was 19 years old at the time, heard that a Catholic church
nearby was handing out aid to people who needed it. She approached the father,
telling him that her brother was dying, which he was, and that her family needed
medicine that they couldn't afford.
"Father Gibson gave her the $500 she needed for the medication, then asked
her when the last time was that her family had eaten. She said it had been three
days. He gave her a bag of rice; Louisa was very grateful. Her brother survived.
"Louisa asked Father Gibson what she could to do to repay him. He said, 'Come
to Mass every day.' Gibson told her stories of Mother Teresa. She became
inspired and also wanted to help people. Louisa became his assistant."
What happened then?
"When Father Gibson returned to the U.S., he'd speak at various parishes of
the atrocities he saw," Rosanne said. "People were moved and would spontaneously
give him $20 -- or whatever. He'd send the money to trustworthy people like
Louisa.
"George and I went on a pilgrimage with Father Gibson to Lourdes, France. He
asked me to help him with the banking of the Sierra Leone donations because more
and more people were donating. He couldn't do all the stuff he was trying to do
and deal with the money.
"At first, Louisa would go out in the neighborhood and get a list of people
who needed help. She'd also ask the children living in the street if they had
food or adequate clothing, most of whom had been orphaned during the civil war.
A good number of them were amputees."
They'd lost limbs from roadside bombings?
"No, it was a terrorist tactic during the civil war," Rosanne said.
Added George: "Jeff, people stand around in Freetown with no arms, begging.
All you can do is put the money in their pockets."
That's tragic.
"In the spring of 2004, Louisa asked Father Gibson if she could adopt the
children," Rosanne said. "She felt that simply giving them food wasn't good
enough. Louisa was 21 by then.
"We had raised enough money to rent a house for Louisa and the children for a
year. We also had to be interviewed by the government officials of Sierra Leone.
They wanted assurance that we weren't going to adopt the children out for child
trafficking. There's a lot of that going on in Sierra Leone.
"Louisa adopted 20 children. She also took in mothers who had been raped.
Louisa named her home Savior of the World."
What was the response?
"People were starting to become very generous," Rosanne said. "They also
wanted tax receipts. We weren't a corporation, so we ended up incorporating and
getting our not-for-profit status as Savior of the World Inc.
"I was named director because Father Gibson was sent to Rwanda. The whole
thing ended up on me -- I was in charge of the orphanage. The board consists of
five people now, that includes my husband and my sister."
George, you and Rosanne were in Sierra Leone last February.
"Yes, when we showed up at the airport last year, I changed more than $500.
They handed me 1.75 million leones in a plastic bag.
"There are 30 children in the house right now. It's a 700-square-foot flat --
16 boys in one room and 14 girls in the other room. They're doubled up in
bunks."
Added Rosanne: "And they're happy. They have a meal. They have clothes. They
have someone who looks after them. They go to school now."
How many people live in Freetown, George?
"About 1.4 million; there is no running water in the entire country. If
someone does have electricity, it comes from a generator."
Rosanne said: "The whole country eats one meal per day -- cassava leaves
(greens) and rice. The recipe also calls for peanuts, which are ground up with a
mortar and pestle. Red pepper, onions and tin (canned) tomatoes are added to the
cassava leaves and rice. Sometimes, a fish is placed on top.
"There's 95 percent unemployment. We would go down the streets of Freetown
and see so many young men doing nothing. There are no jobs, just a bunch of
young men with no futures."
Ripe for another revolution?
"Now that the war is over, life expectancy is up to 45 years," Rosanne said.
"We were like the oldest people in the country. The sewer system runs along the
streets in troughs. Malaria and typhoid are major problems.
"The buildings are all bombed out. There are little bamboo shops in the
streets. There are cars, but no traffic lights or rules. You ask if they drive
on the left or right side and they answer, 'Yes.' "
Is English the national language?
"Yes, Sierra Leone was a British territory until 1961," Rosanne said. "It was
every man for himself once the British left. The RUF got to the point where they
didn't even have military objectives anymore. They would just go into a village
and start killing everybody, except for the young boys, whom they would drug.
These young boys would witness their families being murdered; the army would
become their family.
"Eventually, Louisa converted to Catholicism; she wants to become a nun. The
building fund for the new orphanage is up to about $50,000. There will be a
school."
Added George: "It's two levels of 2,700 square feet. They're breaking ground
as we speak."
About 20,000 human beings lost hands, arms, ears or their lips, thanks to
axe- or machete-wielding members of the RUF in their quest to control Sierra
Leone's blood diamonds. That's the equivalent of mutilating every man, woman and
child in Crown Point.
Louisa Aminata cannot speak on behalf of her children here in the United
States. Savior of the World Inc. is about as grass roots as it gets. Rosanne and
George Kouris welcome any help they can get -- Catholic and Protestant, red and
yellow, black and white.
Anyone who wants to donate can send checks, made out to Savior of the World
Inc., to Rosanne Kouris, 1325 Southwood Drive, Lowell, IN 46356.
Changing
one's birth name not something to take lightly :: Jeff Manes :: Post-Tribune
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