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Imagine you are 10 years old. You see your parents brutally killed in front of you and then are befriended by fighters who say they will help you avenge your parents' death. They feed and clothe you. You start to clean their weapons. They give you a gun to carry, and they let you fire it once or twice. Soon you begin to get involved in the fighting. Unknown to you they have also been slipping gunpowder into your food. It makes you brave but it is also highly addictive. You go with the fighters and watch as they instill fear into the villagers. "These are the people responsible for killing your parents," they say. With a gun or machete in your hand, all the grief and anger wells up, and before you know it you've crossed the line. Now blood is on your hands too.

Now imagine that you are called to provide healing for this child. This is the mission of the Nehemiah Project in Sierra Leone.

Musa was captured when he was 18 months old after witnessing the murder of both his parents. He was brought up by rebels and trained for five years as a fighter in the nation's capital, Free town. He was violent, hostile, and incredibly traumatized, one of thousands of victims of a recurrent civil war.

Today, scores of children with behavioral problems like Musa's are trying to come to terms with the brutality they have been exposed to in their short lives. Without help they will not only be a continuing threat to society, but will become fathers to another lawless generation. "A second war front has opened to rescue a generation that cannot be incorporated into normal society," says Pastor Richard Cole, a Sierra Leonean working on the frontline for such children. "Young boys who live on the street are violent, lost, and without any hope unless someone shows them love and care."

Sierra Leone's civil war broke out in 1991, lasting until late this year. In its wake, the war left a generation of boy soldiers and traumatized or orphaned children in desperate need.

Meanwhile, a London church group is working with Sierra Leoneans in the heart of the turmoil, helping to transform the lives of some of these young people who have been abused, orphaned, and taught to kill. LifeLine Community Church is part of a network of churches from the United Kingdom, the United States, Africa, and Eastern Europe. As one aspect of its international work, LifeLine serves various rural African churches by training local leaders and supporting literature distribution. Life Line has worked with Cole for many years.

The Sierra Leone government, hearing of Cole's previous success in caring for displaced young people, invited him and LifeLine to set up a rehabilitation project for traumatized children. The Nehemiah Project is named after the prophet who rebuilt the city walls of Jerusalem against great opposition. Local volunteers offer the boys rehabilitation and a basic education, including skills in carpentry, tailoring, mechanics, and agriculture. The aim is to release the boys back into the community as part of the solution rather than the problem, able to support themselves and to pursue further education and training as appropriate.

A 12-year-old boy who entered the program had been with the rebels for a number of years. He saw his parents killed, then rebels made him kill his own grandparents. The rebels gave the boy no choices, so he lacked confidence and decision-making abilities. The staff at Nehemiah began by giving him little choices, like where to sit and what to eat. These led to bigger decisions, like what course of training to pursue. This built his confidence and helped him develop social skills to the point that, today, he has friends and functions normally. He even takes responsibility for some of the younger children.

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December 6 1999, Vol. 43, No. 14