Story of Wellington
The Wellington Orphanage, located just outside of the capital city of Freetown, Sierra Leone, Africa, was founded in 1995 by Pastor Hassan Mansaray during a brutal 11-year civil war. Pastor Hassan, as he is known to missionaries, felt a calling to provide free meals the best way he could, to children whose parents were kidnapped or murdered during the war.
Soon, Pastor Hassan noticed that the children spent most of their time around his home because they had nowhere else to go. When the police brought an abandoned baby boy to him, he accepted him, naming the little boy Augustine because he was brought to Pastor Hassan’s home in the month of August. Augustine was the beginning of something very special that God was going to create, using Pastor Hassan as his chosen disciple to carry out His perfect plan of redemption.
During this time, the civil war in Sierra Leone was raging. Over 50,000 people were being raped, murdered and tortured, leaving many children without parents or homes. The majority of foreign missionaries and aid organizations had fled the country. Pastor Hassan had no real source of funding. His only income came from 2 small churches that he served as pastor, comprised mostly of unemployed people. But Pastor Hassan’s faith, compassion, and obedience in Jesus Christ moved him to fight for the hearts of orphans, and he started the Wellington Orphanage solely on trust in his Lord and Savior.
Pastor Hassan gathered 64 children in the beginning years, only 22 short of the 86 that currently reside in the orphanage today. He sold his home, his bed, and even his eating utensils in order to buy food for the children and a place to sleep. The original rented building did not last long due to lack of funds. Pastor Hassan and the children were asked to vacate after several months and he moved the children to sleep on the floor inside of a small church.
In 2002, a terminally ill elderly woman heard of Pastor Hassan’s story, and just before she died, offered her home to Pastor Hassan and his children. That home now serves as the official site of the Wellington Orphanage. In 2003, the war had ended, support groups and aid organizations returned, and renovations began taking place at the orphanage. A second story was built, and by 2004 the orphanage was complete as it stands to this day.
At this time, all 86 orphans living in the orphanage are being given residential care including food, clothing, education, and medical care. However, the children are growing in years and there is a need for the orphanage to expand. Currently, Pastor Hassan’s dream includes a separate building for the older boys, who are now mostly teenagers.
The Wellington Orphanage continues to be a place where God’s hand is very present, and hope is never lost.
