Thousands of children were killed or injured in the war in Sierra Leone. Many lost hands or feet as a result of intentional mutilation. Others were forced to commit atrocities against their own families or villages as a means of preventing them from returning to their homes and thus turning them into fighters. Girls who were abducted were sexually abused, with some eventually becoming “bush wives,” informally attached to a single combatant.

	Source: Martin Lueders

Given their years of living in the bush and horrendous experiences with fighting and death, conventional wisdom would suggest that childhood might be lost forever for most children associated with the fighting forces, and that reintegration into their families and communities would be difficult. However, painstaking work at the grassroots level has permitted the reintegration of former child soldiers. Many demobilized children are in school or learning a trade. Preliminary findings of a survey suggest that about 90 percent of the former child soldiers have been able to reintegrate well into families and communities.