Ansumana Bangura
Field Director
Ansumana was born in Kamakwie Bombali District Northern Province, Sierra Leone and grew up in a Muslim home. When he became a Christian in the late 90s, he was isolated by His muslim community. He became a Christian because he had witnessed Christians forgiving, whilst Muslims found it difficult to forgive.
In 2002, Ansu settled in Freetown with his uncle to attend Albert Academy. He joined Scripture Union and started preaching the Word of God during devotions.
In 2006/2007, when Ansumana began studying at Fourah Bay University, he soberly realized he needed to serve God. He joined Bible Study Union (BSU) SLEFES FBC and began going to conferences and mission trips to the remote parts of the country.
Ansumana began to volunteer as a tutor with WMFSL in September 2010. Since then, God has used him to help shape the lives of many of the Lighthouse youth. Now, Ansu is a staff member serving as Administrator and as Acting Field Director while Cami Goble, WMFSL Field Director, is on sabbatical. He was married to Betty in November, 2016 and they have a daughter named Josephine Makallay.
Salome Bangura
Vulnerable Persons Protection Coordinator, Women’s Ministry Coordinator, Volunteers / Short Term Team, Graduates Team
Salome Bangura was born into a Muslim family. So from the time she was born she was raised as a Muslim. Her parents died when she was fifteen years old. After her parents died, she started living with her aunty whose family were Christians. Through her aunt’s influence, Salome became a Christian.
Salome loves mentoring and encouraging young girls in Kroo Bay to attend school and follow Jesus. She also does counseling with girls who have been raped and she is able to refer them to a shelter for protection and safety. The girls in Kroo Bay are very vulnerable. Most of them have very little money and some have never had a chance to go to school to learn to read and write. A lot of abuse happens in Kroo Bay and many girls are inappropriately touched by the age of 3-4, and many are raped by the age of 12-15. She also fights for justice for these girls by supporting them and their families, helping them to understand the justice system, and assists them in court to try to remove the perpetrators from society. Even though there are many problems, God has been good to the people of Kroo Bay. Some have started to go to church because of our outreach programs and some young girls are making positive decisions towards Christ. Continue to pray for the women of Kroo Bay.
Salome is married to Isaac Bangura and they have a beautiful daughter, Mayon, and a son, Gideon.
Alafia Cole
Executive Director, Leadership Team, Compound Coordinator, Graduates Team
Christian Alafia Cole was born on the 8th of August to a Sierra Leonean father and a Liberian mother. Unfortunately, they did not marry each other. Due to this, his mother thought it fit to go back to Liberia where she died in the brutal war.
While attending primary school, Alafia was left to his aunt when he was nine. Later he decided to live with his father and stepmother. After graduating from high school, he received an institute degree in road construction. Then he started working for the Ministry of Works. This season of his life was very unstable for him, as he was bounced around from life on the streets to his aunty to father.
Even though Alafia came from a “Christian” family, he never had that deep feeling about who God is. He did construction work for about three years and then started doing business. When he was not working, Alafia would relax with his friends at a certain place, drinking alcohol, smoking, and taking drugs. Then God sent a man there, who told them about God’s good plan for their lives. After promising the man to attend church several times, Alafia finally DID go. At that first visit he made a commitment that he would serve God in that church. A few years later he was ordained a deacon, and continues to serve and worship there to this day.
Alafia started volunteering with WMFSL in 2010. Now he serves as an Executive Director of Word Made Flesh Sierra Leone. Alafia and his wife Alakeh also foster three Word Made Flesh youth.
Francis Davies
Lighthouse Youth Coordinator, Frisbee Team, Community Care Team, Outreach Team
Francis was born and raised in Freetown, the capital city of Sierra Leone. Francis attended the Saint Edwards Secondary School from form 1-3 and later attended West African Methodist Collegiate School during the civil war. He married Patricia Davies in 2008, and they have four beautiful children, two boys and two girls, Keyara, Caleb, Jessie and Esther. Francis came to know the Lord in 1997, in neighbouring country Guinea, Conakry, during the war. In 2004, he began work with Rainbows of Hope conducting Bible studies, teaching literacy and numeracy, and doing counselling with youth on the streets and in detention centres. Then, in 2007, he worked with PACES for one year, counselling and praying with former child soldiers. In 2008, he worked with City of Rest, a home for people with mental illness and addictions, as a counsellor. He began volunteering with WMF in 2010, and joined the staff a year later. Ever since Francis gave his life to Christ, working with young people has always been his desire. Francis is presently pursuing a bachelor degree in Theology.
Cami Goble
Regional Coordinator - Europe & Africa
Cami grew up in Colorado. Compassion welled in her heart at a young age, watching commercials for famine relief in Africa during Saturday morning cartoons. As her Grandma Lorraine read Bible stories to her during occasional visits, Cami was introduced to God’s love. Cami accepted Jesus as her welcoming Savior in high school when a friend told her of God’s love and plan for each person. Hungry to learn more about God, she attended a Biola University, where she studied missions (B.A. ICS) and education (M.A. ED) and met lifelong friends.
Over the years Cami has had teaching opportunities is Namibia (WorldTeach), Papua New Guinea (Wycliffe) and Garden Grove (GGUSD). Cami was a part of the Fall 2002 Servant Team in Nepal, where she learned much from Gautum and Reka Rai and Silas and Kimberly West.
When Cami moved to Freetown in 2003, she started working among Lighthouse youth and assisting with the Good News Club in Kroo Bay. As Field Director, Cami helped to develop and expand the WMF community in Freetown from 2004-2019. On her first sabbatical in 2010 she met Alan Goble at the Iona Christian Community in Scotland. They were very happily married September 2011. Alan joined Cami in Freetown soon thereafter and has been a faithful volunteer ever since, supporting the community with practical and technical support. During Cami’s second sabbatical in 2018, Alan and Cami adopted their beloved son, Joseph. Cami now serves as the Africa and Europe Regional Coordinator. She loves to dance, swim, cook, bake, read, hike, and watch birds.
Jennifer Seo Ney
Field Director, Leadership Team
Jennifer Seo was born in Seoul, South Korea. She was raised in a Catholic family and had a personal encounter with Christ when she was 17 years old. She went to the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. In 2001, she moved to Vancouver and worked as a dental hygienist until she felt called into full-time missions in 2010. She first served in the inner city of Vancouver working with people struggling with drug addiction, homelessness and mental illness. From 2012 to 2017, Jennifer served in the Kroo Bay area of Sierra Leone’s capital city of Freetown with Word Made Flesh Sierra Leone. During that time, she focused on ministry with vulnerable women and children. She lives in Freetown with her husband, Stephen Ney, and serves as a Field Director of Word Made Flesh Sierra Leone. She enjoys running and reading.
Sarah Rogers
Community Care Coordinator, Lighthouse Youth Team, Frisbee Team, Assistant Librarian
Sarah Rogers was born June 27 1991, in Freetown. She grew up in a Muslim home. Sarah came to know Christ through Dan and Aminata Henry, who were part of the Word Made Flesh Sierra Leone community. The Henrys had been fostering two young girls, Mabinty and Zainab. When Dan and Ami moved to the US, they asked Sarah to take over the fostering care of these teenage girls. When Sarah first started living with Mabinty and Zainab, they would wake Sarah up for morning Christian devotions and prayers, even though Sarah was still a Muslim. They also invited Sarah to a revival and church, and she began to love Christianity. For a while, Sarah observed both Islam and Christianity, but finally chose Jesus after seeing Christians caring, encouraging and helping others. One of the most important things that finally convinced Sarah to choose Christianity was seeing Word Made Flesh Sierra Leone community members humbly and simply serving Christ.
During that same time, Sarah had been dating a Muslim man. There was a lot of conflict in their relationship, and he said he would never marry a Christian woman. Although they had been together for a long time, Sarah told him to go find another woman because she would never be a Muslim again. Sarah continued to pray for him to know Jesus. Surprisingly, one day the man told Sarah to invite him to church. Thankfully he agreed to go to church, and over time he became a Christian.
Sarah thanks God for Wooding Rogers, her husband, and the fact that he came to know Jesus. They currently live in Kroo Bay, with their daughter Mahun.
Sarah started volunteering with Word Made Flesh in 2014. After nine months, Sarah was invited into a 6-month-long Servant Team with WMFSL. Having successfully completed this rigorous internship experience, Sarah joined the WMFSL staff. Sarah is currently studying logistics and supply chain management at St. Monica University. She is passionate about Community Care and is a leader in the Lighthouse Youth Program.
Gladys Rachel Samura
Librarian, Tutoring Team, Lighthouse Youth Team, Crafts Team, Community Care Team, Community Health Team
Gladys was born on October 1 in Regent; a Rural Village of Freetown, Sierra Leone. She grew up with her mother, two sisters, brother, aunt, and grandfather. Her father died when she was 7 years old. Life was hard for her
family. As a young lady, Gladys had to work alongside her mother who was a gardener, a coal miner and trader. Due to financial challenges, she dropped out of school at grade 8 (JSS 2). For a few years, she was happily caring for children and was preparing food for them. Gladys was born into a Christian family but only had an intimate relationship with God when she was a grownup. She later moved to Port Loko in the north of Sierra Leone to serve as a missionary. Gladys studied tailoring and crafts. She is married to Foday Edward Samura and they have a handsome son, Emmanuel Kanukay Samura. Gladys began to volunteer as a tutor and outreach member at Word Made Flesh Sierra Leone in June 2015. In 2017, she was offered a WMF Servant Team training opportunity. Gladys came on staff with WMF in 2018. She is passionate about making beautiful crafts, and mentoring young people to help them have a better future.
Esther Sia Sam
Administration Team, Lighthouse Youth Team, Women’s Ministry Team, Vulnerable Persons Protection Team
Esther was born in Kono District in the Eastern Province of Sierra Leone to a Christian family. When she was just two months old, her father was transferred to work in Freetown, so the family came with him. She schooled in Freetown where she was living with her entire family. Currently, she studies Banking and Finance at the Institute of Public Administration and Management.
Esther loves to sing. She is a chorister in her church. Esther first volunteered with Word Made Flesh in 2012 as a tutor, Kroo Bay Outreach and Good New Club support. She enjoys working in the community. Esther currently works with the Administration, Vulnerable Person Protection Policy Advocate and Lighthouse teams.
Joseph Tarawalie
Admin/Technology/Compound Team, Lighthouse Youth Team, Frisbee Coordinator, Graduates Team
Joseph Tarawalie was born in Makeni, the headquarter town of the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. He grew up as a Muslim in his stepfather’s house and knew prophet Mohamad as his savior all those years. During that period, he had difficulty worshipping and communicating with God because of the Arabic language, which he was unable to understand.
During Sierra Leone’s civil war, Joseph and his family moved to the capital Freetown for safety reasons. In the city, he was washing dishes at a local restaurant his sister was operating. After that he would join his inner city friends at Victoria Park.
In 2002, a WMFSL volunteer who had been going to his sister’s restaurant and who had concomitantly been seeing him washing dishes invited Joseph to the Lighthouse program. At Lighthouse, Joseph met many youth from the street. He encountered Christ during his time at Lighthouse through the help of WMFSL former Field Director Cami Goble.
Joseph volunteered at WMFSL for 3 years and got trained in computer software programs. In July, 2018, he was invited to join WMFSL’s Servant Team program. Currently he is on staff, serving in the administration department as the Technology Assistant and in the Lighthouse program mentoring youth.
Please pray for Joseph as he seeks to become a good example to the youth of Kroo Bay as well as provide the community with technological supports.
Fatmata Turay
Women’s Ministry Team, Vulnerable Persons Protection Team, Crafts Coordinator, Advocacy Team, Graduates Team, Good News Club Team
Fatmata Kamara was born in Freetown to a Muslim family. She was later taken to Comrabai, a small village in Northern Sierra Leone, where she grew up.
In 2002, she was greatly confused and hopeless after the country’s 11-year civil war, and the many difficulties it brought. After several failed attempts to live with her mother, she tried a different way of life. She lived in the street, where she thought she would have security, protection and freedom. The street experience however turned out to be an “earthly hell”.
In 2003, while living partially with her mother and partially in the street, she met sister Cami, a woman filled with lots of passion for the poor, who led her to Christ. Cami found a church where they attended together.
A few months later, Fatmata joined the Lighthouse program through which she was again sent to school, provided with food and clothes, and was reconciled to her mother. After nine years, she graduated from the WMF’s Lighthouse programme and decided to give back by volunteering for a year and a half as a tutor in WMFSL’s tutoring program. She later left for another career and started making paper beads.
Fatmata was called upon thrice to join WMFSL’s Servant Team program and thrice she rejected the offer because she was scared of becoming a staff after being a youth at Lighthouse, thinking that the job may require more than she is capable of giving. Finally, after prayer and encouragement, she is now a full time staff member at WMFSL.
Fatmata married Augustine Turay in 2020, they live together with their son Sammy. Fatmata and Augustine have a new son named Ezekiel Amen.
Naomi Mariama Whitfield
Assistant Tutoring Coordinator, Women’s Ministry Team, Vulnerable Persons Protection Team, Good News Club Team, Advocacy/Crafts Team
Naomi was born April 5 in Eastern Sierra Leone to a Christian family. She however encountered Christ at age 19. She grew up in Freetown where she schooled. She is a graduate from Freetown College of Management and Accountancy majoring in Human Resource Management.
In 2014, Naomi got married to Lynton Whitfield whom she later lost in September 2018. It was during this time of mourning that she joined the servant team program at WMFSL. After completing the six-month ST program, she now works with the community’s administration, advocacy and tutoring teams.
Naomi has passion for serving children and singing Christian music. She is willing to learn new skills and is supportive in many ways in the community. She is a friend to many vulnerable women in Kroo Bay.
Please pray for Naomi to find complete peace in the Lord and to serve the children of Kroo Bay.
Paulina Blessings Massaquoi
Admin team, Tutoring, Advocacy, and Good News Club Team
Born and raised in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Paulina grew up with her parents, three siblings and extended family members. She went through both her Primary and Secondary school education in Freetown. She is currently a student of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), studying to become a Chartered Accountant.
All through her childhood, she had been surrounded by talk of a crucified and risen Christ but she had neither a saving faith nor a personal relationship with Him. Her attempts to be religious only led her to legalism and much frustration. When she was in secondary school, hard times hit her well-to-do family and she experienced true hardship and poverty for the first time. She became very angry at God and everyone else, struggled with a lot of bullying at school and was depressed. Her misfortune and need for love threw her on the path of finding truth. She threw her net in many oceans but caught fish that never satisfied her. God used the Scripture Union fellowship at her school to guide her to new waters. It was a gradual process, but in 2016 she encountered the truth of the grace of God, through Christ Jesus and she was convicted more than ever before.
By the grace of God, her relationship with God and her submission to truth grew stronger. In 2021, she had been asking God for guidance on what ministry she was to serve Him in. Fortunately, Jennifer Ney, a friend and WMF staff, told her about an internship opening at WMFSL. This was the first time she’d ever heard of such an organization. She applied, started in August 2021 and has completely fallen in love with the community, especially the children of Kroo Bay. She is part of the Admin, Advocacy, Good News Club and Tutoring departments. She loves writing, being out in nature and playing with the kids. Please pray for Paulina, for wisdom in making meaningful decisions that are according to God’s will for her life. Pray for the salvation of all her family members.
Samuel Ibrahim Samura
Admin team, Lighthouse Youth, Advocacy, Tutoring, Men's Ministry
Samuel was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone at the 34 Military Hospital, Wilberforce. He was a Muslim and grew up in a Muslim home. Samuel became a Christian on the 14th of November in 2014, and nobody spoke to him. He decided became a Christian because he witnessed God’s revelation and mercy.
Samuel attended the Albert Academy Secondary School. In 2016/2017, he furthered his studies at the Institute of Public Administration and Management (IPAM), where he strongly served God in the Sierra Leone Fellowship of Evangelical Students (SLEFES).
Samuel began volunteering and servant team in WMFSL August 2021. Now, he is a member of staff serving in Administration and Advocacy departments. Samuel has been married to his wife Michaella (pictured) since April 2021. Samuel is passionate about reading and sports. Please be praying for God’s continued direction and presence in Samuel’s life.