Our Stories

The Global humanitarian contributions by both founders of Variety Group Sierra Leone aka Variety Children & Family Services dates back to 1992 when the founders, with the financial support of Daddy Percy A Barrow first opened a group Home for children in Stockton, California called Sunnyside Youth Services. This facility was licensed by the state of California and charged with the responsibilities to rehabilitate children who were in trouble with the law instead of sending them to juvenile detention centers.
In 1994 the second group home was opened in North Stockton as more children got into trouble with the law and the need for more facilities became apparent to rehabilitate more children instead of incarceration at the juvenile prisons.
In 1997 the founders opened their first Foster Family Agency under an amended articles of incorporation with the secretary of state of California. It became known as Sunnyside Children and family Services. Children who were in trouble with the law and were rehabilitated in the Group home setting at Sunnyside Group Homes were sent to these foster homes to live with certified families.

In 1999 we opened a Residential Care facility for the Elderly known as Family Care Home in Stockton , California with Nancy Lahai as the Executive Director. This facility provided services to senior citizens who needed board and care and basic services like feeding, lodging, transportation to medical and other appointments and assistance with daily living.
In 2003 Sunnyside Children & Family Services amended its article of incorporation once more with the secretary of State to incorporate community based feeding program to the homeless and Needy families. The corporation then became known as Sunnyside Community Services. These services included food and nonfood items such as blankets, clothing, house hold utensils to the homeless and needy families.

• DONALD BIDDLE – PRO /F UND RAISING. STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA
• GORDON LINDSTROM – Certified Public Accountant, Stockton, California. 1992 – Present
• CENTRAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA
• QUAIL LAKES BAPTIST CHURCH, STOCKTON , CALIFORNIA
• A. G SPANOS ORGANIZATION, STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA

All these programs prepared us (John Kandeh and Francis Lahai ) to serve their motherland Sierra Leone which was going through a brutal civil war. The desire to come home and serve Sierra Leone was on the front burner and we only waited and prayed for the war to end.

In 2003 when the war finally ended in Sierra Leone, John Kandeh and Francis Lahai made their first trip to the mother land to assess the damages done by the war and how they could help in their own little ways. After a thorough assessment of damages done in the southern province – Bo district, especially in the educational sector, where schools were destroyed, we decided to rehabilitate some schools in the District with concentration in Jaiama Bongor Chiefdom. We rehabilitated seven schools in the chiefdom, built a new school in Ndombu and shipped a container load of educational materials including school chairs, books, and uniforms for all the children. We also paid school fees for over six hundred children for five years. In Ndombu- Jaima Bongor chiefdom, Bo District, we provided school furniture, books, uniform for the children and paid the teachers for five years.

In Freetown we realized that hundreds of girls had dropped out of school due to the civil war . These girls were roaming the streets of Freetown engaged in commercial sex and drugs. This gave birth to the establishment of VARIETY GROUP SIERRA LEONE LIMITED in 2005 with the first Beauty Supply Store in Sierra Leone.

2006 . Variety Group opened a short term vocational skills training school in Hair dressing to address the social issues of these young women which was a serious threat to the national image of Sierra Leone.
In collaboration with YMCA several young girls were recruited for the twelve months training course.
At the end of the course each graduate was given a full startup kit to start their own hair dressing salon.
In 2012 Variety Institute of cosmetology had graduated over 200 young women and girls who became self reliant.This successful graduation of newly skilled vocational entrepreneurs led to the establishment of several small scale beauty salons in Freetown and beyond.

2006 -2007 The founders of Variety Group turned their attention to the physically disabled population around the country crawling on the streets to find their daily living. Some of the disabled had their hands , arms and legs chopped off by the rebels during the civil war.

2007 – shipment of a container loaded with crutches, wheel chairs, walkers, used clothing and food items arrived in Freetown for the disabled population. First donation went to the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, the disabled camp in Grafton, Bus Station and Ecowas Street in Freetown. The distribution continued to Moyamba district council, Bo district council, Pujehun district, Bonthe district, Kenema district and Port Loko district. The distribution of crutches, walkers and wheel chairs is still in progress in rural health centers in Kenema and Kailahun districts. Interested health centers should contact Variety Children regional office in Kenema.

2012 – The plight of children who were permanently living on the streets of Freetown and all major towns in Sierra Leone as one of the effects of the civil war, gave birth to VARIETY CHILDREN & FAMILY SERVICES.
In collaboration with the late Honorable OYA MILLICENT SANKO whose compassion and concern for all the vulnerable children who were permanently living on the streets of all major towns in Sierra Leone and exposed to all kinds of abuse , was beyond imagination. Girls as young as eight years old were living on the streets.The influence of this wonderful patriot of Sierra Leone who was the Deputy Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs gave birth to Variety Children & family Services