USAID helps to rebuild Freetown

Two US Congressmen visited a housing reconstruction project in an eastern suburb of Freetown on Monday during a two-day tour of the capital, according to a Catholic Relief Services (CRS) news release. The rebuilding of Cabala Town, which was heavily looted and burned by rebels during the rebel invasion in January, is largely funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and managed by CRS/Caritas in Freetown. The project began in March and by the end of October, 563 of the 948 houses destroyed had been completely rebuilt and over 10,500 displaced people were able to return home while efforts to rebuild the remaining houses are underway, CRS said. During the invasion, some 77 percent of the houses were razed and about 32,000 residents were forced to leave and settle in camps for displaced people in other parts of the city. The chiefs of Cabala Town told the US congressmen that without this aid, their neighbourhood would be a ghost town today, the news release said.