During the 10-year civil war that devastated Sierra Leone, Samuel T. Kamanda lived in his home district of Kono, risking his life to help children. Today, Kamanda, who is better known as T-Boy, works for the International Rescue Committee, a UNICEF partner. He works closely with former child combatants, taking care of them while trying to find their families.

As the assistant program manager for the IRC in Kono, 38 year-old T-Boy has the tough mission of helping these children reunite with their loved ones while teaching them the basic skills that will allow them to reintegrate into their communities.

"Most of the children committed a lot of atrocities," explains T-Boy. "They find it very difficult, after behaving like adults, to return to their childhood."

The Child Protection Care Center provides former child soldiers with basic health and education and skills training. But the first goal of the center is to make a break with the child’s former military life. In addition to schooling and religion, they are taught what most have forgotten or have never known — the normal activities of civilian life.

Counseling is especially vital to integrate children back into society. "We used to see them sitting alone, a lot of thinking going on," says T-Boy. "They told us that they didn’t have a future."

As in the case of Abu Bakar Bangura, most of these children’s days during the conflict were filled with danger and brutality. Now, many find it very difficult to settle into the mundane life at the Center. Abu ran away several times because he didn’t feel at home, only to return days later. T-Boy and the other care takers were patient in explaining to Abu that the center was there to help him. It took some time, but Abu finally understood that if he wanted to stay and receive their help, he had to respect the rules of the Center.

"It’s very challenging to deal with these children," explains T-Boy, "They want to be in control. They have a problem understanding what it is to respect. At the center we try to teach them; we try to transform them so that they can reintegrate back into society."

Through an innovative process called "video tracing", children can record a message for their families, which is then taken to where the child thinks may be home. T-Boy knows that finding the families can be a hard and long process. At times, he has had to walk many miles showing these videotapes, trying to find at least a clue that can help these children. Many of his visits end in frustration.

"’Are you going to find our families?’ they ask us", says T-Boy. "So I tell them, yes, we are trying very hard to locate your families."

T-Boy’s hard work has paid off. Hundreds of children that have previously stayed at the Center have now been reunited with their families or have joined a foster family. Most others, like Abu, have been able to go home; however, the future for these children is still uncertain. Only time will tell how well they will reintegrate into their communities and villages. In the meantime, T-Boy continues working with former child combatants, helping them to become children once again and giving them the best chance that he can for a successful future.