Finding Mama: Let's reunite Mariatu with her mother

In 2016, days before Mariatu Kanu and her three children were set to travel to Canada as refugees, Mariatu saw something she didn't think was possible: a recent photo of her mother. The photo was taken by a stranger, but it sparked a hope in Mariatu. Her mother was alive.

Mariatu was 27 years old when she last saw her mother. It was 1995 in Sierra Leone, Mariatu's native country, and a long and brutal civil war was waging. The violence had reached Mariatu and her loved ones, separating them as they fled to neighbouring countries.

After suffering a brutal attack, Mariatu, pregnant at the time, made her way to neighbouring Guinea Conakry, giving birth to her daughter Fereh-Musu in the bush on the way. Mariatu was in Conakry for about a year when her husband found her in the market. In 1999 they made their way to Guinea-Bissau, where they registered as refugees.

It would be another 11 years before Mariatu and her husband were reunited with their son, Abdul, who had been taken out of Sierra Leone by a friend after the initial attack.

In 2012, her husband became seriously ill with lung cancer and Mariatu fought for him to receive medical care. Eventually, through the UN, they were able to get him to a hospital in Senegal. The help came too late, though, and he passed away in 2013.

In 2015, Mariatu’s youngest son, Musa, broke his leg playing soccer. The break was so bad that doctors wanted to amputate, but Mariatu fought for Musa to keep his leg. While the leg was healing, Musa developed a serious bone infection. The family’s refugee application to Canada was bumped up so that Musa could receive the medical care to save his leg.

Meanwhile, in response to the Syrian refugee crisis, a group from the Central Frederick neighbourhood in Kitchener had come together to form a refugee sponsorship team. After several failed matches, the group was asked to sponsor a family from Guinea-Bissau. In November 2016, Mariatu, Abdul, Fereh-Musu, and Musa arrived in Kitchener.

Mariatu has been fighting for her family for a long time, and she’s not about to stop. She believes her mother is now living in Guinea-Bissau, but the only way to be sure is to travel back and try to reestablish contact. Mariatu has a goal to travel early in 2025, accompanied by Fereh-Musu or Musa.

Mariatu and her kids are immensely grateful for the support they have received from their adopted community and need to ask for help one more time, to reunite more of this family by Finding Mama.