A benefit night for Savior of the World Orphanage will be held from 6 p.m. to midnight Nov. 10 at Hildebrandt Hall of St. Mary Church, 525 N. Lafayette St., Griffith.

The evening will include dinner and a video presentation on the effects of the recent blood diamond war on the children of Savior of the World, as well as stories of the people of Sierra Leone.

A live and silent auction will follow and the evening will end with a performance by rock band Mr. Funnyman. Tickets are $30 for dinner, auction, and band, or $15 for the auction and entertainment only (after 7:30 p.m.) Tickets are available by calling Rosanne at (219) 696-1308 or at the door.

When the blood diamond war of Sierra Leone, Africa, hit her town of Makeni, Louisa Aminata and her family, along with thousands of others, fled to capital, Freetown. The war soon followed them.

In Freetown they witnessed many scenes of atrocities committed against unarmed men, women and children, such as the amputation of arms and legs and the blinding of victims by pouring melted plastic into their eyes. After the war, many homeless and orphaned children who had witnessed their own parents and brothers and sisters being killed, roamed the streets.

Aminata's family was left destitute and starving. She had heard that the local Catholic church was giving out aid. She went there begging for help for her dying younger brother. The missionary priest, the Rev. John Gibson, heard her appeal and obtained medicine for her brother and food for her family.

Aminata was inspired by his kindness and by his stories of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, whom the Rev. Gibson had known personally.

When the Rev. Gibson returned to the U.S., he told of the horror he had witnessed and the extreme needs of the people of Sierra Leone. Whenever he received a donation, he wired it to Sierra Leone and into the hands of people who he knew would distribute it to others in need. Louisa Aminata was one of these people.

Aminata concentrated her efforts on the orphaned street children. In the spring of 2004, when she herself was only 21 years old, Aminata asked the Rev. Gibson if she could adopt the children she was helping. He agreed and with the government's approval she adopted 20 street children and opened what she calls Savior of the World Children's Center.

Back in the U.S., friends of the Rev. Gibson organized the relief efforts into a nonprofit charity and Savior of the World, Inc. was born.

Aminata, now 24, is the legal mother of 30 children rescued off the street. She and the children live in a small, rented apartment that is without running water, electricity or even doors. The 30 children share two bedrooms and 14 single beds. They do not have a yard to play in.

More children wait in the streets for Aminata to adopt them, but there simply isn't any more room. U.S. supporters have stepped up their efforts to raise funds so that Aminata may continue and expand her work among the children of Sierra Leone.

- The Times