The Director of Reparations at the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA), Obi Buya Kamara, on Tuesday disclosed that NACSA has started payments of micro
grants reparation benefits to over fifteen thousand war victims. He said that reparations were part of the TRC recommendation
to address the needs of peoples’ whose human rights were bridged during the war.
The TRC he said categorized five sets of people who “the payment will be made to, especially amputees, war wounded, sexually
violated women, children who were born out of rape and have become orphans and the war widows across the country.”
He said many people who had registered would think that they were immediate beneficiaries of the reparation.
For someone to become a beneficiary, he explained NACSA had to validate the claims.
He observed that “most people registered as orphans, but their parents are alive. People like the amputees, and others who
provide supporting documents of their status enable us to exclude those who are not victims” he said.
Commenting on the question of why NACSA had been addressing the reparation program on a snail pace, Mr. Kamara disclosed that
funding had been a serious problem. He noted that “there was no money to commence payments. That is why we started
registration in December which took us up to June and payment is underway this September.”
Osman Bangura is one of the amputee beneficiaries of the micro grant reparation benefit.  
He disclosed that he was amputated by the rebels on the 6th January 1998 and welcomed the move saying it was a good idea that
government has thought of them.
Bangura however lamented that he was “not pleased with only three hundred thousand Leones as benefit for my current status,
but it is better than nothing.”
He maintained that “The money is not really enough to satisfy me or my three children. Being a tailor, it is difficult to
raise money for my children’s school fees, so I was hoping that this benefit will boost me and my family.
The question now is where do I start with this meagre benefit? But all the same, it is better” he said.
Another of the war wounded who received her benefit is Sarah Bangura who said they had waited too long for such benefits. She
revealed that they “were expecting government to do more for us, but three hundred thousands Leones is really not enough. As
a wounded victim, I will have to use this money to send my children to school. I only hope that this kind of support will
continue to reach us.”
Responding to claims that the grants are not enough for the victims, Mr. Kamara stated that “we are not paying people for the
death of their families or for their injuries, but it is just acknowledging the wrongs that were meted out on them. Is not
about paying victims about their injuries but it is about noting symbolically that what happened to them was improper.”