Augusta was an indirect victim of coronavirus. The fear of getting infected in the hospital led her to stop taking retroviral drugs for her illness.
Orphaned as a child, forced to sell food on the street, she decided to run away from home and began to live and survive on the street. She was exploited and abused, beaten and robbed, and eventually also got sick.
At 16, her life changed when a Salesian missionary approached her and offered her a way out of life in the streets and exploitation. She went back to school, finished high school, studied the hotel business, did an internship in a restaurant, "and she was always wanting to pay for her studies herself," recalls Fr Jorge Crisafulli, SDB, Director of the “Don Bosco Fambul” work in Freetown.
In 2018, she attended the 38th UN Session of Human Rights and offered her testimony in a recorded message. She participated in several meetings and moved all those who listened to her testimony. In Brussels, she was received by the then President of the European Parliament, Hon. Antonio Tajani, and participated with the now Cardinal Michael Czerny in a meeting of the COMECE (Commission of the Episcopal Conferences of the European Community) on the Action of the Catholic Church against Trafficking in Human Beings.
In Malta, she participated in the European event Lost in Migration with the documentary film "Love" and the round table on the Protection of Minors on the Way of Migration: Origin, Transit and Reception.
In Rome, thanks to the personal interest of Vatican News journalist Patricia Ynestroza, Augusta had the opportunity to participate in an audience with Pope Francis in St. Peter's Square. To put it in the words of the young Sierra Leonean: "It was the happiest day of my life."
In Turin, she had the opportunity to meet the Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime. In the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, she prayed in front of the tomb of the Salesian saints.
With the documentary film "Love", of which Augusta is the protagonist, she managed to change the lives of many minors in Sierra Leone: the government of the country began to see these minors as the victims they actually are, introducing new laws that prevent them from being arrested by the police.
“Death took her away at her best time. She fulfilled her dream and leaves us a very clear message: there is always a second chance in life. She did it, which is why other girls can follow in her footsteps today,” assures Fr Crisafulli.
During the filming of "Love" Augusta could say: "Today I'm happy. Nobody laughs at me anymore, nor do they use me. I do my job, I earn my money for that and I love what I do.”
Source: Misiones Salesianas
