Success to Significance honors Mariama Kamara and the Virtue of Forgiveness

Mariama Kamara- Mom who adopted the murderer of her son Back when we were broadcasting Mentoring Monday, I was told a story of forgiveness so profound, it could soften even the hardest of hearts. It begins in a small village in Sierra Leone, a nation torn apart by an 11-year civil war, a conflict so devastating that it scarred not just the land but the souls of its people. Lives were uprooted, families torn asunder, and a deep, abiding pain lingered long after the fighting ceased. Amid this wreckage lived Mariama Kamara. A mother who, like countless others, had suffered an unspeakable loss. Her son, her pride, her joy, had been taken from her—murdered in cold blood by a young rebel fighter. This was a time when children, some as young as 10, were turned into soldiers. They were armed, manipulated, and made to commit atrocities in the name of war. Mariama’s son was just one of thousands of innocent lives lost. But this story is not about loss. It is about what came next. Mariama, driven by a deep faith and a belief in something greater than vengeance, did something unimaginable. She forgave. More than that, she took the young man who had killed her son into her home. She adopted him. Yes, you heard that right. The woman who had every reason to hate, to seek revenge, chose instead to heal—not just herself, but him as well. Why? She said it was her faith. She believed that harboring hatred would only perpetuate the violence that had already stolen so much from her and her country. “I wanted to stop the cycle,” she said. “If I didn’t forgive, who would? And if I didn’t forgive, how could I ask God to forgive me?” Mariama’s act of forgiveness became a beacon in Sierra Leone, a country struggling to heal. Her story was one of many that emerged from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), a cornerstone of Sierra Leone’s post-war recovery process. The TRC was established in 2002 to document the causes and consequences of the war, give survivors a voice, and promote healing through storytelling. Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/success-made-to-last-legends--4302039/support.