Dear Reader!
Please allow me to tell you my story.
I thankfully secured a five year scholarship from the Catholic Diocese of Makeni and travelled to Italy in 1993.Whilst in Italy, I founded the Little Steps NGO in 2000. During this period, there was a serious and bloody civil war in my country, Sierra Leone. The war started in 1992, it placed the entire country in a state of confusion and panic.
Though I was not personally and or physically affected by the war, emotionally I was as I had left my family, friends, and my community in Koinadugu District. I continually carried the terrible emotions of the war. This then became a motivation for me, not only to study and obtain my Master’s degree in Sociology of Development but also to think of how best I could help my people, friends and my community once the war ended.
With this in mind, I immediately started narrating my story to my Italian friends, including a special person, Maria Antonella Pelliccia who eventually became my wife after my studies. I started soliciting funds to rebuild the destroyed schools and health facilities in my Village Yagala and the immediate environs. Quickly, I was able to mobilize friends in Italy and formed an association called Microcammino 2000. We started to secure funding and other material support to undertake various small projects.
Subsequently, we built nine Primary Schools and one Secondary school, three health centers, over thirty water wells in various parts of Koinadugu and Falaba Districts. Additionally, we built a boarding home for 90 blind children, gave tens of national and international scholarships, facilitated the surgical operations of over 2000 needy patients, supplied tools, seedlings and small ruminants to farmers, etc. During this period, I was able to earn the trust of sponsors and beneficiaries which eventually motivated the community to ask me to run as Chairman of Koinadugu District Council in 2008 which I won with over 83% of the votes, a task I successfully performed in four years. After which I was appointed Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs.
Subsequently as Minister of Trade and Industry and finally as Minister of Works and Public Affairs in the Republic of Sierra Leone. I have decided to retire from public life, however, I want to continue my humanitarian work which has always been my passion and desire. Obviously, I’ve always strongly believed that as a good citizen, I should never leave the task/onus of helping and supporting my people, my community, my country and my world to others … In that regard, I want to continue to seek support to improve the lives of my people and community in Koinadugu/Falaba.
The intervention will range from the promotion of education to health care, child care, food security, women’s empowerment, culture and tourism, environmental protection, and community awareness. So, kindly join us in our journey. Thank you for your kind attention.