Exclusive interview with S.L. Arc of Hope’s Board Chairman, Dr. John Sandy. Arc of Hope, prematurely compared to Tegloma

The Watertown Daily Times, published an article titled, “Hope amid hopelessness. A Watertown woman’s sojourn to Sierra Leone, the poorest nation on earth” , authored by Katherine Fitzgerald. Mrs. Fitzgerald was a volunteering at The Fatima Institute (TFI), a Catholic liberal-arts college and peace, justice and human rights institute located in the city of Makeni. The excerpt below is from the referenced article, published on On Sunday April 5, 2009.

“There is nothing more beautiful than the idealistic thoughts and feelings expressed in the speech (English, accentuated by numerous tribal dialects) of Sierra Leoneans.

In a land of mass illiteracy and relentless prose, Sierra Leoneans are brilliant intellectuals and poets.”

We Sierra Leoneans are in deed experts in “conceptualizing and articulating ideas” We are proficient in putting our ideas in paper and successfully articulating such ideas in efforts to raise funds. We turn around and embezzle such funds, leaving our donors wondering what happened with their donations or the humanitarian project we had solicited their money for. Too many non-profit organizations have been formed in our local communities in the Diaspora or in Sierra Leone. Many of the so-called non-profit organizations never fulfill their promises, either because funds are compromised, donated materials sold for personal gain or personal disagreements sever the philanthropic relationship. With all due respect to my fellow Sierra Leoneans, I must without hesitation, truthfully say that we are idealistic, self-centered philanthropists, who sometimes articulate brilliant ideas in efforts to scam donors for personal gain.

My blunt comments above, are not intended to castigate all Sierra Leone non-profit organizations ever formed. We have had many successful organization which have delivered the goods or fulfilled their promises. In my humble opinion, one such organization is the Tegloma Organization. The successful progressive Tegloma organization was founded in October 1975 by a group of Sierra Leoneans who saw a need to come together and make differences in the lives of people in their communities. The organization was formed with a vision “aimed at a family coming together with a focus on the common dilemmas and the multitudes of problems evident with any settler in a strange land.” Many of us have unfairly labeled Tegloma as a “tribalistic ethnic Mende” organization because it was dominated by mostly our Mende brothers and sisters. However, the organization later became more diverse, making it a multi-national and multi-ethnic body of progressive and dedicated groups of people of all walks of life. Whatever one chooses to call the Tegloma Federation, is irrelevant at this point. My point here is that as the name Tegloma (Progress) implies, it is one of the most progressive and successful non-profit organizations formed by Sierra Leoneans anywhere in the world.

The first time I saw the list of the founding members of the Sierra Leone Arc of Hope, I immediately thought about the Tegoloma Federation. I unfairly compared the two organization, with the hope that SLAHOPE would achieve its aims, objectives and would last forever, or at least as long as Tegloma has lasted – since 1975. The more I learn about the founding members of SLAHOPE, the more I began to believe that SLAHOPE is uniquely capable of making a difference in the lives of all Sierrra Leoneans.

In support of SLAHOPE’s fund-raising dinner and dance this coming Saturday, October 2nd, I reached to Dr. John Sandy, founding member and chairman of the Board of Directors of SLAHOPE, to grant us an interview.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH DR. JOHN SANDY

Sierra Leone Daily Mail Opening Remarks:

On behalf of the suffering People of Sierra Leone and the Sierra Leone Daily Mail, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for granting us this interview.  I must inform you that, this is my first interview, after my appointment as Editor in Chief of the Sierra Leone Daily Mail.   Let me humorously also inform you that, your fellow Board Member, His Excellency Ambassador Stevens, would now have to take second place or some distant position as regards to getting an interview with the Sierra Leone Daily  Mail.   We offered him the first opportunity for an interview but he was so busy with making arrangements for President Koroma’s visit last weekend, that we have not had the chance to speak with him.  

I believe, sir that you were destined to have this first interview with us because the Almighty God knows you have embarked on a worthy cause as  Board Chairman of Arc of Hope.   Please extend my regards to H.E. Amb. Bockarie Stevens and tell him that he must now wait for another chance to be granted an interview with us.  Whatever the case might be, he will never be the first person interviewed by my humble self in my role as Editor in Chief of SLDM.  .(…laughing…). Sir let us now proceed with our interview.

SLDM question: Dr. Sandy, please tell our readers how the brilliant idea of the formation of the Sierra Leone Arc of Hope was borne.  Most of the founding members like Amb Bockarie Stevens,  yourself and others are professionals who are busy with their work and families.  How and why would you find the time to volunteer for such a massive humanitarian endeavor?

Dr: Sandy responds:  Mr. Morris, thank you for according me the opportunity to speak with your audience, and for taking a coveted historic first to be interviewed by the Editor in Chief of the Sierra Leone Daily Mail.

Interestingly, HE Bockari Stevens, Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the United States (AKA, the People’s Ambassador) came up with the vision and called a brain storming meeting at the Sierra Leone Embassy in November 2008 to discuss ideas on giving something tangible to our beloved Sierra Leone when she turns 50 years in 2011. Discussions evolved into a hospital project, and eventually the Sierra Leone Arc of Hope was born, and I emerged as the leader. So HE Ambassador Bockari Stevens conceived the vision, and I took the leadership as the Board Chairman, but I want to point out that the success of the Sierra Leone Arc of Hope is based on team work and extra ordinary dedication and commitment from the board members.

In deed, Mr. Morris, we are very busy with our professional lives in the United States, but patriotism and nationalism trumps our busy schedules, because we do find and make time for the Sierra Leone Arc of Hope.
 
SLDM question: I hope you will not take offense to my second question because it is not an attempt to question the credibility of you or any other member of Arc of Hope — far from it.  However, many other so-called humanitarian organizations here in North America have raised funds, promising to help our people but we never see such help after the funds are collected from the public.   My question is, what would you say to readers that could make them feel at ease to donate their hard earned money and support this worthy cause you have embarked on?

Dr. Sandy responds: Mr. Morris, your question is a legitimate one. There are several factors that distinguishes the Sierra Leone Arc of Hope from other humanitarian organizations: 1, We are a 501-C-3 Non-Profit organization in the United States of America. What that means is that we have met United States standards in terms of transparency and accountability. 2, Our records are always open to the public for review. Anyone at anytime, even non-members are welcomed to review our records. 3, We maintained very high standards in terms of operations and accountability. 4, All the board members, and coordinators are responsible professionals in the United States. 

His Excellency the President, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma and the First Lady, and His Excellency the Vice President have all endorsed the Sierra Leone Arc of Hope. We have other Non-profit organizations in the US that have also endorsed the Sierra Leone. Macy’s Stores in the United States recently endorsed the Sierra Leone Arc of Hope. So you can easily see how we stand out from other organizations.
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SLDM question: Arc of Hope has embarked on building a state of the art hospital in Sierra Leone.  What is the estimated cost of building the hospital and also equipping it with state of the art equipment?

Dr. Sandy Responds: Our fund raising is a continuous process even after the hospital is built. Our rough projection which is subject to change is anywhere from $2 to $5 million. Once e build the hospital we hope to change gear to focus on soliciting state of the art hospital equipment.

SLDM question: In the interest of accountability and transparency,  how much money have you raised and how much more do you need to get the project started?

Dr. Sandy responds: In Sierra Leone, we have raised about One Hundred million Leones. Last year we raised about $20,000, and we are now projecting to raise about $100,000 so that construction starts in January of 2011, whilst we continue our fund raising drives.

SLDM question: What is the estimated time of beginning and completion of  the construction of the hospital?  Have you secured the land and if  so, where would the hospital be located?
 
Dr. Sandy responds: As you know there is virtually no space in Freetown for new construction, so we are contemplating on building the hospital in the Waterloo area. Acquisition of the land will be finalized in December, 2010, and construction begins in January, 2011.

SLDM question: What would  you say to someone like me who has volunteered to support this Arc of Hope worthy cause, that could make me comfortable and assured that I will not jeopardize the reputation of the Sierra Leone Daily Mail and my humble self in supporting Arc of Hope?   Please note that my question is based on  the history of other failed humanitarian organizations, not specifically SLAHOPE.

Dr. Sandy responds: Sierra Leone Arc of Hope has the finest and most dedicated board members who do not entertain “failure”. In fact, I just recently published a book titled “Pointers to Success” by Dr. John Sandy, available on amazon.com, or www.pointerstosuccess.com. This is a self help guide that helps anyone remain focused on their goals until they achieve success. HE Bockari Stevens has a proven record of success, so is Dr. Patricia Geli who is from Sweden. Other members include Retired Col. Lansana Turay, Nanette Thomas, Bernadette Kamara, Dr. Frank Barnett, Mr. Albert Senesie, Veronica Conteh in the UK, Solomon Olu Cole in Canada, Abdul Kamara (Chief), Mr, Lyndon Johnson, Ms. Awie Turay, Mr. Kabba Kamara, etc.

SLDM Question: Finally Dr. Sandy, what would you say to successful organizations like The Tegloma Federation and other organizations, as regards to their support of the very young SLAHOPE.

Dr. Sandy Responds: Thank you for asking this question Mr. Morris. First let me take this opportunity to cordially invite Tegloma and all other organizations, non-partisan citizens, political party members and friends of Sierra Leone, to join us on Saturday, October 2nd, 2010. We will also appreciate the support and mentor-ship of Tegloma and other successful and non-successful organizations. We can learn a lot from organizations which have succeeded as well as those which have failed for one reason or another.

SLDM Closing: On behalf of the people of Sierra Leone and the Sierra Leone Daily Mail staff, thank you Dr. Sandy. We hope that SLAHOPE will prove Katherine Fitzgerald wrong. We will see you on Saturday..

End of Interview

References:
a) http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20090405/CURR04/304059963
b) http://www.tegloma.org/front/showcontent.aspx?fileid=45&p=OUR-HISTORY
c) http://www.sierraleonearcofhope.com/

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