Help Sierra Leone
Help Sierra Leone
Let me start by thanking the SBA and the entire FSU Law faculty, administration and student body for their help over the years, and I look forward to your help again this year. Without you, my efforts will be fruitless.
As a way of introduction, my name is Francis Mo Roberts (formerly Mo Haidara) and I am a proud alumnus of the Florida State University College of Law (Class of 2007). I am also a native of the West African country, Sierra Leone. As many of you may know, Sierra Leone went through a twelve-year civil war (1991-2002) which resulted in the deaths and maiming of tens of thousands, including some of my family members and friends. After the end of the war, the United Nations and the Government of Sierra Leone created a international criminal tribunal called The Special Court for Sierra Leone. The Court was established “to try those believed to bear the greatest responsibility for the atrocities that occurred during the country’s twelve-year civil war.” During my second year of law school, I interned with the Court’s Office of the Principal Defender. This internship was not only my first return home since moving to the United States in 1995, but it was also an opportunity to help in the recovery process that my home country was undergoing.
Working for the Court’s defense office is one of the most difficult things that I have ever had to do because I was helping to defend men accused of crimes that personally affected me. But my deep-rooted respect for the rule of law and the presumption of innocence helped me through. Furthermore, although seeing friends and family members again after such a long absence was emotional and exciting, witnessing, firsthand, the daily plights of ordinary Sierra Leoneans, especially children, was very disheartening. During my trip, I visited schools, hospitals, orphanages (for children who lost their parents during the civil war), amputee camps and villages. These visits not only saddened and angered me, but they also motivated me to do all I can to help the people of Sierra Leone. I realized that with just a little help and generosity, we can change the life of children and families. For example, with just $20, one can pay a grade-school child’s tuition for a full school year; with just $50, you can pay that child’s tuition and buy her books for a full school year; with $100, you can pay that child’s tuition, buy her books, uniform and shoes for a full school year.
So upon my return to the States, I established a small non-profit organization I called Help Sierra Leone. The goal of the organization is to provide scholarships, food, clothes, shoes, school stationery and other necessities for the children and families of Sierra Leone. Education is at the heart of what Help Sierra Leone seeks to provide to children because it gives them hope in an otherwise hopeless society. Since its inception in 2007, Help Sierra Leone has offered over 100 full scholarships, donated money to local needy causes, donated rice to residents of a small village and an orphanage, donated clothes to new and expecting moms of a maternity hospital, donated shoes, bags, toys, and clothes to children and families. None of this would have been possible without the help of the law school family. Each time I have asked for help, the entire law school has been there to give a helping hand to those in need.
As many of you may imagine, the plight of the people of Sierra Leone is very personal to me; because if not for the grace of God, the love of my family, this great nation and so many people along the way, my life, if any, could have turned out a lot different. So for this reason, I feel personally obligated to do all I can to give back to those less fortunate than me. I am a believer that with our positions come certain responsibilities—one of which is to help those less fortunate than ourselves. So I am calling on you all to join me and give what you can. Please donate and encourage your colleagues to do the same. With your help, not only can we send some children to school and feed some families, but we can actually change lives. I thank you all in advance for your help, and I look forward to meeting you all.
Sincerely
Mo