In stark contrast, the office of Ernest Bai Koroma, president of Sierra Leone, is small with a simple wood desk, a taupe leather sofa and regular office chairs. The walls are covered with an old campaign poster, paper maps of Africa and Sierra Leone, all unframed and taped to the wall.

It was a difference that didn't escape Lumberton businessman Robert Bradsby when he walked into a meeting with Koroma in May to discuss plans to build seven schools in the country, among the most war-torn and poorest in the world.

Koroma blocked off 15 minutes for his meeting with Bradsby but the meeting stretched into an hour and 15 minutes, Bradsby said.

"I said to him multiple times, 'Mr. President, I know you are very busy, so I'll leave now,' but he wanted to hear more," Bradsby said. "He insisted that I stay longer."

Bradsby, 83, said he was floored when Koroma pulled out a pen and notepad and started taking notes during the meeting.

"I couldn't believe that the leader of a nation would do that," Bradsby said. "That told me he's really serious about this."

Bradsby plans to build seven schools open to all children. He said there now are very few schools in Sierra Leone.

Most of existing schools are religious institutions run by Muslims, the largest religious group in Sierra Leone. Girls and non-Muslims are not permitted to attend these schools.

Bradsby said each of the schools he proposes will cost about $50,000 to build and serve 300 to 500 children from ages 4 to 18.

Bradsby first visited the nation of Guinea, which abuts Sierra Leone to the north, more than 14 years ago on business.

The extreme poverty in the region "broke my heart," Bradsby said, and upon his return to the United States, he immediately sent a 40-foot container packed with health supplies to Guinea. He later returned to the region to lead farming projects and to help build schools and churches, mostly using his own money.

Five years ago, he expanded his work into Sierra Leone after the nation was devastated by a 10-year civil war.

Bradsby now has 59 trips to western Africa under his belt and plans to return sometime in July. The airfare for each trip is about $2,000.

Sierra Leone, a one-time British colony, ranks dead last on the United Nation's Human Development Index, which measures a country's average achievements in health, education and standard of living.

The gross national income per capita is $220 and the vast majority of the people there don't have electricity, indoor plumbing or even clean drinking water. Still, Bradsby believes the nation is heading in the right direction with Koroma at its helm.

"I sense that he is very sincere," Bradsby said. "He has a real heart and compassion for his people. I was thoroughly impressed by him. He exceeded my expectations."

Sierra Leone, which was featured in the film "Blood Diamond," has considerable resources in diamonds as well as timber, but has been plagued by government mismanagement, violence and unscrupulous foreigners who smuggle diamonds out of the country for huge profits.

Willing to help where they can, Bradsby and a Texas-based organization called the Bao Bob Foundation plan to raise money here in the United States to build the schools as well as continue existing projects to deliver food, clothing, and other supplies to impoverished nations.

"The future of any country is the children and youth," he said. "You can change a nation through education."

Labels: Dr. Bradsby, Sierra Leone