Twenty-two years ago, Smith left Sierra Leone and didn’t return. When three family members died there last year, the Germantown resident founded Hope for Lives to improve poor health conditions in the African country.
Why did you start Hope for Lives?
My father passed away at the age of 69 [after being treated for a headache], and that was last year, February 6th. Then I got another call saying my cousin at the age of 36 passed, too. Then I lost it. I started crying at work. … Flying back to Sierra Leone, I landed in the airport, and they told me that my cousin’s husband just passed, too, the next day — the 9th.
You hadn’t been back in 22 years?
The civil war [was] one of the reasons I never went back. My brother is in Sierra Leone. He survived the war and he has kids, living in a poor, poor area. That was giving me [a reason] to help people in Sierra Leone. I’ve been sending clothing, shoes, toys.
What was your first Hope for Lives trip like?
I went to get an idea of ways to help these people, and then I went over there, and everything started going. I went to my elementary school. I fed over 800 kids. … Probably 1,000 people I fed overall — the kids, the principal, the teachers.
Are you doing this alone?
Right now I have to help these people. I can’t wait until I start getting donations. I mean, I’m getting $20 here, $30 there, and most of the clothing and shoes are given to me by my co-workers. … I’m planning to [go back] three times a year. … I’m trying to increase [the life expectancy]. Forty-seven you’re dead? … I’m talking to my friends to get Doctors Without Borders to help.
– Rachel Baye
