Feelings turn to welfare of Sierra Leone countrymen
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WESTCHESTER, N.Y. — Having endured the horror of a violent civil war in Sierra Leone, the first thoughts of Alpha O. Davies after being baptized were for the welfare of his countrymen.
"My countrymen are suffering," he told his Westchester New York Stake president. "You are good people. Do you think we could send something?"
From his simple request came a relief effort that stretched over several states and gathered more than 30,000 pounds of aid for his countrymen in Africa.
Brother Davies, now 62 and suffering from kidney failure, was a religious leader for more than 1 million in Sierra Leone prior to a 10-year war in the 1990s. He also served as a member of the governing board of the country's Council of Churches for 14 years.
He was born into a prominent ruling family and raised in a Catholic seminary before following in the ways of his grandfather and father as a spiritual leader. When civil war broke out, rebels captured two of his sons and murdered them before his eyes, while kidnapping a daughter and torturing his wife. He was then forced to stand by while his home was destroyed.
He and surviving family members fled to nearby Guinea in 1999 before coming to the United States as refugees in late September 2001.
When Brother Davies arrived in New York he told his family that they would join a church if "he was inspired to know it was true."
A short time later he met a friend from Sierra Leone living in New York and asked him which church he attended. The friend said he was a member of the "Latter-day Saints Church."
When Brother Davies showed interest, missionaries were invited. He asked the missionaries about the scriptures used in the Church. After learning about the Book of Mormon, he requested a copy with the promise that he'd return it in three days.
"Before I finished the book, something happened to me," he said. "The third day I dreamed of my deceased father. He told me he had come to join me in my new religion, as it was the true religion."
Brother Davies told the missionaries of his experiences of reading the Book of Mormon and was baptized a short time later in December 2001. He and his wife and two children joined a number of other converts from Sierra Leone, including a bishop, residing in the stake.
Since leaving Sierra Leone, he has maintained contact with tribal leaders and others. He learned how everything was in short supply. Destruction of much of the larger cities, including hospitals, schools, churches, government buildings and a large portion of the nation's housing, kept the people from re-establishing their formerly orderly society.
In August 2002, President Mark Bench of the Westchester New York Stake mounted a clothing and food drive. Within six months, more than 3,700 pounds of clothing were gathered. During that time, members in the greater New York area began bringing a wide variety of supplies, such as computers, school supplies, food and medical walkers.
A humanitarian organization founded and operated by Church members near Palmyra, N.Y., called "Reach the Children," which specializes in the distribution of goods to Africa, became a partner in the project.
"Reach the Children" gathered the donations collected in New York, Utah and Philadelphia, Pa., and shipped them to Sierra Leone. Nearly 800 boxes and bales weighing 31,687 pounds arrived Aug. 7 in a 40-foot container. They gathered enough school books and supplies to educate more than 5,000 children from preschool-age to high school. They also contributed boxes of toys and dolls, bales of blankets, and containers of hygiene kits and medical supplies.
A video recorded during distribution of goods in a northern Sierra Leone village showed groups of people by the hundreds scampering across the open savanna toward relief trucks.
These people have not received anything since the war ended, said the narrator of the video. It shows the people of Sierra Leone that the world has not forgotten.
Brother Davies, who remains prayerfully hopeful that a kidney donor will be found, is quick to express his gratitude for his new life in the United States and his membership in the Church. He also hopes that contributions will continue to help his once rich and peaceful country.
"Since the war, everyone is hopeless," he said. "Education has dwindled, children don't go to school, housing and sanitation are poor, and there is no material for agriculture."
