Lighting the Darkness

With this book, the first volume in a series, I didn’t presume to write anything of immense importance or of any outstanding nature. The intent was merely to share some of my personal experiences as a child born in a small African village and then to relate details of my subsequent social contacts and opportunities, my studies, and some of my accomplishments.

I was born in 1946 in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone, and I lost my sight between the ages of six and ten. But over the years, I went on to study first in Freetown, the nation’s capital, then in both England and the United States, eventually earning a B.A. degree and two master’s degrees, as well as rising quite high in civil service in my home country.

I fled Sierra Leone in 1997 because of the bloody coup d’état there. I was fortunate enough to be evacuated by American Marines with the help of my younger brother, Bob, an American citizen. Bob passed away on January 1, 2009. I dedicate this book to his memory.