THOMAS BOBBY SMITH, FOUNDER

Bobby Smith, a native Sierra Leonean, has worked for more than twenty years in the Emergency Shock Trauma unit at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, Maryland.

As a member of an experienced trauma team, he has helped save hundreds of lives from gunshot wounds, car and motorcycle traumas, heart attacks, and many other illnesses and injuries. He has assisted with surgical Orthopedics and Plastics procedures, and is a member of the Hazmat Decontamination Team at Suburban Hospital. Bobby was a Volunteer Fire Fighter and an EMT for many years and has also worked in the ER at INOVA Fairfax hospital in Virginia.

Bobby's return to Sierra Leone in 2011, after a 20 year absence to attend the funeral of his father and 2 other family members was one of tragedy and hope. Still recovering from an 11 year civil war, the country was not the same as the Sierra Leone he remembered as a boy. What he witnessed, the friends and relatives he met during his short trip had a profound impact. He returned to the U.S. determined to help in whatever way he could. 

Encouraged by his friends and colleagues, he decided to start an organization he named Hope for Lives in Sierra Leone. With help from his friend, Bill Coleman, they were able to have two fishing boats built for the community of Murraytown in SL. They purchased 2 outboard motors and shipped them to Sierra Leone. These fishing boats (a 3rd added in 2013) are feeding hundreds of people every time they return from their fishing expeditions.

Since 2011, the efforts of Bobby Smith and Hope for Lives in Sierra Leone have sent millions of dollars in medical supplies and equipment to support Connaught Hospital as well as assisting in the effort to control the Ebola outbreak in 2014. He built a first-of-its-kind library at his childhood school, St. Anthony's Catholic School, followed by a computer lab (under development). Thousands of meals have been served to school kids, homeless, amputees, hospital patients and staff. Over 40,000 pairs of shoes distributed to kids and adults. Hand tools provided to a group that works with amputees.

Being part of the healthcare community has given Bobby a great source of pride. Saving lives and helping people is all he knows and that is why he has created Hope for Lives in Sierra Leone; to help save lives in Africa and give people of Sierra Leone the opportunity for a better life.

If you would like to contact Bobby directly about our foundation, feel free using our contact form.