"I’ll never forget the first time I set foot on Bunce Island - the air felt heavy.  I was gripped with sadness, yet filled with gratitude for my ancestors who chose survival. On Tasso Island, I learned that more than 5,000 people lived without electricity, clean water, or the necessities that we consider basic in the United States. My heart sank, and in that moment, I knew I couldn’t just walk away."​

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In 2020, Marva Goldsmith and her former business partner visited Bunce and Tasso Islands. The visit catalyzed this life-affirming project. Consult DSA funded the first phase of a solar power project that illuminated schools, places of worship, and a clinic on Tasso Island. She was honored by the island's leaders and named Chief Ya Alimamy Kapen (depicts education).

 

She is the CEO of Consult DSA, a management consulting firm that focuses on process improvement, strategic planning, and leadership development.  Marva serves as SADC's Executive Director.​

“This is more than travel for me. I am creating pilgrimages of remembrance, healing, and reconnection—journeys where the powerful stories of resilience, freedom, and cultural survival are still alive today. These experiences invite us to explore Sierra Leone’s heritage, vibrant culture, and breathtaking natural beauty in ways that are deeply emotional, personal, and educational.”

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Bamikole Roberts is a Certified Chartered Accountant with over 25 years of experience in accounting and lecturing at Further Education colleges across the UK. He is the founder of two UK-registered charities:

• Save Children in Africa in Need (SCAN) delivers education, health, and social development projects across Africa.

• Empowering Young Minds (EYM) creates environments where young people can discover and cultivate their talents.

Invited by Abdulai Brama, Bamikolei provides strategic guidance and financial management.

“Critical service-learning gives students the chance to take what they’ve studied in the classroom, question how situations came about, and address underlying systemic issues. It has been an honor to facilitate partnerships between my students and the Tasso Island community, knowing that we are creating space for positive change.”

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Dr. Megan Weil Latshaw is the Director of the Master’s degree program in the Department of Environmental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (Baltimore, Maryland, USA). She also directs the Applied Principles of Environmental Health course, which pairs graduate students with community partners to provide real-world experience in solving environmental health challenges.

 

As part of the Fall 2022 course offering, students worked with RowdyOrb.it to construct a White Paper, develop an environmental empowerment course, and draft a grant application, all to support Tasso Island residents.

"At 16, I  cried from the time I left my classmates in Jamaica all the way to my new home in London  -- and many days afterwards.  In 2022, I stood on Bunce Island, where abducted people once walked to the cargo ships. The memory of my farewell came back, and I wept again, this time for the families torn apart without the chance to say goodbye. On Tasso Island, a fellow traveler tearfully exclaimed, “We owe them! We have survived in the UK and US, while they have preserved their traditions and dignity despite immense poverty.”  SADC is working to support Bunce and Tasso Islands, and I am proud to be part of this team!"

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Errol Reid is a London-based Sierra Leonean National who is a practicing Barrister and Attorney in St. Lucia and the Caribbean with interests in international law and human rights. Errol received a Master of Laws (LLM) from the University of Essex.  As an advocate, he has campaigned and organized meetings to protect Aborigines in Australia, Slavery in Sudan, and West Papua, and Child Soldiers in Africa.  In 2022, Mr. Reid, along with a group of others, donated desks to Tasso Island schools. Mr. Reid learned about this initiative through a press release announcing the JHU students’ success.  He has served as a valuable link to the funding community in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Ama Apenteng is a practicing medical doctor from Ghana at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. As someone with a strong passion for community service, she especially appreciates the project's commitment to helping an underprivileged community in West Africa, which is also home to Ghana.

 

Dr. Apenteng was introduced to this project through Dr. Megan Latshaw's Applied Principles of Environmental Health course and serves as a key member.

Dr. Charles Johnson-Bey, a central focal point for building our initial team, is an advanced technology executive and engineering leader. He is a retired Senior Vice President at Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc., an analytics, digital engineering, and cyber consulting firm. He is also a part of Baltimore Homecoming, a mobilizing network that encourages social and private sector entrepreneurship to empower Baltimore residents in Maryland, USA.

 

His expertise and contacts have brought key collaborators to our core team.

Iman Habib is a Climate Policy Analyst at Progressive Maryland, where she provides research support on environmental justice policy and analyzes environmental and climate policies seeking to advance environmental justice .

 

She was first introduced to this project through Dr. Latshaw’s Applied Principles of Environmental Health course and served as an integral member of the grant drafting team. She enjoyed the experience so much that she continued to advance the project after the course ended as a core member of our team and a Consult DSA intern.