[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 28 (Tuesday, February 23, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E200]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING ALHAJI SACCOH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROBERT A. BRADY

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 23, 2016

  Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
Alhaji Saccoh for his outstanding humanitarian work. A volunteer 
firefighter in Collingdale, PA, Mr. Saccoh has led an effort to provide 
undersupplied firefighters in his native Sierra Leone with desperately 
needed equipment.
  In June of 2013, Mr. Saccoh made his first trip to Sierra Leone since 
fleeing the country's civil war in 2000. A chance visit to Sierra 
Leone's National Fire Service in Freetown brought him face to face with 
the state of his homeland's fire departments. The firefighters he met 
lacked even the most basic protective gear and would frequently respond 
to calls in their street clothes.
  This encounter inspired Mr. Saccoh to spearhead an effort to collect 
used fire gear for his counterparts in Sierra Leone. He recently 
returned from a trip to Sierra Leone, during which he volunteered for 
two months with local firefighters and distributed approximately 
$50,000 worth of equipment donated by several fire companies in 
Delaware County.
  Mr. Saccoh's humanitarian work extends beyond his work with Sierra 
Leonean firefighters. A graduate of University of Pennsylvania, Mr. 
Saccoh is also the founder of the Sierra Leone Children's Fund, a 
nonprofit organization that promotes health and primary education in 
rural Sierra Leone. For his work, Mr. Saccoh has been awarded the 
Legion of Honor from the Chapel of the Four Chaplains and recently 
received a Wells Fargo Community Connections Grant.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and my other distinguished colleagues 
join me in honoring Mr. Saccoh for his tireless humanitarian efforts, 
both in the United States and abroad.

                          ____________________