Haja Fadlu Deen, Senior Assistant Registrar (students) said Rashid Deen’s gesture deserved special commendation. She called on the students to make good use of the books and to preserve them in good condition. She urged other Sierra Leoneans in the disapora “to emulate this worthy example”.

President of the Mass Communication Students Association, MACOSA, Umaru Samai, said: “we will forever be grateful to Mr. Rashid Deen for this support. We call on him to increase the number of books to our department in any future shipment and consider helping us with computers”.

In an email communication, Rashid Deen said the desire behind the book project was borne out of his firm belief that education was the single most important factor in the well-being of every community.

“It is the head cornerstone on which every successful country is built. I believe I owe a solemn responsibility to the advancement of the country”, he said, adding that there was plenty everyone could do for Sierra Leone other than being a politician.

“If only every one of us in the Diaspora can contribute the worth of just one pack of pencils towards enhancing the standard of education in the country, a very lot will be achieved. I left the shores of Sierra Leone without a university education but I am proud of the fact that I now hold a Master’s degree from one of the finest universities in the world. As the Egbo saying goes: If a child washes their hands well, they will eat with kings”.

Mr Rashid Deen started his journalism career with the then Sierra Leone Broadcasting Service. He was an accomplished sports producer but also did a fair amount of general reporting. He fled the country in the wake of the AFRC attack of Freetown during this country’s civil war.