From left, Embassy of Sierra Leone Ambassador and Chargé d’affaires ad interim Ibrahim Conteh; Embassy of Sierra Leone Counselor Isatu Sillah; Salpost Consultant Managing Director Samuel Koroma; Sierra Leone Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Theo Nicoland and PMG Pat Donahoe look at a painting of Ben Franklin, the first U.S. PMG.
USPS is helping Sierra Leone, a developing country in West Africa, restore its mail service after a decade-long civil war.
Excess computers, letter cases and other mail processing equipment will soon be on their way to Sierra Leone, after Sammy Koroma, consultant managing director SALPOST, Sierra Leone’s postal service, asked PMG Pat Donahoe for help. The two met in October 2012 at a meeting of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), a United Nations agency of national posts representing 192 countries.
During his meeting with Koroma, Donahoe agreed to send whatever excess items he could. In accordance with U.S. policy, Sierra Leone paid the transportation costs for the equipment.
“A lot of it was standard equipment like mail sorting racks used by posts around the world,” said International Postal Affairs Executive Director Lea Emerson. USPS International Affairs Specialist Barry Clatt worked to locate excess items around the U.S. “It took hundreds of emails and all kinds of meetings,” said Emerson. “It was a very complex undertaking.”
More than eight months later, the items are ready for transport. “This is huge for Sierra Leone,” Emerson said. “Mail leads to economic development, especially in countries like Sierra Leone. Our mailing industry is nearly a $1 trillion business, so mail helps economic development.”
via USPS News Link Story – Special delivery