I’ve been talking about doing a series on those of us who have decided to return home to chart a new chapter in our lives. What finally got me going is my recent trip to London and talking to folks out there. There are so many of us who want to return home but are either unwilling, unable or just don’t feel like they have enough information or understanding in order to do so. Some are just plain scared. So I’ll be doing a series that hopefully sheds some light on the experience of those who have returned in the hope that it will help others make the decision.
I start with a man who has to be commended for what he has done and created. Also, because of the sector he has chosen to do this. Health. One of the sectors in dire need of trained personnel and good facilities. Also it is probably one of the most difficult to attract our doctors in the Diaspora to come back to. Obviously because, let’s face it.. many make a good living. A lot to sacrifice. He had that too, and a practice in the US. Yet, he opted to come back home and set up the Davidson Nicol Medical Centre. A Physician Specialist trained abroad, he is without further ado, Dr Sylvester Nicol…
When did you move back to Sierra Leone? How long were you out of the country?
DSN: I moved back in 2008 having been out of the country since 1996. I am now permanently living and working in Sierra Leone.
Why did you decide to relocate to Sierra Leone? Did family and friends try to discourage you from returning home? If yes, can you share some of their concerns?
DSN: I decided to come back because it is my home. I had a lot of concerns raised by family and friends but also some encouragement. Their concerns were the usual, infrastructure e.g. electricity and roads, level of poverty etc
How and what steps did you take to prepare your move/relocation to Sierra Leone?
DSN: I have always planned to live and work here. Moving to Sierra Leone I believe requires a particular mindset. That which says come what may, home is home. Also if you don’t fix up your home who will?
So what do you do?
DSN: I am in full-time self employment as the Proprietor and Medical Director of the Davidson Nicol Medical Centre. The DNMC is a brand new medical facility comprising of an inpatient and outpatient department. The outpatient component consists of consultation rooms, pharmacy, a full service lab, Xray and ultrasound/Echocardiogram. Our inpatient facility consists of 3 ICU beds, 2 private rooms and 10 general beds. In the near future we plan to open our surgical floor which will consist of an operating theatre and 9 surgical beds.
Did you move to establish your business? How did you go about setting up the business and how did you find the experience?
DSN: Yes, I moved to establish the Medical Centre. As I said, I had been conceptualizing the services we wanted to deliver so it was a matter of finding the right people to do the job and bringing them up-to-scratch to perform their duties.
What culture changes did you experience after your move? What surprised you the most about life here?
DSN: The most surprising thing in Africa is how people make do with what little they have and still remain hopeful and even cheerful. It’s amazing!!
Have you adjusted to the Sierra Leonean lifestyle or are you still living like you did abroad?
DSN: Maybe surprisingly, I have adjusted quite well here in Freetown. There is very little I miss, living abroad.
How have you handled the infrastructure limitations, including electricity, provision of water, sanitation, etc.?
DSN: You do what you can. For any business, electricity is a major line item in the budget. We’ve been lucky with water. Sanitation is improving generally and we keep our hospital clean!!
What’s the best thing about returning home?
DSN: The best thing about returning home is being home.
The worst thing about returning?
DSN: You miss family, friends and co-workers. Relationships that one has developed over time are difficult to sever but the internet does help!
Do you think living abroad--education, work experience, culture-- have enabled you to contribute to the development of Sierra Leone
DSN: Absolutely. However, I look at it as a two way street. Indeed, living abroad has been enabling in terms of education, work ethic and a different perspective on life in general. However, aspects of our culture imbibed at an early age here is Sierra Leone including dedication, respect for authority, tenacity etc definitely helped one significantly to contribute to the development of our host countries while we work and live abroad.
What challenges do you face in Sierra Leone? For example: at work, with friends and families, lifestyle?
DSN: Well, one faces numerous challenges wherever one lives. Professionally we have trained a lot of our health care workers in the use of our equipment. Power supply is a source of concern and of course there is the extended family!!!
Will you return to the country where you relocated from?
DSN: No, I do not have any plans to do so at the moment.
How can folks get in contact?
DSN: The Davidson Nicol Medical Centre is located at 3 Bright Lane, Cole Farm off Wilkinson Road, Freetown. Tel: +232 78 998 866
What is your long-term vision or hope for Sierra Leone?
DSN: My hope for Sierra Leone is for maximum employment for young people, peace and stability. Also, I wish for Africans in general and Sierra Leoneans in particular to come to the realization that as a people we can do well if we organize and optimize our considerable resources.
If you were asked to encourage others to return home, what would you do/advice? Any regrets?
DSN: By all means Sierra Leoneans need to come home if at all they can. In my opinion, it is best to set up a business, provide services of some kind, think up innovative solutions to the myriad of problems we have, go into manufacturing or farming. The list is endless. However, one needs to know the ground well and that can only be done through cultivating credible professional and business relationships over time. Also, one has to research and refine ones ideas well before implementing them. If possible, it helps to start small, work out all the kinks and hitches before ramping up.
Regrets? Not yet!!
I start with a man who has to be commended for what he has done and created. Also, because of the sector he has chosen to do this. Health. One of the sectors in dire need of trained personnel and good facilities. Also it is probably one of the most difficult to attract our doctors in the Diaspora to come back to. Obviously because, let’s face it.. many make a good living. A lot to sacrifice. He had that too, and a practice in the US. Yet, he opted to come back home and set up the Davidson Nicol Medical Centre. A Physician Specialist trained abroad, he is without further ado, Dr Sylvester Nicol…
When did you move back to Sierra Leone? How long were you out of the country?
DSN: I moved back in 2008 having been out of the country since 1996. I am now permanently living and working in Sierra Leone.
Why did you decide to relocate to Sierra Leone? Did family and friends try to discourage you from returning home? If yes, can you share some of their concerns?
DSN: I decided to come back because it is my home. I had a lot of concerns raised by family and friends but also some encouragement. Their concerns were the usual, infrastructure e.g. electricity and roads, level of poverty etc
How and what steps did you take to prepare your move/relocation to Sierra Leone?
DSN: I have always planned to live and work here. Moving to Sierra Leone I believe requires a particular mindset. That which says come what may, home is home. Also if you don’t fix up your home who will?
So what do you do?
DSN: I am in full-time self employment as the Proprietor and Medical Director of the Davidson Nicol Medical Centre. The DNMC is a brand new medical facility comprising of an inpatient and outpatient department. The outpatient component consists of consultation rooms, pharmacy, a full service lab, Xray and ultrasound/Echocardiogram. Our inpatient facility consists of 3 ICU beds, 2 private rooms and 10 general beds. In the near future we plan to open our surgical floor which will consist of an operating theatre and 9 surgical beds.Did you move to establish your business? How did you go about setting up the business and how did you find the experience?
DSN: Yes, I moved to establish the Medical Centre. As I said, I had been conceptualizing the services we wanted to deliver so it was a matter of finding the right people to do the job and bringing them up-to-scratch to perform their duties. What culture changes did you experience after your move? What surprised you the most about life here?
DSN: The most surprising thing in Africa is how people make do with what little they have and still remain hopeful and even cheerful. It’s amazing!!
Have you adjusted to the Sierra Leonean lifestyle or are you still living like you did abroad?
DSN: Maybe surprisingly, I have adjusted quite well here in Freetown. There is very little I miss, living abroad.
How have you handled the infrastructure limitations, including electricity, provision of water, sanitation, etc.?
DSN: You do what you can. For any business, electricity is a major line item in the budget. We’ve been lucky with water. Sanitation is improving generally and we keep our hospital clean!!
What’s the best thing about returning home?
DSN: The best thing about returning home is being home.
The worst thing about returning?
DSN: You miss family, friends and co-workers. Relationships that one has developed over time are difficult to sever but the internet does help!
Do you think living abroad--education, work experience, culture-- have enabled you to contribute to the development of Sierra Leone
DSN: Absolutely. However, I look at it as a two way street. Indeed, living abroad has been enabling in terms of education, work ethic and a different perspective on life in general. However, aspects of our culture imbibed at an early age here is Sierra Leone including dedication, respect for authority, tenacity etc definitely helped one significantly to contribute to the development of our host countries while we work and live abroad.
What challenges do you face in Sierra Leone? For example: at work, with friends and families, lifestyle?
DSN: Well, one faces numerous challenges wherever one lives. Professionally we have trained a lot of our health care workers in the use of our equipment. Power supply is a source of concern and of course there is the extended family!!!Will you return to the country where you relocated from?
DSN: No, I do not have any plans to do so at the moment.
How can folks get in contact?
DSN: The Davidson Nicol Medical Centre is located at 3 Bright Lane, Cole Farm off Wilkinson Road, Freetown. Tel: +232 78 998 866
What is your long-term vision or hope for Sierra Leone?
DSN: My hope for Sierra Leone is for maximum employment for young people, peace and stability. Also, I wish for Africans in general and Sierra Leoneans in particular to come to the realization that as a people we can do well if we organize and optimize our considerable resources.
If you were asked to encourage others to return home, what would you do/advice? Any regrets?
DSN: By all means Sierra Leoneans need to come home if at all they can. In my opinion, it is best to set up a business, provide services of some kind, think up innovative solutions to the myriad of problems we have, go into manufacturing or farming. The list is endless. However, one needs to know the ground well and that can only be done through cultivating credible professional and business relationships over time. Also, one has to research and refine ones ideas well before implementing them. If possible, it helps to start small, work out all the kinks and hitches before ramping up.
Regrets? Not yet!!
7 comments:
Excellent story and I look forward to seeing more in the series. There are also African Americans who have discovered their Sierra Leonean ancestry through DNA tests that are also very interested in relocating.
This is quite amazing. A very impressive and bold step made by a selfless professional who wants to give back to his community. A great testimony that we should all learn from; and give back to our community; however small. Thanks for your contribution Doc. Bims thanks for sharing; keep @ it. Good work.
Dr. Nicol you are quite an inspiration for the rest of Africans living abraod. I do admire your guts as well as agree that regardless of the life style we enjoy abroad home is still home. May I ask what type of practice are you in? gen medicine, gen surgery, or are you a specialist? I am in the medical profession myself and will be visiting Freetown in November and I'm interested in researching options. I have been gone from Freetown for over twenty years.Good luck to you.
What an inspiring story. I went to primary school with Syl and remember hearing about his plans to move back home. This is a reminder that Sierra Leone cannot improve by itself. It takes all of us, willing to make the sacrifice. Thanks so much for sharing and please keep them coming.
very impressive DR Nicol and your site. We are a Charitable health care organisation based in the UK. TOSHPA( website: www.toshpa.org.uk)
This is the positive story that motivates Sierraleoneans living abroad.
look forward to more frequent visit to your site and keep up the good work Dr Nicol
nat
Deputy General secretary to TOSHPA
I'm a family nurse practitioner in Tennessee, USA & Dr. Nicol was my precepting physician here. He is a very kind and caring person who was always willing to teach & had an answer for any question. I feel honored to have been mentored by a physician with such intelligence and wisdom. He's also a friend.
Thanks for everything, Charlotte
An excellent story indeed. We need more stories of this nature as opposed to those about abject poverty,conflicts, dieseases, inadequate infrastructure,etc. It is people like you who will give hope and encouragement to others to return. I salute your courage and determination to do something positve rather than spending time citizizing what the country is not doing right! Lans
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