A Life of Service: The Legacy of Gary Schulze and the Enduring Ties Between Sierra Leone and the Diaspora
The Report
As reported by Cocorioko journalist Peter Andersen, Gary Schulze, a distinguished friend of Sierra Leone and a member of the Friends of Sierra Leone (FoSL) Board, has passed away in New York City. Mr. Schulze was among the first cohort of Peace Corps Volunteers to arrive in Sierra Leone in 1961, the year of the nation’s independence. His decades of service included teaching at the Albert Academy, helping to establish the Sierra Leone National Museum, and discovering the only known photograph of national hero Bai Bureh. In recognition of his contributions, he was installed as an Honorary Paramount Chief in 2013, awarded the Order of the Rokel (OOR)—Sierra Leone’s highest civilian honor—in 2014, and granted Sierra Leonean citizenship in 2017. The FoSL Board, in a statement by Co-President Aiah Fanday, described him as exemplifying “Servant Leadership.”
“Gary exemplifies the meaning of Servant Leadership. He’ll be missed dearly.”
Mr. Schulze’s health had declined in recent years, and he had been in a nursing facility. His passing marks the end of a 65-year relationship with Sierra Leone that profoundly shaped the country’s cultural and historical landscape.
WANA Regional Analysis
The passing of Gary Schulze is more than a personal loss; it is a moment for West Africa to reflect on the unique and often underappreciated role of the diaspora and long-term foreign partners in regional development. Mr. Schulze’s life’s work—from co-founding a national museum to recovering a lost photograph of a resistance leader—demonstrates a model of engagement that transcends short-term aid cycles and focuses on cultural preservation and institutional memory.
From a regional policy perspective, Mr. Schulze’s story underscores the value of “deep” diaspora and volunteer relationships that many ECOWAS member states are now actively seeking to formalize. Sierra Leone, like Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal, has a significant diaspora whose contributions to education, heritage, and civil society are often fragmented. Mr. Schulze’s ability to bridge his American background with Sierra Leonean citizenship and chieftaincy offers a powerful case study for how ECOWAS states might better integrate long-term foreign residents and returnees into national development frameworks.
The broader implications for the ECOWAS region suggest a need to reassess how cultural heritage is managed. Mr. Schulze’s discovery of the Bai Bureh photograph—a piece of visual history that had never been in Sierra Leone—highlights the vulnerability of West African historical artifacts. Many remain in private collections or foreign archives. His personal investment of over $11,000 from his retirement savings to repatriate this image is a stark reminder that cultural restitution often relies on individual initiative rather than state policy. For West African governments, this points to a critical gap: the absence of systematic, funded programs for the repatriation and preservation of historical materials.
Against this backdrop, the security and governance implications are also notable. The Bai Bureh photograph, and the statue Mr. Schulze helped commission, became symbols that were later appropriated during Sierra Leone’s civil war (1996-2002). The cap he chose for the statue—a Koranko buffalo hunter’s cap—was adopted by both RUF leader Foday Sankoh and the pro-government Kamajor militia. This unintended consequence illustrates how cultural symbols, once created or recovered, can take on powerful and unpredictable lives in conflict zones. For regional analysts, this serves as a cautionary tale about the intersection of heritage, identity, and armed conflict—a dynamic still relevant in parts of the Sahel and the Lake Chad Basin.
From an economic and infrastructure perspective, Mr. Schulze’s work with the Magic Penny NGO, which operates a primary school in Moyamba District, reflects the grassroots educational investments that complement state efforts. Across West Africa, such small-scale, diaspora-linked projects often fill critical gaps in rural education and health, yet they remain vulnerable to funding disruptions and lack of state coordination. His passing may create a vacuum in these networks, highlighting the need for institutional continuity beyond individual champions.
Historically, West African governments have struggled to systematically honor and leverage the contributions of non-African partners who dedicate their lives to the region. Mr. Schulze’s receipt of the Order of the Rokel and honorary chieftaincy is a notable exception. For ECOWAS, this raises a question: how can the region create more formal pathways for recognizing and retaining the expertise of long-term foreign residents, particularly those in education, heritage, and civil society?
Regional Backdrop
The relationship between the United States Peace Corps and West Africa is a deep one. Sierra Leone was among the first countries to host volunteers in 1961, and the program has since operated in nearly every ECOWAS member state. Mr. Schulze’s 65-year commitment is an extreme but instructive example of how initial volunteer service can evolve into a lifelong partnership. His work also parallels the contributions of other notable foreign-born figures in West Africa, such as the late Dr. Robert “Bob” Lee in Ghana or Sister Mary Celine in Liberia, whose grassroots work has had outsized impact. The challenge for the region is to ensure that such legacies are not lost but are instead embedded into national and regional institutions.
Original Reporting By:
Cocorioko