Alice Karpeh was born in Tikonko and trained as a midwife in Liberia. In 1993, at the outbreak of Sierra Leone’s civil war, Alice’s husband was ambushed and killed, and she was granted US asylum. Arriving with nine children, Alice made her way to Minnesota where she worked for many years as a nurse at University of Minnesota’s Boynton Health Service.

As the war raged on, Tikonko was not spared. In 1998, rebels burned villages including Tikonko, destroyed farms, and murdered residents. By the time the war ended in 2002, the county’s infrastructure was destroyed and over half of its people displaced.

In 2011, with the help of Minnesotans and Sierra Leonean Americans, Alice founded Rural Health Care Initiative (RHCI) as a nonprofit in Minnesota and a Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) in Sierra Leone. RHCI collaborates with with the local community  to advance community health and combat one of the world’s highest maternal and child death rates.

Alice has retired from RHCI’s Board but continues to promote awareness, and fundraise.  In early 2023, Alice moved back to her home in Tikonko permanently, where she will monitor RHCI’s life-saving work and progress on the ground.

Back Row: Maggie Pilacinski (Secretary), Julie Hoffer, Neil Craigan, Peter Gogra (Treasury), Komba Fayia, Lamin Foray, Alice Karpeh (Founder)

Front Row: Marie Stodolka (Vice-Chair), Dr. Carol Nelson, Dr. David Parker, Riley DeLude

Not Pictured: Ajayi Ajayi-Nicol (Chair), Dr. Beth Detlie

Isata Bah, Moses Carter, Allieu Jongopie, Mohamed Fatorma, Mohamed John, Mohamed Kabba, Mohamed Kalokoh, Bobson Koroma, Mohamed Momoh, Juliana Sagba, Umu Shour, Marie Songa, Shaka Stevens, and Patrick Vandy (pictured with Board Member, Marie Stodolka)

Lamin Abu, Sam Bindi, Saffie Jusu, Andrew Kemoka,i Dennis Moiwo, Joseph Sogbandi, Margaret Sylvalie, and Mariama Tarawally