Laird Robertson

Laird is a business and real estate attorney, financial advisor and investor, with a lifelong commitment to sustainable development, natural resources, eco-tourism, biodiversity and net zero carbon goals. Laird divides his time between Los Angeles and Freetown. He has lived and worked in and around Sierra Leone for approximately eight years. Laird was educated at Yale, Oxford and Georgetown Law. Early in his career he worked for the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court in Hawaii, the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C. and an international law firm based in California. After leaving the law firm, Laird worked with distressed companies as an interim CEO, turnaround advisor and crisis manager. Later, he co-founded a merchant banking and financial advisory firm, Vantera Partners LLC. In addition to practicing law, Laird serves as Chairperson and General Counsel of Propel. Laird is a U.S. and Sierra Leone citizen.

Belinda Botha

Belinda moved to Sierra Leone eight years ago as a consultant for an international marketing firm, having become disillusioned by the tensions increasingly prevalent in her native country of South Africa. From the moment she arrived, she fell in love with Sierra Leone. Through her experience in marketing, advertising and hospitality, Belinda learned how to identify common goals and work strategically to accomplish those goals, while acting with compassion toward everyone. She has a talent for mobilizing business professionals from around the world to undertake what few have attempted or even imagined.

Belinda is a committed humanitarian and environmentalist with an abiding interest in sustainable development, eco-tourism, education and healthcare. She believes that Sierra Leone’s greatest natural resource are Sierra Leoneans. Belinda is a citizen of Sierra Leone and South Africa. She is the CEO of Propel.

EcoVision is a fully integrated, ten-year, three-phase project that exemplifies our holistic approach. It was originally conceived seven years ago. Phase I ostensibly involves the cleanup of the Lumley Creek Beach; Phase II, the development of eco-tourism sites in Sierra Leone; and Phase III, the preservation and/or restoration of green space and other areas of ecological merit.

About Propel

ecovision projects

lumley Creek Beach Cleanup

river cleanup | Lumley creek

Beach Restore | Lumley Creek

Sea Wall | Lumley Creek

waste Management

tree/Managrove planting

our founders

Belinda Botha

CEO

About Belinda

Laird Robertson

Chairperson and General Counsel

About Laird

PROJECTS OVERVIEW

Propel is committed at this time to three ongoing projects and four projects in development. The first, “EcoVision SL”, combines environment with eco-tourism and is centered initially around the Lumley Creek side of Lumley Beach in the heart of Freetown. The second, known as the “MaConteh Project”, melds education and economic development in a rural village in the MaConteh Chiefdom in the north. The third, “Elevate SL,” provides educational sponsorships to Sierra Leonean students at all levels and from all backgrounds. Our four projects in development involve healthcare, food, and waste management and entertainment.

ECOVISION

Phase I and the Beach Cleanup

Phase I is focused on the Lumley Beach Road and Juba Communities and the beach near Lumley Creek. The project formally commenced in November 2020 with a cleanup of medical waste on the beach near Lumley Creek. This was the first medical waste-focused cleanup program ever undertaken in Sierra Leone and possibly in West Africa. With buckets of syringes, blood samples, etc., being collected every week, the cleanup program put the spotlight on how clinics and healthcare providers in the Western Area were dumping medical waste into waterways. By February 2021, the cleanup program included plastic and other waste as well. The program continued to expand and is now reportedly the largest, organized beach cleanup in the history of Sierra Leone. Continuing on a daily basis, it is an almost Sisyphean task, especially during the rainy season. We have installed a net across Lumley Creek to reduce the flow of rubbish into the ocean. The net worked wonderfully well, but the result is that a flotilla of rubbish collects every day upriver from the net and, after a storm, the floating rubbish patch is huge. (We are currently seeking a sponsor to help us build a stronger structure for the net so it will not collapse from the weight of the rubbish.) On some days we collect in excess of 3,500 large, 50kg rice bags of rubbish.

We have organized our beach crews into various teams, the members of which are all NASSIT registered employees, including a women’s team, a men’s team, a river team (who are good swimmers and look after the net), a waste management (rubbish truck and hauling) team and a beach “nourishment” team to shift and protect the beach sand.

PROPEL ORGANIZATION

Propel Organization (Propel) is a Sierra Leone NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) founded in 2019 by Belinda Botha and Laird Robertson. Propel sponsors multi-faceted programs in Sierra Leone that showcase what is possible when we all work together, with a focus on the environment, eco-tourism, education, healthcare, agriculture, media and entrepreneurship.

OUR APPROACH

Propel’s projects are distinctive in three respects. First, we take a holistic, integrated approach to all our major projects. Our approach is “holistic” because the problems we take on are complicated and require multi-faceted solutions. Each major project is comprised of a matrix that integrates the core program with other components that fit together synergistically. Development requires more than just capital, infrastructure or technology, or even human resources. It requires changing behavior. Hence, our projects generally include educational components. Development also requires a minimum level of health and well-being, so our projects typically include healthcare and community welfare.

Second, to ensure our projects are financially self-sustaining, we incorporate business practices and for-profit ventures into each project. Each venture is intended not just to pay for the continuing program expenses, but to co-exist symbiotically with them. The for-profit and nonprofit components of a project support each other. Propel also enters into joint ventures, partnerships and other profit-sharing arrangements with affiliates and other private businesses that advance our goals. All this comports with Sierra Leone law, which provides explicit legal authority for nonprofit organizations to conduct revenue-generating businesses.

Third, Propel takes a proactive, continuing role in each project. We do not just sponsor integrated development projects. We participate in them. We seek to manage projects like business enterprises or, ideally, impact investments that must be managed carefully and are expected to evolve like other businesses. Our approach does not fit the conventional NGO model.

CREDENTIALS

Propel is fully compliant with all Sierra Leone laws and regulations applicable to NGOs. We are registered with the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development (MOPED) and listed in the Gazette published by MOPED for 2022-2023, which lists all legally registered NGO’s. We are also registered with the Sierra Leone Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (SLANGO); National Revenue Authority (NRA); and the Freetown City Council (FCC). All regular staff members, including our beach cleanup crews, are NASSIT employees, meaning that we pay payroll tax for them. We have an MOU with the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs (MOT) and various letter agreements with MOT and the National Tourism Board (NTB), which is under MOT’s jurisdiction. We have Service Level Agreements (SLAs) with the Ministry of Basic and Senior Secondary Education, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation, and the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs, and we expect to have an MOU or SLA with the Ministry of Environment in the near future. Belinda is registered with the FCC for Animal Welfare and Fostering of all Wildlife and Injured Animals. In June 2022, Belinda and Laird were honored to have been appointed Chiefs in MaConteh Chiefdom, the site of one of our major projects.[1]

[1] Belinda is reportedly the first white woman to be appointed a chief and Laird may be the first American.

Lumley Creek Beach Cleanup

EcoVision Phase I is focused on the Lumley Beach Road and Juba Communities and the beach near Lumley Creek. The project formally commenced in November 2020 with a cleanup of medical waste on the beach near Lumley Creek. This was the first medical waste-focused cleanup program ever undertaken in Sierra Leone and possibly in West Africa. With buckets of syringes, blood samples, etc., being collected every week, the cleanup program put the spotlight on how clinics and healthcare providers in the Western Area were dumping medical waste into waterways. By February 2021, the cleanup program included plastic and other waste as well. The program continued to expand and is now reportedly the largest, organized beach cleanup in the history of Sierra Leone. Continuing on a daily basis, it is an almost Sisyphean task, especially during the rainy season. We have installed a net across Lumley Creek to reduce the flow of rubbish into the ocean. The net worked wonderfully well, but the result is that a flotilla of rubbish collects every day upriver from the net and, after a storm, the floating rubbish patch is huge. (We are currently seeking a sponsor to help us build a stronger structure for the net so it will not collapse from the weight of the rubbish.) On some days we collect in excess of 3,500 large, 50kg rice bags of rubbish.

We have organized our beach crews into various teams, the members of which are all NASSIT registered employees, including a women’s team, a men’s team, a river team (who are good swimmers and look after the net), a waste management (rubbish truck and hauling) team and a beach “nourishment” team to shift and protect the beach sand.

River Cleanup | Lumley Creek

Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

Beach Restore | Lumley Creek

Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

Sea Wall | LumleY Creek

Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.

Waste Management

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam sit amet orci purus. Fusce orci dolor, fringilla sit amet posuere congue, eleifend sed purus. Donec a urna sit amet felis commodo volutpat ac id ipsum. Duis at nunc sodales, tristique quam a, blandit mi. Suspendisse fringilla, quam nec faucibus pellentesque, ex odio ullamcorper tellus, sed dapibus purus odio at felis. Proin rhoncus enim odio, ac aliquet sem iaculis eget. Quisque finibus ac dui at malesuada. Nullam at consectetur lorem. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Mauris risus mi, pharetra sed suscipit a, consequat in nunc. Integer ullamcorper scelerisque lectus, et fermentum arcu dignissim vel. Nam laoreet ultricies felis eu pulvinar.

Nullam pellentesque nulla quam, vel feugiat risus tempor ut. Proin iaculis tellus ipsum, quis mattis nisl egestas eu. Morbi vitae dolor vel mauris pellentesque posuere. Vestibulum fringilla, ligula at sollicitudin ultricies, metus dui tincidunt lorem, at efficitur sem ipsum nec felis. Sed non ornare massa. Quisque purus nisl, egestas in finibus ut, consequat feugiat felis. Morbi mollis et ipsum eu elementum. Curabitur iaculis placerat nisi. Proin rutrum, urna eget pharetra placerat, sem purus convallis est, egestas viverra magna urna vitae sapien.

tree/mangrove planting

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nam sit amet orci purus. Fusce orci dolor, fringilla sit amet posuere congue, eleifend sed purus. Donec a urna sit amet felis commodo volutpat ac id ipsum. Duis at nunc sodales, tristique quam a, blandit mi. Suspendisse fringilla, quam nec faucibus pellentesque, ex odio ullamcorper tellus, sed dapibus purus odio at felis. Proin rhoncus enim odio, ac aliquet sem iaculis eget. Quisque finibus ac dui at malesuada. Nullam at consectetur lorem. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia curae; Mauris risus mi, pharetra sed suscipit a, consequat in nunc. Integer ullamcorper scelerisque lectus, et fermentum arcu dignissim vel. Nam laoreet ultricies felis eu pulvinar.

Nullam pellentesque nulla quam, vel feugiat risus tempor ut. Proin iaculis tellus ipsum, quis mattis nisl egestas eu. Morbi vitae dolor vel mauris pellentesque posuere. Vestibulum fringilla, ligula at sollicitudin ultricies, metus dui tincidunt lorem, at efficitur sem ipsum nec felis. Sed non ornare massa. Quisque purus nisl, egestas in finibus ut, consequat feugiat felis. Morbi mollis et ipsum eu elementum. Curabitur iaculis placerat nisi. Proin rutrum, urna eget pharetra placerat, sem purus convallis est, egestas viverra magna urna vitae sapien.