RICHLAND COUNTY, S.C. — As law enforcement officers, it’s part of the job that they be there for the community, but one local deputy is making sure that, not only does he care for people here in the Midlands, but also people back in his home country.
Master Deputy Thomas Browne with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department escaped the war-torn country of Liberia in 1989 at just six years old.
While his day job allows him to give back to those who have helped him here in the United States, he hasn’t forgotten where he came from.
“The best way I can give is to, you know, look back and offer some kind of assistance, because coming over here wasn’t just, you know, me coming on my own – It was an act of God and other people who opened the doors for me,” said Master Deputy Browne
Browne came to Columbia, South Carolina from his hometown of Sehwein, Liberia, with stops in Pennsylvania and Tennessee.
Browne left Liberia n 1989 to escape Civil War and has committed his life to giving back because of what he received.
“When our Civil War started it was pretty much, very brutal, and the assistance that we got from the American government and other countries that came and intervened and all that stuff, so I felt the best way I could give back was for, whenever I touch the soil of the United States, was to offer my services to the United States, as a way of saying ‘thank you’ for what they did for me,” he explained.
Browne has done just that – from majoring in Criminal Justice, to joining the military, to now as a Sheriff’s Deputy.
However, he doesn’t just want to make an impact in the United States.
With the help of donations from folks in the Midlands he’s sending help back home to Liberia, too.
“As far as the things we take for granted here – shoes, clothes, water, food is actually something that they have to struggle to get. It’s like they’re cut away from civilization,” he explained of the village of Sehwein. “The local clinic is about two hours away from where they are.,” he added. “So just basic things, clothes, shoes, stationary, pencil, paper, coloring books, all of that.
Browne has collected these items and shipped them back to his village.
He’s in the process of putting together another shipment before the end of the year.
He encourages anyone who has the chance to impact another person’s life to do what they can.
“It was just amazing to see the smile and the joy and just the reception that they got receiving all of those basic items,” he described. “The thing is, if you’re in a position as a person to open doors for another person, that’s the best thing to do, you know, be that gateway to someone else’s hope and future.”
