'I want them to have just as much as me'

Like Michael Lans, a 10-year-old with curly red hair and a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

Just the other day he got a letter in the mail that he’ll be proud of for the rest of his life.

“There are few things more rewarding than learning about young people who recognize the power to make a positive impact on the world around them,” the letter said.

The story behind the letter started back in the 80s when Michael's mom worked in the Peace Corps.

“When I was first was told I was going to Sierra Leone, I'd never even heard of Sierra Leone,” said Cindy Nofziger. “We decided to go, and it turned out to be two of the best years of my life."

The tiny country on the western tip of Africa was devastatingly poor. Then came an 11-year civil war that destroyed schools and left tens of thousands dead.

The widespread suffering turned Sierra Leone into one of the poorest countries in the world.

Seventeen year after she left, Cindy returned to Sierra Leone. She was tremendously moved, so much so that she started Schools for Salone.

The nonprofit organization aimed to build schools where there were none, in the smallest villages of the most remote region of the struggling nation.

“There’s no way you can describe what it's like to be in Sierra Leone,” Cindy said. “With the heat and the smells, and the sounds and just everything, it's a bombardment of the senses.”

Cindy built the organization from nothing. She's not rich, after all; just passionate and driven.

“You just want to help them,” she said. “And help them not in a hand-out sort of way, but to facilitate them wanting to make a better life for themselves."

In just five years, Schools for Salone has built 13 schools and one library. It has dug seven water wells and trained 70 teachers. And last year, the group shipped over 22,000 books.

“Oh, the first one brought tears to my eyes,” said Cindy of the first school. “You know, and every time, it's very emotional, because you can see the gratitude in the eyes of the villagers. And the children - these children are singing at the top of their lungs.”

When her own son turned 7, Cindy started taking him to Sierra Leone with her. Michael’s been three times now, and every time, he causes a stir.

“Well, most of them had never seen a white kid before. So they were touching me and pinching me, and following me around,” he said.

Michael is just like any kid. He likes to race around and be a boy. But after his last trip, he sat down and wrote a letter. He mailed it out to everyone he knew.

“Please put a dollar wrapped in a plane sheet of paper in an envelope marked 'kids helping kids,’” his letter instructed.

Michael wants to raise $10,000 for scholarships to the schools his mom helped build.

“I wanted to help the kids, because I have a lot more than them. And I want them to have just as much as me, and not have not very much.”

So far he's raised $2,600. There’s still a long ways to go.

But he's trying - trying to help fix a place on the other side of the world that would be easy to ignore, except for the fact that he wasn't brought up that way.

Neither was the guy who sent him that very special letter.

“Young people like you inspire me and strengthen my hope for the future,” the letter said. “Michelle and I wish you all the best. Sincerely, Barack Obama."

For more information on Michael and his mother’s work in Sierra Leone, visit SchoolsforSalone.org.