CrossTraining’s Timothy Project: Liberia 2017 is grateful to have the opportunity to reach the people of Liberia again through Thomas Fahn’s Liberian Institute For Empowerment (L.I.F.E.). Fahn recently sent an update on the state of Liberia in light of the latest events in the area. We are struck by what Fahn has to share and even more honored to help make a difference for the children of Liberia.
Fahn writes, “As you know, Liberia came from fourteen years of brutal civil war, which ravaged the country’s economic, health, and education infrastructures. The 2014 Ebola outbreak also added to the suffering of the Liberian people, killing nearly 5,000 people. Many Liberia youth were greatly affected by these two traumatic events. As result, most of them completely lost hope in life and have turned to drugs and alcohol as their natural coping mechanisms. According to statistics, the youth comprises of approximately 65% of Liberia’s population of 4.1 million people. Unfortunately, a huge sector of the Liberian youth population is greatly damaged due to drugs and alcohol addiction.
While I was in Liberia last month, I quickly noticed the impact of drug and alcohol on the Liberian youth population. Drugs and alcohol have caused most youth to develop various mental illnesses to the extent where they have made grave sites their permanent dwelling places. Some are in the streets, while others are living in swamps and abandoned cars and buildings. Consequently, prostitution, crime, infectious diseases, and suicide among Liberian youth have increased significantly. The Liberian government has paid little attention in helping these needy youth.
Currently, our organization (L.I.F.E.) is focused on youth development through sports. Our goal is to use the power of sports to inspire, motivate, and encourage the youth of my district to stay off the streets and focus their attention on something positive. We want use football as a platform to provide them with hope and a future. Born and raised in severe poverty in rural Liberia, my motivation to get by on a daily basis, even in the worst circumstances, was to be focus on something positive that provided me with hope. Football was the positive tool that gave
me hope and kept me focused on school and other helpful things. Based upon my personal life experience, I strongly believe that we can use football in order to make a difference in the lives of many of these youth.
During my recent trip, we were able to successfully establish our Football Academy in my home town for youth players ages 10 through 18. Right now we have more than 150 youth players in our program and we expect more players from other nearby villages to join soon. What started out small has now developed into a big soccer program within the region. In order to keep our program alive, we are asking friends, family, and organizations to partner with us to help us achieve our goal.”
To help Fahn meet his goals of reaching the youth in his district CrossTraining’s Timothy Project: Liberia 2017 is working to assemble the gear Fahn has requested for his Football Academy. We are encouraged to help L.I.F.E make positive changes in its district in the short-term but more importantly in the long term.
Fahn goes on to say, “In a
ddition, we are currently in the process of building three soccer fields for our soccer programs. The estimated cost of building the three fields is around $3,500.00, and we expect the work to be completed by the end of May this year.”
To support future Timothy Project ventures, such as Timothy Project: Liberia 2017, please use the Donate Now link to make a secure PayPal donation. Your financial gift helps to secure additional equipment, sponsor a missionary or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!
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