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For Thomas and Jamie Fahn, the move from Denver, Colorado, USA to Liberia in August of 2018 to follow the call of God to serve in various areas was a massive move for them and their family. While in Liberia, they have been able to minister to at-risk youth in Monrovia through their soccer academy program. Unfortunately, earlier this year, with COVID-19 they had to return to the United States on an emergency evacuation flight provided by the US Embassy. The Fahns have been back in the US since April 9th, 2020 and by the grace of God — through their church, were able to find some temporary, affordable housing in Fayetteville, Northwest Arkansas. The plan for the Fahns is to make Arkansas a base of operations for now, but to return and make frequent visits to Liberia until things are conducive to return and continue the work.

Today, Liberia is considered the poorest country in the world. The country is still recovering from the 15 years of civil unrest and the 2014 outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. The economic hardship in Liberia can be seen from every street corner and sadly, the youth are the most affected. Many talented Liberian youths are experiencing severe economic hardship, which has reduced them to the level of desperation. Some of them have given up hopes and have buried their talents and indulge in activities such as drug abuse, prostitution, crime and violence. The hopelessness and idleness, especially among the youth breeds crime and other unhealthy behaviors that is leading to the destruction of individuals and their communities.

During the Fahns short time working with the youth, they realized that most of them dream to be successful soccer players; unfortunately, their desires have not been matched with opportunities to nurture their skills and talents. The future of Liberia lies within in the youthful population, and so, the Fahns have been investing heavily in ministry amongst the youth population, and much of this through Sadya International Academy part of the ministry of Sadaya International (link to Facebook page).

The request for Sadaya comes at a difficult time with COVID-19 impacting donations and requests around football (soccer). Sadaya’s programs have a total of 110 youth and adult players, divided into teams in age groups U-11, U-13, U-15, U-17 and the men’s team. Their needs in this request include:

• 20 size 4 balls
• 30 size 5 soccer balls
• 50 adult soccer cleats (sizes 7 – 10.5)
• 32 youth soccer cleats (sizes 5 – 7)

With a return trip slated for December, the Fahns hope to ship items out in advance with a target date of November.

You can make a specific donation of one of the items above by checking out our SmileAmazon charity list here. Or you can make a financial donation via PushPay and our Community Project Fund.

Through Sadaya International Academy, Thomas and Jamie have come to realize that if Liberian youth are to be given a chance, they can be successful in life through sports and education. The goal of the soccer program is to provide them with opportunities to develop not only as soccer players, but also as contributing members of society.

Our soccer program has been very successful in providing hope for some of these young people, and the equipment Soccer Chaplains United has provided us in the past has helped us tremendously in achieving our goals. Thank you very much for your help!

Thomas Fahn, on past partnership with Soccer Chaplains United

When you financially support Soccer Chaplains United a portion of your gift automatically goes to help our community projects and requests. You can give specifically to help cover our costs by making a gift through PushPay — simply select Community Project from the selectable funds. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor individuals projects and organizations, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!