Our Story
Support Sports in Sierra Leone is an organization whose mission is to promote youth development in Sierra Leone by using sports to engage young people.
The organization was formed by Charles Marshall, who, after learning that his maternal ancestry traced back to Sierra Leone, traveled to Sierra Leone to become a dual citizen of Sierra Leone and the United States. Charles wanted to do something to help his new country and formed Support Sports in Sierra Leone. Support Sports in Sierra Leone was formed to raise support for the development of Sierra Leone by investing in young people. The goal is to combine participation in sports with programs to enrich the lives of young people, address food insecurity, promote education, and teach civic responsibility and pride.
The people of the small West African country of Sierra Leone have centuries-old cultural, historical, and blood ties with the United States. The transfer of labor and technology from Sierra Leone to the southeastern region of North America during the Atlantic Slave Trade led to the rice production industry that created the wealth on which much of the United States was founded. The organization aims to serve as a vehicle to allow diasporan Sierra Leoneans in the United States and members of the greater citizenry of the United States to contribute to a country that has provided so much to the current United States.
Our Mission
Our mission is to use sports to engage underprivileged pre-teen, teen, and young adults in Sierra Leone and provide support to address the issues that affect them, such as:
- Challenges to the pursuit of education
- Food insecurity
- Obstacles to participation in extracurricular activities
- Lack of a spirit of civic responsibility and civic pride
Our Values
These are the values that center our work:
- Sport is for all - regardless of background or ability
- No child should be hungry - in our community or beyond
- Education is a right - that empowers individuals and strengthens society
- Be intentional about gender equality - in all our programs and practices
- Protect the planet - for current and future generations