Ambassador Stevens urges fortunate Sierra Leoneans : 'Emulate football genius Madieu Williams to help rebrand your motherland'

Sierra Leone' s Ambassador to the United States , H.E. Bockari Stevens,  partnered a prominent Sierra Leonean football star Madieu Williams on Wednesday at the launching of the “Madieu Williams Center for Global Health Initiatives project"  at the University of Maryland. The announcement ceremony was witnessed by the President of the University, Sierra Leonean community organizations and officials including the Chief of Staff of the Montgomery Country Council. The Madieu Williams Center for Global Health Initiative will extend the school of Health’s overall commitment to local, state, regional and global health initiatives with particular attention to the public health initiatives impacting Prince Georges County, and  Sierra Leone. The center will partner with the University of Maryland, Prince George’s County and the Embassy of Sierra Leone in the USA.

The President of the University observed that the gift was the largest  from an African American alumnus. Under the project University officials including Madieu himself will be visiting Sierra Leone in Early next year to identify possible collaboration in health sector.

 PHOTO : MADIEU WILLIAMS

The Ambassador urged other fortunate Sierra Leoneans in the Western world to emulate the example of Madieu Williams and join the ‘Agenda for Change’ for their motherland Sierra Leone. He commended the sports icon for trying to rebrand the image of his country.Mr Stevens lamented that many Sierra Leone tend to forget from where they hailed.  Ambassador Stevens intimated that Madieu who is already building a school in Sierra Leone will be sending a medical mission to Sierra Leone early in 2010. “Many people who find greener pastures in the rich world do at times forget their humble heritage. They tend to forget where they come from but Madieu is one of those who remain proud about his roots."

28 year old Madieu  Williams  is a football star for the Minnesota Vikings; he was born in Sierra Leone and moved to the USA with his family at age 9. At the program on Wednesday, he proudly stated : "It was very important to me to make sure I am able to reach back to the past in Prince George's County and also Sierra Leone where I was born. Those two places have a very special place in my heart and I wanted to make sure that I will always have - I can leave a footprint or some type of legacy behind in those two places." Madieu's success story started in 2003 when he graduated  from  the University of Maryland's School of Public Health with a degree in family science. One year after graduating ,  he established the Madieu Williams Foundation, which is designed to  promote healthy living for underprivileged youth. "The vision started years ago - I was thinking about ways to give back to the university but also continue to build upon some of the programs that I have started within my foundation . I thought it was a great idea to create an endowment that focuses on some of the things I have an interest in but also is a way for me to give back to the university," the young football star explained.

PHOTO : AMBASSADOR BOCKARIE STEVENS

 

 

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