Sierra Leone's Olympic Hopeful
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Meet Edward Bangura. Or, as his friends call him, Song.
Song is 29 years old and has lived in Sierra Leone his entire life. When he was a child, a brutal civil war began in his country and Song was recruited by the national military to fight against rebel forces. He was 14 years old when he became a soldier and trained with the British Infantry First Batallion. For 15 years, Song has served in the Sierra Leonean military. It is there that he first began to box for the military team. And after a childhood of dreaming of becoming a star footballer, Song (and everyone else around him) quickly realized he had talent for something greater.
Song was meant to be a fighter -- just not in the military.
Song is a boxer -- the heavyweight champion of Sierra Leone to be precise.
He has fought 18 times in Sierra Leone, Morocco, Guinea, Liberia, and Senegal. He has lost only 3 fights. He was crowned the Best Boxer of Sierra Leone in 2013 by President Ernest Bai Koroma.
This year, Song began training for the 2016 Olympics.
(Song with his presidential award for Best Boxer of 2013)
Then, the Ebola outbreak hit. Between the months of May 2014 and July 2015, nearly 14,000 cases of Ebola have been confirmed or suspected within Sierra Leone and almost 4,000 confirmed deaths have been recorded. It's believed that many more have also passed away from Ebola undetected. But thousands more have passed away from other diseases and health complications as the fragile health system became quickly overwhelmed with an unfamiliar, highly infectious disease. And the economic effects of the outbreak have been severe -- with international investors pulling out, the global community isolating the tiny nation, and strict restrictions on movement preventing people from earning their daily bread -- all in a nation with a youth unemployment/underemployment rate of 70% pre-Ebola.
During the outbreak and the ensuing public state of emergency, boxing had to be put aside for Song. Matches were cancelled and fear engulfed the nation. But Song, who fought rebels out of his country as a child himself, was not afraid. Song worked for King's Parnership at Connaught Hospital in Freetown, when Ebola cases were confirmed by the hundreds every week and resources on the ground were nearly non-existant. Song's job was to keep the clincal staff of the Isolation Unit safe by ensuring there was always personal protective equipment and infection prevention and control equipment available and stocked.
(Reads: "Song, Many thanks for your hard work with King's Partnership Sierra Lone against the Ebola outbreak. You are a friend for life.")
All the while, Song kept in shape by boxing and running on his own. As the Ebola outbreak began to wane, Song resumed his training regimen for the Olympics, finished up his work at Connaught, and began to train the plethora of expatriate aid workers who arrived for Ebola response work in boxing and aerobics.
The Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone is still not over. Public boxing matches and sporting events have not resumed, but the country is ready for a fight. In late Spring of 2015, Ringside invited the Sierra Leone National Boxing Team to attend the Ringside World Championship boxing event and Pre-Olympic Training in MO, USA. If he qualifies in this event, he is one critical step closer to representing Sierra Leone in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Today, we learned that Song has received his visa to travel to the United States. But, unfortunately, the sponsorship by Ringside will not cover his flight to the championship event. Because of the ongoing Ebola outbreak, flights in and out of Sierra Leone are limited and expensive. The $5,000 goal will be used to purchase the roundtrip ticket from Sierra Leone to U.S. and help Song with any additional costs that may arise on his travels.
Song is supposed to leave for the US on 31 July.
We have less than 1 week to raise the money and purchase the ticket.
This is a man born to a nation with some of the most limited opportunities in the world. A man who has given his life to his country, fighting against enemies in both the civil war and the Ebola outbreak. A man who is strong, kind, and giving. A man who wants to fight for his country -- a country that needs a win.
Let's help make 2015 the Return Of Song.
Please, spare what you can to help us send Song to the World Championships and share widely and freely. Time is short.
Song is 29 years old and has lived in Sierra Leone his entire life. When he was a child, a brutal civil war began in his country and Song was recruited by the national military to fight against rebel forces. He was 14 years old when he became a soldier and trained with the British Infantry First Batallion. For 15 years, Song has served in the Sierra Leonean military. It is there that he first began to box for the military team. And after a childhood of dreaming of becoming a star footballer, Song (and everyone else around him) quickly realized he had talent for something greater.
Song was meant to be a fighter -- just not in the military.
Song is a boxer -- the heavyweight champion of Sierra Leone to be precise.
He has fought 18 times in Sierra Leone, Morocco, Guinea, Liberia, and Senegal. He has lost only 3 fights. He was crowned the Best Boxer of Sierra Leone in 2013 by President Ernest Bai Koroma.
This year, Song began training for the 2016 Olympics.
(Song with his presidential award for Best Boxer of 2013)Then, the Ebola outbreak hit. Between the months of May 2014 and July 2015, nearly 14,000 cases of Ebola have been confirmed or suspected within Sierra Leone and almost 4,000 confirmed deaths have been recorded. It's believed that many more have also passed away from Ebola undetected. But thousands more have passed away from other diseases and health complications as the fragile health system became quickly overwhelmed with an unfamiliar, highly infectious disease. And the economic effects of the outbreak have been severe -- with international investors pulling out, the global community isolating the tiny nation, and strict restrictions on movement preventing people from earning their daily bread -- all in a nation with a youth unemployment/underemployment rate of 70% pre-Ebola.
During the outbreak and the ensuing public state of emergency, boxing had to be put aside for Song. Matches were cancelled and fear engulfed the nation. But Song, who fought rebels out of his country as a child himself, was not afraid. Song worked for King's Parnership at Connaught Hospital in Freetown, when Ebola cases were confirmed by the hundreds every week and resources on the ground were nearly non-existant. Song's job was to keep the clincal staff of the Isolation Unit safe by ensuring there was always personal protective equipment and infection prevention and control equipment available and stocked.
(Reads: "Song, Many thanks for your hard work with King's Partnership Sierra Lone against the Ebola outbreak. You are a friend for life.")All the while, Song kept in shape by boxing and running on his own. As the Ebola outbreak began to wane, Song resumed his training regimen for the Olympics, finished up his work at Connaught, and began to train the plethora of expatriate aid workers who arrived for Ebola response work in boxing and aerobics.
The Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone is still not over. Public boxing matches and sporting events have not resumed, but the country is ready for a fight. In late Spring of 2015, Ringside invited the Sierra Leone National Boxing Team to attend the Ringside World Championship boxing event and Pre-Olympic Training in MO, USA. If he qualifies in this event, he is one critical step closer to representing Sierra Leone in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Today, we learned that Song has received his visa to travel to the United States. But, unfortunately, the sponsorship by Ringside will not cover his flight to the championship event. Because of the ongoing Ebola outbreak, flights in and out of Sierra Leone are limited and expensive. The $5,000 goal will be used to purchase the roundtrip ticket from Sierra Leone to U.S. and help Song with any additional costs that may arise on his travels.
Song is supposed to leave for the US on 31 July.
We have less than 1 week to raise the money and purchase the ticket.
This is a man born to a nation with some of the most limited opportunities in the world. A man who has given his life to his country, fighting against enemies in both the civil war and the Ebola outbreak. A man who is strong, kind, and giving. A man who wants to fight for his country -- a country that needs a win.
Let's help make 2015 the Return Of Song.
Please, spare what you can to help us send Song to the World Championships and share widely and freely. Time is short.
Organizer and beneficiary
Sahara Lebowski
Organizer
Aberdeen, MD
Katherine Sastre
Beneficiary
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