Play It Forward is a project co-founded by Joseph and Elijah Turner. A father and son on a mission to create safe places for African children affected by trauma to engage in play-based soccer programs that help them begin to heal and navigate their futures with hope.

The Inspiration Behind the Project:

Elijah was born in a country in East Africa, and orphaned at six months old. He spent the next five years in an under-resourced orphanage marked by neglect, abuse, and malnutrition. After being adopted and raised in the United States, he finally found the support to begin healing from that early trauma. Much of it through the game of soccer. On the field, he learned to process emotions, develop social skills, bolster his cognitive development, rebuild confidence, and experience the joy every child deserves.

Now, Elijah want's children who share his background to have access to places and programs that can help them too.

The Invisible Crisis:

Millions of children across Africa are growing up in high-stress environments marked by violence, loss, conflict, and hunger. This type of chronic trauma can disrupt a child’s cognitive, emotional, and physical development, limiting their ability to achieve their full potential.

When a child’s nervous system is overtaken by trauma, the need for safe a place to relieve the stress and connect with someone who can help them process their experience becomes critical for their development.

However...

Across the continent, an estimated 75% of African youth lack safe and dedicated spaces to participate in sports and recreational activities.

On average, there are only 0.1 mental-health professionals per 100,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa.

It's estimated that half of children living in African countries aren't reaching their developmental potential due to the stress living in poverty puts on their bodies.

Only 20% of children have access to organized sports or physical activities outside of school.

Our Solution:

1. Building Safe Places to Play

We will partner with communities to build safe and sustainable turf fields where children can play without fear.

Offering Play-Based Soccer Programs

Soccer is a universal language that unites children in every community. The game naturally builds teamwork, problem-solving, and self-belief.

Utilizing Trauma-Informed Methods

Through the help of industry professionals, we will create structured play-based programs that help children develop emotional regulation, resilience, and confidence in a supportive environment.

Training Coaches as Mentors

We will train local coaches as mentors who listen, encourage, and support the whole child. Relationships will be at the center of our work.

Why Now?

We have two potential community organizers interested in integrating the vision of Play It Forward into their communities. However, we've got foundational work to do before we can make that happen.

We're raising funds for our pre-launch phase—the critical groundwork before we break ground in 2026:

→ Making site visits and assessing viability

→ Securing land partnerships with community leaders

→ Designing trauma-informed curriculum with child development experts

→ Recruiting, assessing and training local coaches and piloting programs

→ Establishing legal structure and compliance

If you believe, like we do, that play can open the path to healing, we invite you to help us Play It Forward.

Please visit www.play-it-forward.org to learn more.

You can also view our launch announcement on Youtube by clicking here: https://youtu.be/a9IYBIomlH4

Note: our 501-(c)(3) status is pending, so donations are not yet tax deductible. However, you can learn more about our commitment to financial transparency, accountability and governance on the website under the section titled "How We'll Get There."