Alie is the founder of Street Sports Hope. Originally from Sierra Leone, now living in London, Alie founded Street Sports Hope in 2016 to help the young homeless and under privileged people of the country of his birth.
Arriving in the UK in 1994 to live with his mother after fleeing the civil war in Sierra Leone, like most young boys, he grew up wanting to be a footballer, however as he got older, with those dreams fading away, his passion for sports grew through regular involvement in a range of organised sports.
With his love for sports, he decided to coach younger boys and girls in Brent, Westminster and Camden with similar dreams to his whilst studying QTS Physical Education at Brunel University.
It was whilst working with excluded school children, when Alie realised the power of sports and the positive impact it has on young people in terms of behaviour and positive being. With this knowledge and experience, Alie’s inner feelings grew, inspiring him to provide the skills and experience to the underprivileged children of Sierra Leone.
When Alie was offered the opportunity in 2014 to work with street children, he saw his dream coming true and took on the challenges with delight and urgency. Sadly, a few weeks after arriving in Sierra Leone, the deadly Ebola virus broke out.
Alie however continued to work in Sierra Leone for the next 2 years, supporting Ebola orphans in psycho social support as well providing recreational activities for street children. Whilst working with children in Freetown and the provinces, Alie realised he was working with a group of children that had no hope, due to either extreme poverty or the effects of Ebola, or both.
When an eight year old child not enrolled in school said to Alie “I enjoy playing football but, I am too hungry”, or a single parent had to choose between food for her family, or sending them to school, that’s when he decided that something needed to be done.
It was from these experiences that STREET SPORTS HOPE was born.
Contact: alie@streetsportshope.org