RIGHT TO PLAY - LIBERIA FIELD TRIP

Our team of RTP Athlete Ambassadors made it to Liberia safe and sound on Tuesday night. The team includes Mo Farah and James McIlroy from Great Britian Track and Field, Whitney Ping of US Table Tennis Fame, the Dutch Decathalete Chiel Warners, Kei Kamara of Sierra Leone and the Columbus Crew MLS Soccer Club, and me (a kayaker from Oakville). Martin Barnard and Pamela Rice are also with us from the Right To Play HQ in Toronto.

Today we visited a community in about an hours drive (maybe 30km, the roads are Crazy!) from the capital of Liberia, Monrovia and played with about 600 local kids for a few hours. The coaches, teachers and kids were incredible with their enthusiastic smiles. The amount of joy that sport and play adds to a community like this is incredible to witness.

Liberia was devasted by civil wat for 14 years, the result was almost complete destruction of their infrastructure. The bullethole ridden lamposts haven't shed light on the streets for years; decent roads, electricity, plumbing and adequate shelter are limited or absent even in the capital city of Monrovia. I've never been to a place like this, and seeing it all for myself has been enlightening to say the very least. The kids still love to play and laugh though, and must be allowed to take at least that for granted.