Conteh, a 14-year-old native of Sierra Leone, was the first student-athlete from the Craig Bellamy Foundation’s soccer academy in his home country to earn a scholarship to study in the United States. His journey, which began 18 months ago, didn’t go as smoothly as all involved would have liked, but he said he is thrilled to finally be here and have the opportunity to further his education and his development as a soccer player.
“It’s been exciting,” said Conteh, who is entering the ninth grade at the private boarding school in Los Olivos. “I’ve made a lot of friends with people at school, and I’m getting used to people and they are nice to me – the staff and the students.”
It’s been a long road for Conteh, whom the Craig Bellamy Foundation is hoping will be the first of many young academy members to come to the U.S. to further his education before returning to help better his home country. The CBF, which was launched in 2009 by former Welsh soccer star Craig Bellamy, ultimately aims to bring about change and improve governance in Sierra Leone by educating youth at its soccer academy.
Conteh joined the academy in his native Freetown in early 2011. Due to his leadership skills both on and off the pitch – he was a vice captain at the academy – and his strong will, Conteh was chosen as one of a few players to make the maiden trek to California with Valley native Kelsey Sullivan, who is the academy’s U.S. coordinator. Unfortunately, obtaining U.S. visas proved more difficult than Sullivan and the academy envisioned, so Conteh ended up being the lone member to make the trip. And even he was declined after his first interview with the U.S. Consulate.
When Conteh went back for his second interview, Sullivan – who had already purchased plane tickets and had a house payment in escrow before the first denial – said she was too nervous to return with him. “We hoped for the best, but we kind of had prepared for the fact that we were throwing up a Hail Mary, and maybe it will work and maybe it won’t,” she said. “I was such a nervous wreck, I didn’t go. I thought I was bad luck, so I didn’t want to be anywhere near the embassy building, so I stayed at the Academy with the other boys.”
When they got the call with the good news, Sullivan said that she and Conteh and his fellow academy members were overjoyed.
“We exploded,” she said. “We all started crying and praying, and thanking God that we found a way to do it.” With the government issues settled, Conteh and Sullivan, who had been working in Africa for nearly three years, spent the next 40 hours traveling from Sierra Leone to the Valley, where they are currently living with Sullivan’s parents. She said they are looking for a house – they have a lead on a three-bedroom home in Buellton – and are hopeful that more boys from the academy will soon join them.
Although he is excited to be in the U.S., Conteh said it wasn’t easy leaving behind his family and friends in Africa. His parents escorted him to the airport in Freetown, where he boarded a plane for the first time in his life, and they shared an emotional goodbye.
Despite being a world away, Conteh will be able to remain in touch with his family and friends over the phone and through Skype, an Internet-based video chat service. Sullivan said Conteh’s parents have an open invitation to use the academy’s computer in Freetown to Skype him whenever they like.
“They’re really excited and proud of him and supportive of him being here,” Sullivan said of Conteh’s family and his teammates at the academy, with whom he has already had conversations through Skype. “It was tough when it was time to go. It’s always hardest on mom. She’s very happy, but she’s also sad because she’s gonna miss her boy. Hopefully with Skype and those things, it will make it a little bit better.”
Since arriving in the U.S. less than three weeks ago, Conteh has had a busy schedule. In addition to getting set up at school at Dunn, he is also a striker with the Santa Barbara Soccer Club. He said his training sessions with the club team have been his highlights thus far, though he said he also enjoyed a recent trip with Sullivan to UC-Santa Barbara to see the men’s soccer team host UC-Irvine.
Conteh said his ultimate goal in the U.S. is the same as what he told the U.S. Consulate during his visa interview.
“I want to come here so I can get the best education possible to allow me to follow my dreams of making Sierra Leone a better country with positive and educated role models,” he said.
As the first CBF academy student to study abroad, Conteh has added responsibility and weight on his shoulders, as his progress will likely be used as the barometer for future students.
“It’s been tough on him, but we knew that he was the right boy that could come and handle the responsibility of his role of being the pioneer for the project,” said Sullivan, a former student and soccer player at Dunn herself. “He’s representing himself, his family, our organization and Sierra Leone. It’s a relatively unknown country and what people do know is based around blood diamonds, so for them to get to see a well-educated outspoken individual is a good thing, and we knew he could handle the responsibility.
“We have 100% confidence in him. We wouldn’t have asked him to take this up if we didn’t think he could do it.”
Conteh said he feels that pressure, but he is also confident in his ability to handle it.
“I’m the first to set the route for everyone else to come,” he said, “so if I don’t do well, the route will be closed.”
Sullivan said that all of the setbacks they faced in Conteh’s journey – from the initial visa interviews to immigration issues after arriving in Los Angeles – are learning experiences for the future. As the CBF’s U.S. coordinator, she said she is excited to expand the program here in the States.
“This is a great starting point,” she said. “It’s a reference for when we go in the future, and we’re hopeful that will yield positive results, but we don’t know.” willis@syvjournal.com