June 10, 2008

Hello my name is Tariq Mansour. I am thirteen years old and have been playing soccer since I was 5 years old. I am planning to visit my father's native country, Sierra Leone, in December 2008. As you may know Sierra Leone has been plagued with civil war and is one of the poorest countries in the world. This means that many children are left with the bare minimum or less. My father loves the game of soccer and has told me many times of how when he was a child, he would often go to the park with his friends and bring all of his soccer balls with him to share with whoever else was at the park because he knew that so many kids did not have soccer balls. Then he and his friends and whoever else happened to be at the park would all play together. He has such fond memories of these games as they all had so much fun together.

When we started planning our trip, I had the idea to bring soccer balls for children in Sierra Leone. I have been saving up for about 6 months and am planning to use the money to buy as many new soccer balls as I can to give to the kids there, but this will not be so cheap. Some expenses are shipping overseas, customs, and of course the balls themselves. Playing soccer brings joy to so many people. In America most children can play soccer because they can afford fields and equipment. But in Africa, and Sierra Leone especially, it is not as easy. This is why I would like to do this for children in Sierra Leone.

When I told people about my "mission" they were all excited about what I was doing. They told me I should also try to raise money and collect cleats and used balls. So I decided to write this letter and spread the word of what I am doing. I am asking for a contribution of a soccer ball (new or used), cleats (new or used) or a donation of 5 dollars or more. Your contribution will be greatly appreciated by so many kids and I believe that if everyone would make a donation, I will be able to change even more people's lives. When I think of all the pro soccer players that come from Africa I think that there should be many more. But there aren't nearly half as many professional African soccer players as there could be. The main reason for this is that many of them could not afford soccer balls or cleats so they never played. There is so much potential talent, and I would love to help children in Sierra Leone achieve their highest potential and also have fun.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Tariq Mansour
17 Clay Street
Cambdridge, MA 02140
(617) 876.6693
hltmansour@comcast.net