MEET ARIANA
Since 2004, The Mogbwemo Queens Football Club (the “Queens”) has attracted girls who dare to be different. This growing female football club made of 33 players is based in Imperi Chiefdom, Bonthe District, Sierra Leone.
The girls draw their history from a unique background and like to think of themselves as a resilient bunch of girls regardless of background, who are supportive of each other; on and off pitch.
Women and girls from all around the world are fighting for equal rights and opportunities. Sierra Leone is not any different. The challenge of education, teenage insecurities, and the need for mentoring lurks in every community.
In their case it gets even more complex, as they live in a mining community where statistics support that; teenage pregnancy and school drop-outs figures are high and keeps growing. The girls found joy in meeting other girls who shared the similar interests and then football became the common ground. Soon they gained popularity and the interest among other girls grew.
Since then, there have been major challenges with running and maintaining the club. Despite this , ‘The Queens’ went ahead with their mission of learning a new skill, creating coping mechanism for themselves, an outlet where they could forget about the world outside and score goals, SUCCEED!
Their rigorous daily exercise routine attracted the attention of certain personalities in the community; which resulted in a Board to oversee and give support to the activities of the team.
Members of the board and kind hearted people from all around the world have been so supportive. In the past year, philanthropists paid their rent, the house served a camp for the team. It has created a safe haven, where they would not only talk football but provides a friendlier environment to study and learn.
Some people have supported by providing football gears including boots, jersey and training gears for the team.
Taking this dream to the next level means, they need to ensure that the girls are kept in school, nurturing their bodies, health and hygiene plus psycho-social needs. The camp has recurrent needs: food items, toiletries and bedding.
‘People ask us all of the time, why the emphasis on education? We believe that with basic education, our Queens will be able to make uniformed decisions . That is why we ensure that each player maintains a minimum GPA to be on the team’.
We are happy to say that ‘The Queens’ can boast that they now have an unbeatable track record. They have been able to play matches with other female teams from other districts; Bo, Bonthe, Freetown, Gbangbaato, Kambia, Kono, Kenema, and Makeni.
‘Our dream is to eventually become professionally trained and signed footballers who can represent Sierra Leone and foreign clubs at international level’.
Join or support ‘The Mogbwemo Queens at their fundraiser on the 30th March 2019.
