By Janet A. Sesay
The founder of SAMA Foundation Bundu Hayes has donated sports items to teams at the Kroo Bay community on Freetown. This donation was done on Saturday 8 March, 2025 at their field. The items include jerseys, footballs, socks, and boots, among many other items.
After the donation of the items, Coach of the Junior and Senior Team, Bai Bangura, a former Captain of the East End Lions, expressed delight and thanked the SAMA Foundation for the gesture which he described as having come at the right moment.
Coach Bangura thanked the SAMA Foundation founder, Bundu Hayes and Coach Eldin for the donation, noting that the items have come at a time when they were mostly needed and on behalf of the Kroo Bay Community expressed gratitude and appreciation to the Sama Foundation.
Captain Bangura further that they were finding it difficult to have these items whenever they went out to play, disclosing that some of his players will even wear slippers especially during training. “This donation will henceforth ensure the uniformity of the teams during trainings and during actual tournaments,’ Coach Bangura stated.
He explained that both the junior and senior teams have now been recognized by the Western Area Football Association (WAFA) and the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA) because of their remarkable participations in local football leagues organized at the Parade Grounds and the St. Thomas Field and other arenas in the Western Area.
He revealed the Kroo Bay Community Football Association comprises of a Female, Male and Teenage category football teams. “As a football entity, we have been successful in most of the football tournaments we have participated in, and we have also won several trophies,” Coach Bangura proudly disclosed.
He however drew the attention of the SAMA Foundation to the plight of many of the boys and girls in the various teams that are of school-going ages but are not in schools because their parents cannot afford paying their fees, and therefore made a passionate appeal to the Foundation to consider providing scholarship assistance to those vulnerable boys and girls that have proved to have talents in football.
The Founder of the SAMA Foundation, Bundu Hayes said that throughout his life, being good and doing good to touch and impact lives, has always been part of his enterprise and he always feels good doing things that change the lives of people positively.
He acknowledged the role the RISE Soccer Club is playing to improve, develop and promote youth soccer in the United States.
Bundu Hayes expressed his gratitude and unique appreciation to Coach Eldin and the RISE Soccer Club for the opportunity to help youths in Sierra Leone.
“SAMA Foundation has been there and will continue to support education through sports, with a strong commitment to youth’s sober direction,” he said.
Coach Eldin commended the SAMA Foundation for its leadership in youth development in Sierra Leone and assured the Foundation of his continued support.