Help talented Track athletes in Burkina Faso
Donation protected
Hi, My name is Alex Samma and I am a US-educated Track & Field coach from Burkina Faso, a country located in West-Africa. I am asking for your financial support for "Beyond Sport", a Track & Field club I am setting up in my home country in order to grow the sport nationally and use it for social and economic justice.
Your contributions will be used to purchase equipment, cover club insurance fees, etc.
You can also help by organizing a drive from your training group and/or track team to collect old trainers, spikes, and clothes for our club members.
Shipping address:
Alex SAMMA
C/O Daogo Jean SAMMA
01 BP 5731
OUAGADOUGOU 01
BURKINA FASO
Below is background information and athletic performance stats of some of the athletes who will be joining the club once it launches. None of them have ever competed in the sport of Track & Field beyond Physical Education (PE) class:
AA: 17 y/o boy, 10th grade
His mom and dad are divorced and both got remarried; he is raised by his grandparents. AA switched schools twice in the last 2 years as he was failing because he started following the wrong crowd.
AA has jumped 12.80m+ (41'11”+) in the Triple Jump (TJ), 6m+ (19'8”+) in the Long Jump (LJ) and run 11.5s Hand Timed (HT) in the 100m in PE class.
YO: 14 y/o girl, 8th grade
Her mom and dad are divorced. YO’s mom works in a hair salon and her dad is a policeman.
YO has jumped 11m+ (36'1”+) in the TJ in PE class.
ZI: 15 y/o girl, 8th grade
Her mom and dad divorced when her mom was 3 months pregnant with her and her older brother was 3 years old. Her dad got remarried but hasn't paid any child support or even visited with her and her mom since the divorce. ZI was an excellent student until the 6th grade, when she began failing in school as she started hanging with the wrong crowd. When not at school, ZI helps her mom--who works as a waitress sometimes until 3 in the morning to care for her and her brother.
ZI has jumped 10m+ (32'9”+) in the TJ in PE class.
ME: 16 y/o girl, 9th grade
She lives with her 3-year old younger brother and parents in a single room home with very poor lighting: when visiting, I had to use my cell phone light in order to write down her dad' s contact information. ME plays rugby twice a week and her PE teacher suggested she run track in order to keep her away from things like unwanted pregnancies.
ME has jumped 10m+ (32'9”+) in the TJ in PE class.
ZA: 16 y/o girl, 9th grade
She wears the burqa. When she is not at school, she sells a local drink called "zom koom" in front of her house to help her family make ends meet. Her father is a mechanic. ZA switched schools last year because she was failing.
ZA has jumped 10m+ (32'9”+) in the TJ in PE class.
OR: 16 y/o girl, 9th grade
Her mom and dad are divorced and both got remarried; from the age of 8, she has been raised by her uncle, a computer repair technician, and his wife, a cashier in a shop. OR switched schools last year because she was failing.
OR has jumped 10m+ (32'9”+) in the TJ and sprinted 11s (HT) for 80m in PE class.
I have personally visited each of these athletes. As their future coach, I am looking forward to coaching them as people first by being a father-figure to those who need it, helping them make better life choices--ranging from which friends to keep around to getting on top of their grades at school--all while teaching them to run faster and jump farther. Track & Field can be their "way out"!
About Me:
As an athlete, I was an NCAA Division III Triple Jump National Champion for Connecticut College. Later, I represented the country of Burkina Faso in international competition. After college, I worked 2 years as a volunteer assistant coach for Jumps & Multis at Dartmouth College.
In my first 4 four years of coaching independently in Belgium (Europe), I produced 3 two-time Belgian national champions and 2 state champions, including a European and World Paralympic championships participant.
I am USATF level 1 certified, USATF level 2 certified in the Jumps, and USATF level 2 certified in the sprints/hurdles/relays. I have also taken online courses by Boo Schexnayder, Kebba Tolbert and Altis. I have 4 mentors across the US, Belgium, the UK and France. Philosophically I am a Tellezian (ie from the Tom Tellez coaching tree which uses a science-based approach to coaching), and I use Boo Schexnayder's training system.
As soon as practices start, you will be able to follow the progress of the athletes both in the classroom and on the track on our social media pages; I thank you again for your support!
Your contributions will be used to purchase equipment, cover club insurance fees, etc.
You can also help by organizing a drive from your training group and/or track team to collect old trainers, spikes, and clothes for our club members.
Shipping address:
Alex SAMMA
C/O Daogo Jean SAMMA
01 BP 5731
OUAGADOUGOU 01
BURKINA FASO
Below is background information and athletic performance stats of some of the athletes who will be joining the club once it launches. None of them have ever competed in the sport of Track & Field beyond Physical Education (PE) class:
AA: 17 y/o boy, 10th grade
His mom and dad are divorced and both got remarried; he is raised by his grandparents. AA switched schools twice in the last 2 years as he was failing because he started following the wrong crowd.
AA has jumped 12.80m+ (41'11”+) in the Triple Jump (TJ), 6m+ (19'8”+) in the Long Jump (LJ) and run 11.5s Hand Timed (HT) in the 100m in PE class.
YO: 14 y/o girl, 8th grade
Her mom and dad are divorced. YO’s mom works in a hair salon and her dad is a policeman.
YO has jumped 11m+ (36'1”+) in the TJ in PE class.
ZI: 15 y/o girl, 8th grade
Her mom and dad divorced when her mom was 3 months pregnant with her and her older brother was 3 years old. Her dad got remarried but hasn't paid any child support or even visited with her and her mom since the divorce. ZI was an excellent student until the 6th grade, when she began failing in school as she started hanging with the wrong crowd. When not at school, ZI helps her mom--who works as a waitress sometimes until 3 in the morning to care for her and her brother.
ZI has jumped 10m+ (32'9”+) in the TJ in PE class.
ME: 16 y/o girl, 9th grade
She lives with her 3-year old younger brother and parents in a single room home with very poor lighting: when visiting, I had to use my cell phone light in order to write down her dad' s contact information. ME plays rugby twice a week and her PE teacher suggested she run track in order to keep her away from things like unwanted pregnancies.
ME has jumped 10m+ (32'9”+) in the TJ in PE class.
ZA: 16 y/o girl, 9th grade
She wears the burqa. When she is not at school, she sells a local drink called "zom koom" in front of her house to help her family make ends meet. Her father is a mechanic. ZA switched schools last year because she was failing.
ZA has jumped 10m+ (32'9”+) in the TJ in PE class.
OR: 16 y/o girl, 9th grade
Her mom and dad are divorced and both got remarried; from the age of 8, she has been raised by her uncle, a computer repair technician, and his wife, a cashier in a shop. OR switched schools last year because she was failing.
OR has jumped 10m+ (32'9”+) in the TJ and sprinted 11s (HT) for 80m in PE class.
I have personally visited each of these athletes. As their future coach, I am looking forward to coaching them as people first by being a father-figure to those who need it, helping them make better life choices--ranging from which friends to keep around to getting on top of their grades at school--all while teaching them to run faster and jump farther. Track & Field can be their "way out"!
About Me:
As an athlete, I was an NCAA Division III Triple Jump National Champion for Connecticut College. Later, I represented the country of Burkina Faso in international competition. After college, I worked 2 years as a volunteer assistant coach for Jumps & Multis at Dartmouth College.
In my first 4 four years of coaching independently in Belgium (Europe), I produced 3 two-time Belgian national champions and 2 state champions, including a European and World Paralympic championships participant.
I am USATF level 1 certified, USATF level 2 certified in the Jumps, and USATF level 2 certified in the sprints/hurdles/relays. I have also taken online courses by Boo Schexnayder, Kebba Tolbert and Altis. I have 4 mentors across the US, Belgium, the UK and France. Philosophically I am a Tellezian (ie from the Tom Tellez coaching tree which uses a science-based approach to coaching), and I use Boo Schexnayder's training system.
As soon as practices start, you will be able to follow the progress of the athletes both in the classroom and on the track on our social media pages; I thank you again for your support!
Organizer
Ange Samma
Organizer
Fort Stewart, GA