Water in Mali is Forge star Abou Sissoko's goal
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Loading... - Antobam Annor
- 29 Aug 2022
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Abou Sissoko cares deeply about his roots, so he wants to water them. Literally.
The effervescent 26-year-old Forge FC midfielder grew up in Montreal, but was born in the West African republic of Mali, has a home there and is committed to helping the country of his birth.
Sissoko has his own family-financed charity whose purpose, he explains, “is to help people around the world, and give them drinking water.”
Five years ago, before he and his sister and two brothers, all older, created Macine Fondation — the water-supplying charity named for their late parents — he was playing international age-class (Under 20) for Mali and he, his sister and his mother paid contractors to drill two water wells in an arid rural area of Mali, north of their hometown in the country’s capital of Bamako.
“Playing for the national team was the first time I got paid for playing soccer,” he told The Spectator. “I got my first cheque and did the drilling with my sister and my mother, who was still alive then. And I’m continuing to do it with the help of my siblings and my brother’s wife, through our foundation. We hope to build more.”
Mali is the eighth largest country in Africa, with a population of about 22 million. Through international and local relief efforts in recent years, about 80 per cent of the urban areas have gained sustainable access to clean water, but it drops to 70 per cent in more rural places, and even lower than that in areas of military conflict and closer to the deserts of the North.
Sissoko says he recognizes that some Forge FC fans might want to contribute, through him, to the cause but says, “I’m thankful that people in Hamilton wish to help but I think it would be better right now for them to give to a bigger charity. My family and myself would like to do it ourselves right now ... but, maybe if it gets bigger.”
While Mali will be the focus, the foundation is looking at drinking water shortages outside the country, too.
A third well, drilled by Dignité International in Kampong Chhnang Province in Cambodia is now done and was paid for by their Macine Fondation: “Ma” for their father Madou, “Cine” for their mother Jacine.
“The first one was expensive, about $7,000 Canadian, the next ones were a bit less expensive,” he said.
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The average player salary in the Canadian Premier League, where his Forge play, is about $40,000, which doesn’t leave lot of discretionary spending room. But Sissoko, a talented player who has scored two goals in his last four games, includng his first as a pro in a 5-1 drubbing of FC Edmonton at Tim Hortons Field, is hoping to move on to a higher-paying league somewhere else in the world. Developing Canadian talent — Sissoko has lived in Canada since 2006 and officially became a citizen earlier this year — and encouraging the players to move to more lucrative leagues elsewhere is one of the stated functions of the CPL.
“It’s one of my biggest goals to keep playing and doing what I love to do and keep going higher and help people in Mali when I can make some real money from soccer,” the ever-smiling, but deep-thinking, Sissoko told The Spectator. Read More...
