Montel Swaray Embarks on a Mission to Transform African Lives
July 23, 2021
By Prince Kurupati
Actor Montel Swaray has big dreams for the continent
Popular Liberian American actor, writer, producer and entrepreneur Montel Swaray has embarked on a mission to transform the lives of underprivileged Africans on the continent. Through his foundation founded in 2018, Swaray says he wants to see wholesome transformation on the continent. As such, his Montel Swaray Foundation aims at “encouraging, supporting, funding, guiding and empowering different communities to develop in ways that secure their future into seeing a greater economy”.
In its mission to transform the lives of Africans on the continent, the Montel Swaray Foundation aims at working with local communities and community leaders. In its formative years, the Foundation states that it will focus more in uplifting the lives of Liberians – “Working in collaboration with government officials, and community leaders, we ensure that the appropriate infrastructure, food, water and educational sectors are in place to guarantee the long-term development and growth of Liberia”.
Though the Montel Swaray Foundation in its formative years will primarily focus in uplifting the lives of Liberians, it states that with time, it will move to influence and transform the lives of Africans in different countries from Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Nigeria and all other African countries.
In its mission to transform African lives, the Montel Swaray Foundation has earmarked specific sectors of interest. First up is the healthcare sector. On this front, the Foundation is aiming to improve the healthcare infrastructure while at the same time improving the welfare of healthcare workers. The Foundation states that it aims at working “with the communities to help the Department of Health to facilitate the innovative construction and improvement of the rural clinic facilities”.
The challenge of access to clean water has been an age long problem in Africa. Various reports have been drafted all coming to the same conclusion that millions of Africans do not have access to safe clean water. To help on this front, the Montel Swaray Foundation states that it’s looking to work “with communities to find the best solutions to improve access to water”. Some of the strategies that the Foundation is contemplating in its drive to address the challenge of lack of access to clean water is “creating water dams, installing boreholes and rainwater collection systems, and establishing community water stations for the rural and cities areas in Liberia”.
With many humanitarian reports on Africa Liberia included coming to the same conclusion that over half of the continent’s population is not adequately fed, the Montel Swaray Foundation is taking it upon itself to change this narrative in Liberia. The Foundation has teamed “up with local official and community leaders to ensure that all Liberians in need of help support and nourishment will receive that aid immediately”.
To future generations, the Montel Swaray Foundation is embarking on a drive to digitalize schools. The hope and intention is to provide all Liberian school going children with top quality education and an education that puts them at par with all other students from across the globe. This will in turn mean they will compete for the same opportunities in life thus helping them to uplift themselves and at the same time their communities. In a statement, the Foundation said it will help by providing “unlimited school supplies, laptops, notebooks, school uniforms and shoes - anything that our Liberian children need to be successful in class”.
The Montel Foundation sees sports as a way of giving opportunities to young Africans
Recognizing that school however is not everything that children and young adults need as they grow up, the Foundation also founded the Swaray United Sports Teams. The sports teams inhibit children and young adults from becoming idle all day and resorting to different vices in a bid to spend free time. The sports teams also provide children and young adults with an opportunity to develop their sports careers and even get noticed by sporting scouts of different professional sports teams. Some of the sports offered include soccer, basketball, volleyball and tennis.
Not only does the Montel Swaray Foundation aim at transforming the lives of Africans firstly Liberians, it also aims at transforming Liberia as a whole. The Foundation aims at working closely with “city leaders and construction companies to gain contracts that will help with the modernization of the Republic of Liberia”.
