Musings from Story Jam Land

8/20/11

My Friend Alpha

This is my friend Alpha and his daughter Stephanie
I have a very good friend named Alpha Bangura whom I have never met in person. We connected on the internet 11 years ago when I was looking at information about various causes and people making a difference. Alpha lives in Sierra Leone, Africa. He helps children who have been orphaned by the terrible wars in his country through his school and his orphanage. I've worked on fundraisers and fund-raising for Alpha ever since then and find my relationship with him deeply rewarding. He is a truly lovely man. About two years ago, he and his wife had a baby boy who very sadly died because of poor health care. It broke Alpha's heart and I almost thought Alpha wouldn't survive. A year later they had a baby girl and Alpha emailed me to ask if he could name her after me.