The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 104, No. 5 - January 29, 2015 Inside This Issue Business Briefs...................3 Certified & Licensed Professionals.....................14 Classifieds............................4 Crossword/Sudoku.............4 Legals....................... 12,13,14 Obituaries.............................2 Politically Speaking............5 Real Estate.....................9-11 Sports.............................. 6,16 Women at Work..................2 Weekend Forecast John Hyten, son of former El Segundo residents Sherwyn and Barbara Hyten, was promoted to Four Star General in a ceremony held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on August 15, 2014. He was also promoted to leader of the United States Air Force Space Command. Hyten’s father Sherwyn grew up on Sheldon Street and attended El Segundo Schools from K-12, graduating with ESHS Class of 1953. General Hyten is shown here (center) along with (L-R) Bill McCrea, Sallee Jo Hazeltine McCrea (ESHS ’53), John Reinhardt (ESHS ’53), Annette Reinhardt (ESHS ’54), Barbara Hyten, Laurie Hyten, and Sherwyn Hyten (ESHS ’53). Photo provided by John Reinhardt. Local Soccer Coach Inspires Kids, Adults in Quest to Help Ebola Victims By Brian Simon When the members of the El Segundo Gunners club team merged with Manhattan Beach’s Sand and Surf last year, little did they know they know their new Boys U17 coach would teach them so much more than how to improve their soccer skills. This is a case in which lessons about life off the field far outweigh those that exist between two goal posts. With an inspirational backstory worthy of the silver screen and ongoing charitable projects that drive home the importance of volunteering and giving back, Coach Abdul Sesay strives to make a positive impact that will stay with these youngsters the rest of their lives. Confronted with the harsh reality of the Ebola epidemic in his home country of Sierra Leone in western Africa, Sesay recently launched a campaign to raise $50,000 by the end of April to subsidize shelter and education for Sierra Leone children who are survivors of the virus or have lost their parents to it. These children are often rejected by other relatives for fear of infection. “At least 3,700 children in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone have lost one or both parents to the disease,” Sesay said. While these children desperately need care and support, many feel unwanted and abandoned because of the panic surrounding the epidemic. Sesay’s plan is to use a plot of land he inherited from his late father to build a shelter, library and computer lab for the orphans. In 2007 he also founded a nonprofit charity organization--Give Back to the Children Project--to help educate and provide computers for kids in his homeland. “In 2012, I arrived in Sierra Leone with a 40-foot container loaded with clothes, shoes, books, pens, school bags and computers for secondary schools,” Sesay said. “Last year, we opened our first computer lab for schoolchildren to use for free.” Once he raises the $50,000, Sesay will head back to Sierra Leone to oversee implementation of the project to ensure items go to the intended recipients. “I will also distribute the donated clothes, shoes and other materials— and I will meet with some government officials to discuss the issue of orphanage children and their education.” Sesay’s desire to give back in this remarkable way is part of a relentless determination to never forget where he came from and to remind others that hope can still arise even from seemingly the utmost despair. It is a lesson he learned from first-hand experience. For all intents and purposes, Sesay’s own story begins on January 6, 1997 when he was a 15-year-old in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Like most of the kids in his community, he grew up playing soccer as it was the only recreation available. On that fateful January day, he was preparing for a tournament when he learned that armed rebels had entered the town—the country had recently become embroiled in civil war. He managed to make his way home, at times dodging bullets whizzing by his head. By then, it was already too late. The house was in flames and his uncle lay there, arms decapitated and minutes from death. Sesay next discovered his father’s lifeless body outside and could not locate his mother and two siblings. Seeking temporary refuge, he spent the next couple of days searching in vain for his remaining family at Freetown National Stadium. Told he must leave the country that night, he jumped on a boat to Guinea where over the next two years he continued to search for his mother at the various refugee camps set up to shelter families. But Sesay now had no family--and others in the camps turned a blind eye to him. In order to survive, he would often sleep in the forest or up in trees and barely sustained himself living on berries. Just when it seemed all was lost, an old friend—soccer—changed everything forever. The United Nations had decided to hold a soccer tournament for the various camps. Sesay wanted to participate, but didn’t even have any shoes. He managed to borrow a pair and scored the game-tying goal shortly after entering the contest. His team eventually won and Sesay became a celebrity virtually overnight—his previous ostracism suddenly a thing of the past. What came next seemed like a whirlwind—an offer to play for Guinea’s national soccer team. Sesay ended the season as the squad’s most valuable player and top scorer and then received another offer he could never have imagined—a chance to come to the United States and try out with the Los Angeles Galaxy. A quota on the number of foreign players and a serious leg injury ultimately derailed his professional soccer career, but Sesay opted for something he knew was more rewarding—an education—and enrolled at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo to study political science. While in college, he raised money to return to Africa to resume the search for his mother. This time, he succeeded—finding her (as well as his sister and brother) in a refugee camp in Gambia after providing a name and description to a woman in the town. “Reuniting with my mother after eight years of separation was the most precious moment of my life,” Sesay said. “It was like See Soccer Coach, page 8 Friday Partly Cloudy 67˚/54˚ Saturday Partly Cloudy 67˚/52˚ Sunday Sunny 69˚/54˚ El Segundo Fosters Continuing Legacy of Excellence
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