WASHINGTON — Can you be silly — and serious — about Ebola?
Michael Lahoud, who plays soccer for both the Philadelphia Union and the Sierra Leone national team, says yes. In the end, it’s about doing good for those in desperate need.
First the serious part: Lahoud grew up in Annandale, Virginia, but is originally from Sierra Leone. Ebola is a real concern for him since he still has family there. He felt the stigma that surrounds the disease when he and the Sierra Leone soccer team faced off against the Democratic Republic of Congo last month. As they took the field, the crowd screamed “Ebola” in a chant that never let up. It hit hard.
“When you get 20,000 people together in a stadium, it’s loud, and it’s the only thing you hear. That was our experience for 90 minutes — just that one word — Ebola.”
It didn’t stop with the shouting. As the team traveled in Africa, they were dogged by the fear that Ebola engenders. Instead of handshakes, people reluctantly might offer a fist bump, or would simply avoid them altogether. The tradition of swapping jerseys with opposing teams at games was dropped. They were tested up to four times in a single day for Ebola and virtually sequestered in their hotels.
Lahoud says he’s still trying to process it all.
“It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced.”
Now the silly part: When talking with a friend about how disturbing it was to be stigmatized, singled out and ostracized, his friend, Thilo Kunkel, an assistant professor at Temple University, said “We need to kick Ebola in the butt!”
And the Kick Ebola in the Butt Challenge began.
Here’s how the #KickEbolaInTheButt challenge works: You get someone to partner with you. He turns his back to you. You take a soccer ball, back up by about 5 yards and kick the ball. If you hit him in the butt, he has to donate to Doctors Without Borders. If you miss, you make the donation.
It may seem like a lighthearted approach to fundraising for such a serious cause, but Lahoud sees it as a way to inspire.
“There’s a lot of fear, a lot of stigma behind Ebola that’s starting here, and we see this as a source of inspiration or hope.”
Lahoud says it’s one way of channeling a sense of helplessness that many people may feel when they see the dire news reports coming out of the countries most affected by the disease: Guinea; Liberia; and his own Sierra Leone.
So he poses the question: “Are you willing to put your butt on the line for someone else?”
See Lahoud put his butt on the line:
Donations go to Doctors Without Borders.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to thsi report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter and < a href="https://www.facebook.com/wtopnews">WTOP on Facebook.
