The Greater Goal

Indeed, the sewing machine Kamara uses was purchased with bonus money received during a sponsored trip to England two years ago—a tour that made him and his teammates the talk of their towns. “When we came back from England, people were admiring us,” Kamara says. ” ‘Wow, you boys were in England?’ they would say.” In August, some of the country’s best players travelled to Brazil for the Amputee Soccer World Championships.

When the lustre of globetrotting wears off, these men are left to make their way in a country that will bear the scars of war for generations to come. Kamara focuses on looking forward. He has taught many of the young amputees on his team how to sew and has done the same for thirty former rebels, known as the “ddr boys,” taking part in a six-month tailoring course under Sierra Leone’s Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration program. He was not afraid of them and even befriended some.

This is how a country heals. “I will forgive because we want peace in the country,” says Kamara. “But we are not going to forget.”