THE MESSAGES WE LEAVE BEHIND…

A Local Game

On our first trip to Ghana, Gabe Raley, a fifteen year old American soccer player, founder of Sankofa Vision and an integral member of the Raley family, shared his love for the game with Rising Stars and Augie’s local school. We organized a terrific match between two schools in the town of Adankwame. We shared in the joy and celebration through soccer, a game that unites people across the world.

The Impact of Soccer

Two of our founding members, Augie Boadi and Gabe Raley, share a lifelong love of soccer. Augustine grew up playing for the Rising Stars in Ghana, an organization committed to helping young athletes earn opportunities abroad through education and soccer. His path crossed with Gabe’s through The Pro Project (TPP), a high-performance soccer community outside of Boston Massachusetts. The Pro Project is dedicated to guiding players to the sport's highest levels.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Augie needed a temporary place to stay to continue training with TPP while he was on break. Gabe and Augie met at TPP and his mother, Deb, welcomed him into their home for what was meant to be two weeks before Augie went back to Northfield Mount Hermon (NMH) where he was a high school student. However, as lockdowns began and Augie was unable to return to NMH, the two weeks stretched into years and a unspeakable bond between Augie and the Raley’s. This was the catalyst that inspired the creation of Sankofa Vision.

Seven years after Augustine left Rising Stars, he returned with Gabe to visit and train. During their visit, they met Ayeyei, a fellow Rising Stars graduate, who would go on to join Woodstock Academy in 2024, following in Augustine’s footsteps.

One of our founding members Zach Raley an artist based in Needham Massachusetts, and tied into the Newport Rhode Island Art scene, designed and created this mural when he was in Ghana to see the first bore hole. The work was created with only 6 cans of spray paint and limited colors, but still encapsulates our long lasting message of unity, and connecting between everyone all around the world, but in specific between the people of Ghana and America. He wanted to highlight that the organization aims higher than just Ghana, by including the Black Star, originally a Ghanaian symbol created to be the symbol of African unity, as Ghana was among the first to gain its independence, with its first president popularizing the symbol as he (Kwame Nkrumah) believed that Africa would be stronger together.

Our First Mural

Another Painting by Zach Raley, inspired by the life and joy found in the moment when Zach’s family met the family of Augustine Boadi, one of our founding members who’s family lives in the Village of Adankwame.