In this day and age, there are only a handful of stories where you hear of athletes doing well. Either those stories aren’t publicized or they just aren’t happening. But one legendary soccer (football in his country) is doing good for his entire community.
Through his charitable foundation, Ivory Coast captain and Chelsea legend Didier Drogba will help fund the construction of five (yes, five) clinics specializing in children and women’s health spread throughout the country. The announcement was made by Didier Drogba Foundation secretary Guy Roland Tanoh, who said that the projects are being funded by the organization’s London galas and Drogba’s personal contributions.
Roughly $5 million will be invested in the projects, with one facility to be built in each of the five major cities of the West African country namely Abidjan, Yamoussoukro, Man, Korhogo and San Pedro. Abidjan, the first city to receive it’s hospital, is the highest-populated French-speaking city in West Africa, which is due to be completed in 2015.
Love Black America Web? Get more! Join the Black America Web Newsletter
We care about your data. See our privacy policy.
The 36-year-old, who scored a record 65 goals in 104 caps for Ivory Coast before retiring from international football in 2014, couldn’t be more happy to put his money where his heart is.
Drogba first announced his plan to build a hospital in the city of Abidjan in 2009 using his entire £3 million ($4.5 million) fee from an endorsement deal with Pepsi. But instead of building one big hospital “that may be difficult for many people to reach,” it was decided to be more practical to build five smaller clinics spread throughout the country. Drogba decided to…
Drogba decided on building the hospital after a recent trip to the Ivorian capital’s other hospitals, saying “… I decided the Foundation’s first project should be to build and fund a hospital giving people basic healthcare and a chance just to stay alive.”
