Photo: Paul Rudderow

On Saturday, Michael Lahoud and Kei Kamara were announced as the recipients of the 2015 FIFPro Merit Award for their work with Schools for Salone, the Seattle-based nonprofit that builds schools in Sierra Leone.

FIFPro said in a statement,

At a time when many people – especially here in Europe – are discussing how to treat refugees, the story of Kei and especially Michael puts that whole discussion in a totally different perspective. We as FIFPro, as representatives of all professional footballers worldwide, can only applaud the efforts made by these two men. We hope that they will continue their exemplary work with Schools for Salone and help improve the future prospects of many young children in their native country.

The pair funded the Kei Kamara and Michael Lahoud Education for All Primary School in Freetown, which opened on September 7 with 50 students. The FIFPro announcement described, “The school is based in an area with little to no urban planning, where people settled after fleeing the bloodshed of the civil war. This new primary school has helped make it easier for small children, since they do not need to walk so far to a different school. The school is having a tremendous impact on the community.”

The school is expected to double enrollment in the next term.

Lahoud and Kamara, who have both represented Sierra Leone in international play, share a $25,000 prize in receiving the Merit Award.

Lahoud is currently out of contract with Philadelphia Union but the team said on Thursday negotiations with the midfielder are underway.