FREETOWN, Jan 19 (Reuters) - English soccer star David Beckham met
with children in Sierra Leone on Saturday as part of his role as a
Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, the U.N. child agency.
The LA Galaxy midfielder arrived in West Africa late on Friday on a
two day trip to a country struggling to recover from a 1991-2002 civil
war.
Infant and maternal mortality are among the highest in the world in
the former British colony, where roads, schools and hospitals were
devastated by a conflict notorious for images of drugged child soldiers
raping and killing civilians. "He's here as a guest of UNICEF," the
charity's spokeswoman Alison Parker told Reuters by telephone. "He's
covering programmes on child survival in Sierra Leone; visiting a
number of UNICEF programmes in the northern part of the country on
malaria prevention and immunisation."
The former England captain travelled beyond the hot hilly coastal
capital Freetown on Saturday to deprived rural areas in the north of
the country, once held by rebels during the war.
More than 50,000 people were killed during the civil war and
thousands more were left mutilated by rebels, who hacked limbs, noses
and ears off their victims.
Youth unemployment runs at two-thirds and football is the most
popular sport, played on dirt pitches by roadsides across the tropical
country. Many taxis in Freetown bear huge stickers devoted to
Manchester United, Beckham's old team.
Sierra Leone's footballing talent was highlighted this month after
Watford's 19-year-old Sierra Leonean midfielder Al Bangura, who faced
deportation, won the right to remain in Britain.
FREETOWN, Jan 19 (Reuters) - English soccer star David Beckham met
with children in Sierra Leone on Saturday as part of his role as a
Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, the U.N. child agency.
