The SHOOTING Stars Football Club , the pride of New Jersey, on Sunday became a model of emulation when members traveled all the way to the Covenant Child World Ministries church to present a plaque of thanks and appreciation to Minister Plenipotentiary to the UN , Leeroy Wilfred Kans-Kanu and the church for the financial and moral support rendered New Jersey when the state staged the Sierra Leone annual inter-state soccer competition last year.
The Shooting Stars delegation was led by its team manager , Mr. Mohamed Tunis and the coaches Messsrs Joseph Salito Conteh and James Kargbo and the presentation program took place after the regular worship service of the church.
MR. CONTEH PRESENTING THE PLAQUE OF APPRECIATION TO REV. KABS-KANU. STANDING ON THE RIGHT ARE THE TEAM MANAGER, MR. TUNIS AND MR. KARGBO, ONE OF THE COACHES.
In making the presentation, Mr . Salito Conteh said that the Covenant Child World Ministries was one of the churches and houses of worship to which the Shooting Stars went to solicit financial support for the inter-state soccer competition, which saw Sierra Leone-based soccer teams traveling from all parts of the Continental U.S. to partake in the grand football competition.
Mr. Conteh said that the church generously lifted financial contributions from the congregation and presented it to the club. In addition, the Minister Plenipotentiary , Leeroy Wilfred Kabs-Kanu, invited the club to his home and gave them his own personal contribution as an official of the Sierra Leone Government. Mr. Conteh declared that the club and the community they represent are highly appreciative of the efforts of the Ministry and the Minister and thus officials of the club had decided to come to the church to express their thanks and appreciation.
In receiving the plaque, Minister Kabs-Kanu stressed that appreciation is one of the virtues of our civilization, which shows the finer qualities of man. Humans, he went on, must always be appreciative of what others do for them. In this vein, he said he was very thankful to the Shooting Stars and the community they represent for their show of appreciation.
The minister plenipotentiary assured the Shooting Stars of his continued financial and moral support to put Sierra Leone on the map.
He said the church cannot refuse to help community-based organizations which promote unity and human understanding because, if it did, it will not be able to evangelize and minister to the community, and win souls for Jesus Christ. A church that isolates itself completely from the society and adopts an attitude of “holier-than-thou” to the community will not be able to evangelize or win souls. He told the Shooting Stars that they were always welcome to worship at the church.
Minister Kanu thanked the Shooting Stars for bringing together the community and Sierra Leoneans in different parts of the U.S. He praised the club that it was doing a great job to unite the community and Sierra Leoneans in general. He thanked them for helping to rebrand Sierra Leone in the U.S. and assured members of his support at all times. He also promised to continue providing top-notch publicity to the club through his COCORIOKO newspaper and the social media.
