Gondobay Manga Foundation

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Celebrities often like to donate their time and energy to worthwhile causes because people tend to pay attention when a certain star's name is mentioned in connection with a charity organization. Sometimes, celebrities go one step further and develop their own foundations in order to make people aware of a cause close to their hearts. Such is the case with television and film star, Isaiah Washington. When Isaiah recently discovered a direct genetic link to the Mende people of Sierra Leone, it inspired a whole new journey for him. He soon made several trips to the war torn country in order to connect to his roots and learn more about his origins. During one trip to the country, he had the honor of being inducted into the Mende tribe and was given the name Chief Gondobay Manga, a legendary Mende warrior whose name had not been used for over 400 years. After his visits, he felt a sense of responsibility towards the country and, in honor of his ancestry, he founded the Gondobay Manga Foundation. The Los Angeles based foundation advocates coming together to make positive and timely improvements to the lives of the people currently living in Sierra Leone, one village at a time.Isaiah's move to take action has already achieved some great results. In February, 2007 the foundation broke ground for The Chief Foday Golia Memorial School, which will educate K-5th graders in the rural village of Njala Kendema. It is also responsible for the preservation of Bunce Island, a British slave-trading castle on the Rice Coast of West Africa. The castle was used as a go-between for slaves being exported to North America. The foundation has partnered up with James Madison University to restore this landmark and educate people on its historical importance. The third project the foundation has taken on is to partner up with International Medical Corps to rehabilitate Bo Hospital. They will educate the staff on the latest surgical techniques, and provide them with the most up to date equipment, in hopes that the hospital will become the premiere teaching and research hospital in West Africa.In order to carry out significant projects like these, which are making an amazing impact on the people of Sierra Leone, the foundation is always in need of help. If you would like to donate, cash gifts are always preferred, as it is expensive to export goods from other countries to Sierra Leone. A cash gift will go towards the local skills, labor and materials required to complete projects and it will be tax deductible for you. For those who would like to have direct involvement with The Gondobay Manga Foundation, volunteers are always welcome. The foundation is accepting volunteers with medical expertise for the Bo Hospital as well as office volunteers in Los Angeles who can perform administrative tasks. Check out www.gondobaymangafoundation.org for more information about what the foundation is doing and what you can do to help it accomplish its goals faster.The staff at Young Hollywood love to see celebrities taking time out of their hectic shooting and publicity schedules to invest in causes that can change the world. Stars like Isaiah demonstrate that it only takes a little time, dedication and passion for a cause to get other people motivated to accomplish great things together. Thanks to Isaiah, his foundation and the people that have partnered with him, the people of Sierra Leone are well on their way to seeing massive improvements in their lives!