Featured image: Siaffa at African Championship Opening Ceremony.
On Sunday August 12, at 5pm local time (12pm EST), James Bobby Siaffa will represent Liberia at the 2018 World Para Powerlifting African Championship in Algeria.
He could not have reached this goal without his faith and supporters. Siaffa partnered with LIB Olympic Blog to launch the #spotBobby campaign. Since then, almost 100 people have contributed to the cause. In addition to contributions, several have shared the campaign. Even Liberian organizations and businesses have joined in.
Nobel Liberia — a money transfer and food delivery company– gifted Siaffa a meal package in preparation for the championship. Williette Safehouse— an organization that works with the Liberian disabled community — quickly supported Bobby with an adequate gym membership and new wheels for his wheelchair. Bennett Fit — a US based gym with former Liberian Olympian owners and operators– started a collection at their location. Lastly, Village Tales Publishing — a Liberian owned digital and print publishing company– provides the platform for all of this to happen. These organizations and Bobby’s growing donors, called “spotters”, have helped make this dream come true.
Siaffa ranked seventh at the London Paralympic Games. His journey to the African Championship shows the collective power that Liberians and their associates have. Although Siaffa has reached Algeria, the #spotBobby campaign continues collections to accommodate Siaffa and coach Todd Nagbe’s returning layovers. LIB Olympic Blog urges everyone to donate at bit.ly/spotBobby.