Columbus Crew SC forward Kei Kamara has taken MLS by storm in 2015, leading the league with 18 goals, adding seven assists and earning an All-Star nod so far this season.
But Kamara’s journey to the top of the league scoring chart – one by way of previous stints in Columbus, San Jose, Houston and England – almost never got off the ground.
The 30-year-old survived a horrific civil war as a child in his native Sierra Leone, fleeing with his family to a refugee camp in the Gambia before reuniting with his mother – who had moved to the US before war broke out – years later in LA.
The latest episode of MLS Insider chronicles Kamara’s turbulent upbringing and occasionally bumpy career path, highlighting his rise to MLS stardom and his strong bond with his home country – where he and Philadelphia Union midfielder Michael Lahoud, a fellow Sierra Leone international, just opened their own primary school.
For more information about Kamara and Lahoud's efforts to help disadvantaged children in Sierra Leone, visit the Schools for Salone web site.
