Launching Surge Soccer Liberia
We believe soccer is a powerful way to connect with people, to understand their needs, and to form lasting partnerships to meet those needs – spiritually, socially, and educationally.
When a fellow coach first called and asked, “Would you consider working in Liberia?” I politely said I’d pray about it – but honestly told the Lord, “I’m not going to Liberia.”
Four years later, we’ve been there multiple times.
What started with one trip to lead a seminar for Liberia’s top football coaches has grown into Surge Soccer Liberia. We’ve come alongside existing efforts in education with Miss Ollie White (former Miss Liberia) and her Beautiful Beginnings Schools and Elite Teacher Training; soccer/educational development nationwide, and even trauma care – learning, serving, and building trust along the way.
In that first step, we visited a school, were involved in training Christian leaders in sports ministry and we assessed how could we be of service to the existing leaders and coaches in Liberia.
After Al, our VP and I took that first trip, Roy and Roberta Reed (Colorado) joined us. Roberta brings her expertise in educational development and Roy brings his experience in counseling.
Roy and Roberta oversee and recruit sponsors for our Liberian Leadership Interns. They have also expanded our educational and trauma relief efforts by helping us add more volunteers in the USA.
Our long serving Vice President Al Lotz (Georgia) brings a wealth of international experience with a focus on teaching the Bible to pastors and leaders.
Mike Russ (Pennsylvania) is coming onto our Advisory Board and brings expertise in business and soccer coaching.
We love people. We love connecting through soccer. And we love partnering with others in Liberia and the USA to serve the people of Liberia, guided in Jesus name.
Sharing hope through soccer,
David Irby
Surge Founder & CEO
Learn more about our work and vision here on this site.
We invite you to pray with us, donate as you feel led, and consider having us speak at your church, group, or event.
Continue reading to discover more about our experience in Liberia…
Our powerful 5 minute Liberia video. Another compelling reason!
This is a series of blogs from Roberta (and Roy) Reed, who joined Surge founder Dave Irby on his second trip to Liberia. The Reeds, former Surge International Board, members live in Colorado. Roberta is an “educational specialist” and Roy is a “trauma specialist.”
Stories and Updates from Liberia
Good morning and best wishes as you head into the Labor Day weekend. Thank you for your continued prayers for Liberia and for Beautiful Beginnings School. Monday, September 5, is the first day of the new school year with students! Such an exciting time of possibilities. Here is Ollie with the 2022/2023 PTO Board. The two modems have been purchased and installed, so our next Cross-Cultural Professional Learning Community meeting on Friday, September 9, should have better connectivity. Thank you. Ollie has been traveling and leading back to back professional …
Ya hello-o! (A greeting to you all in Liberian Koloqua) Saturday’s professional learning session at the Deborah Kaye Moore Foundation had a challenging start. The generator broke, so we got a 30-minute late start. The technology did not function well, which pushed the start time back even later. We worked our way through three projectors before we found one that successfully connected with Ollie’s computer. It was very very hot (though I was the only one who seemed bothered by it). By many standards, the day should have fallen flat …
Happy day after Independence Day! We have so much to be thankful for, and one of the things I am thankful for is you and your prayers for Liberia. In this penultimate email, I hope to give you a glimpse into Beautiful Beginnings School. Ollie had invited me to spend the day observing in classrooms, providing feedback, and listening to teachers. She picked me up in the morning and we made the hour-long drive out to Harbel. The gas situation is challenging. There is no gas available at gas stations …
Thank you for your prayers. We awoke after another sleepless night. George had been feeling poorly the night before, so he, Dave, Roy, and I did self-tests. Three of us tested negative, and one of us did not. Dave, Ollie, and I headed off to meet with the Minister of Education. Roy did not. Along the coast of Liberia, rainfall exceeds 118″ a year. In Monrovia, rainfall can reach as high as 198” a year. June (when we were there) is the rainy month, with rain falling an average of …
Dear Friends, We have completed our second trip to Liberia with a wild ride on the second most dangerous road I have traveled (open attachment for #1, #3, and #4). I also walked across the bridge into Sierra Leone that the rebels used to launch the civil war many years ago. More importantly we have established SURGE SOCCER LIBERIA and are working with our Liberian colleagues on educational, leadership, discipleship initiatives and sports ministry training.So much more in the attachment and on our website – www.surgesoccer.org. And on our website read the …
Good morning. This was the second email I sent out as I attempted to let our American prayer partners see the beauty, surprises, and challenges we saw in Liberia. Thank you for allowing us to serve together on His team. Thank you for your prayers. They sustained us. After the first night, we were able to move into the hotel that had originally been reserved for us. While the view was terrific, some of the other amenities such as running water and toilet paper were difficult to come by. We …
Here are the promised pictures and a bit of explanation of what they depict. Let me start again with a thank you for your prayers. Arrived!We arrived in Liberia the evening of June 6, and met Ollie, Amos, George, and Darius in person for the first time. It was everything I ever could have hoped for and more. A wild hour’s ride over deeply rutted dirt roads with no illumination and a river running over the road (this is the main highway and under construction) brought us to our hotel, …
Dear Friends, Sammy Surge is back from Liberia and will be at Morningstar Church/Salem, OR in May & and at the Red Hill Lutheran School Soccer Camp, Santa Ana/Tustin in June! The one page ATTACHMENT will inform you about our new work in Liberia. Liberia in less than 60 seconds: 4 cancelled flights, 59 hours of travel, over 8,000 miles one way, 4 covid tests, going from 29 degrees and snowing to 85 degrees, felt like 100 due to humidity; the electricity worked mostly. “And God was glorified throughout our …