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Meet Alie

Born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa, Alie came to the United States with his father when he was eight years old to get an education. He and his father and stepmother moved in with her parents, but relations with his stepmother’s parents were always tense. One rainy night, Alie returned home to discover he had been put out of the house. Alie moved in with his brother in northwest D.C. and enrolled in high school there. Soon afterwards his brother was shot and killed in front of him during an attempted robbery on the eve of the first day of school.

Bouncing between family members and friends, Alie went to live with an uncle in Maryland, a Muslim cab driver who was later killed in the aftermath of September 11. Soon, other family members rejected Alie because, in their minds, somebody always seemed to die when he was around.

Alie’s high school counselor gave him $20 and the telephone number for Covenant House Washington with instructions "to call them for help and get something to eat." He immediately moved into the Crisis Center and later entered the Transitional Living Program. With a stable living environment, Alie was able to complete Spingarn High School, earning a $3,000 National Achievement Scholarship Award and the distinction of Most Valuable Player on his high school football team. He was also selected to speak at his graduation ceremony.

Said Alie, "Covenant House Washington really helped keep me going. I was able to accomplish a lot while going through so much." Alie hopes to attend college to study graphic arts and architecture. He also hopes to bring his mother to the United States from West Africa.