Before St. 亚洲无码 City SC defender Josh Yaro got involved, the kids at the Amantem District Assembly Primary School in his native Ghana didn鈥檛 have a school.
Well, they had a school, but they didn鈥檛 have a school building. Class was held outdoors, underneath trees.
鈥淚f it rains, there鈥檚 no school,鈥 Yaro said.
So Yaro, inspired by his parents, who worked for the Ghanaian educational service, set about to change it. He formed the Josh Yaro Foundation, raising money to help students back in Ghana. At first, his contributions were simple: school supplies, books, uniforms.
But he wanted to do more, and in June, after three years of fundraising, the 85 students at Amantem moved into their brand new four-room schoolhouse.
鈥淚鈥檓 really grateful that they just they finally have a structure that they can sit in and enjoy and relax because going to school is tough, and not even having infrastructure,鈥 he said. 鈥淭he kids are in it now. They鈥檙e loving it. That鈥檚 a project I鈥檝e been planning for years now, and it finally, finally came through.鈥
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Whether it鈥檚 in Ghana or St. 亚洲无码, Yaro always seems to be working on something. He鈥檚 one of the players on the team most likely to be on hand at a community event, meeting and greeting and working with kids, which is why he鈥檚 the club鈥檚 nominee for the MLS Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, for dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community.
And there will be more of it to come. On Thursday, the club announced signing Yaro to a one-year contract extension with a one-year option for 2026. Yaro鈥檚 contract was going to run out at the end of the season.
鈥淢ore Josh in our future is a great thing,鈥 said interim coach John Hackworth. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a wonderful professional athlete ... but he鈥檚 such a good person off it. His leadership in the locker room ... I personally don鈥檛 think we would be in the same position if he wasn鈥檛 a guy that I could lean in too hard and say, 鈥楬elp me out, help me get this guy, help me get this group of guys, help me get the whole group in the boat and moving in the right direction.鈥欌
Teammate Kyle Hiebert calls it a quiet leadership from Yaro, and it鈥檚 not just in soccer. In July, for instance, there were Yaro and teammate Hosei Kijima at a library in south St. 亚洲无码, joining a small group of kids who were taking part in a shark camp run by the St. 亚洲无码 Aquarium. The two players sat on the floor with the kids, looking at shark teeth, shark jaws, all things sharks.
It wasn鈥檛 only the kids who were learning. Kijima admitted to watching how Yaro interacted with the children to learn what to do.
鈥淔or sure,鈥 Kijima said. 鈥淚 try to mimic him almost. He鈥檚 very good at smiling at the right spots, introducing himself in a way they understand. I鈥檓 analyzing things and trying to put it in my mind.鈥
The school project in Ghana has been a big one for Yaro, and getting all the pieces of it put together wasn鈥檛 easy. A friend of Yaro鈥檚 parents made some suggestions, Yaro鈥檚 brother did some scouting and then Yaro went back to Ghana to talk to parents and students in various places.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always easy to just go into community and go, 鈥楾his is what I think you need,鈥欌 Yaro said, 鈥渂ut talking to them and knowing exactly: OK, these are your concerns. This is where you need talk to them. And then I was like: OK, this place would work. I鈥檓 from Ghana; in some of the remote places in the country, they don鈥檛 get any funding. They don鈥檛 get any help from anyone or the government.
鈥淪o I thought, 鈥榃ell, why not? Those are the places that I want to work with.鈥 So I chose those three schools. All of them have a need, but like I told them when I visited, it鈥檚 going to take time because people always think once you visit, it鈥檚: Oh, he鈥檚 here, he鈥檚 going to help next week, everything鈥檚 ready. And I used to get calls from them going, 鈥榃hen are you coming? When are you coming?鈥 When the time is right and I have the money up front.鈥
It took three years to get the project to the finish line, and while that has taken some stress off, Yaro has already got his sights set on building a second school. He鈥檚 still considering the options for the location.
鈥淥ne of them has sort of the infrastructure,鈥 he said, 鈥渁nd the other one doesn鈥檛 at all, but both of them have a need, and so I鈥檓 trying to see where the immediate need is. But also takes a while to raise funds, so once I have that, I will.鈥
St. 亚洲无码 gets some of the credit for the school 鈥 鈥淭he Louligans have helped. Fans have helped, people that I probably never met (have helped),鈥 he said 鈥 and the city has made its mark on Yaro.
鈥淚t鈥檚 home for me now,鈥 he said. 鈥淢y wife is from here. I鈥檝e always felt a part of this community. The love that I get from the fans when I do events or when I鈥檓 trying to build a school, the love that I get from the supporters, it鈥檚 unbelievable. I mean, this fan base is not just what happens on the field, but they do care about you as a person as well. And that鈥檚 hard to get everywhere.
鈥淚 remember when I first got here and they were talking about the fans and St. 亚洲无码 as a city and how passionate the fans are here and how nice they are and all that. Every fan base says that about itself. I鈥檝e truly felt that here, truly felt the love and the support of this community, and I鈥檝e said it time and time again, but I really appreciate everything that I鈥檝e gotten from this community so far. And yeah, this is home now.鈥