The Ghanaian Footballer, Christian Atsu who died under the rubble following the earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on February 06, 2023, left not only his two sons as orphans, but a large number of hopeless souls. The orphans of Becky’s Foundation have been in tears since their only benefactor was confirmed dead in this disaster.
It is a moving story that is difficult to accept. These children had no hope after losing their parents, but they did smile again thanks to the generosity of certain personalities like the Ghanaian international Christian Atsu.
School building projects for Becky’s Foundation orphans will come to an unexpected halt following the surprising death of the former Black Stars midfielder at the age of 31.
These young girls and boys cannot hold back their tears as they speak to colleagues of GhOne who have visited their camp. It is also difficult to correctly understand their messages in their moans.
According to several of them, Christian Atsu treated them as his biological children.
“Every time he comes here, he organizes parties for us. He said he’s going abroad to play football… I miss him so much,” said a little girl. “Christian is like a father, an uncle, a brother. In fact he’s our everything….he was the one giving us hope, getting us better education…As I speak to you today, we hopeless and our hands are on our hands,” a young boy added.
Incomplete project
Christian Atsu, being the sole funder of a school building project, they are left in limbo. The school infrastructure includes classrooms, libraries, a football pitch and ultra modern offices.
“He promised that he was going to complete this for us so that we do the final commission in June when he’s on break”, said Seth Asiedu, the Director of Becky’s Foundation.
According to him, Atsu also pledged to bring some of his colleagues to come for the commissioning. Unfortunately, the former Chelsea FC player could not send the last funds for the project again. His lifeless body is what Ghana received twelve days after the earthquake.
The orphans of Becky’s Foundation have become orphans again after the early death of their only benefactor. Who to save this innocents who only need food, good health and a good education ?
A shocking ending
Passed by Chelsea and Newcastle, Christian Atsu became member of Hatayspor in Turkey in 2021. The day after his club won against Antalaha thanks to his goal, Turkey and Syria have been hit by earthquakes. Atsu became one of the many people missing after the violent earthquakes. He was found dead on February 18 under the rubble of his building in Hatay in southern Turkey.
According to local media, Christian Atsu was under the rubble of the Rönesans residence, a 12-storey tower that collapsed during the earthquake. At first, the Ghanaian international was announced alive before it was realized that he was among the victims of this disaster which caused the death of more than 44 thousand people in the two affected countries.