The story began in Buduburam, a Ghanaian refugee camp, where Davies was born after his parents had fled the civil war in Liberia. Life was fraught with difficulties. The search for clean water, food, simply staying alive; every hour that passed a triumph of survival. There had to be a better way.
“It was hard to live because the only way you survive sometimes is you have to carry guns,” remembers Alphonso’s father, Debeah. “We didn’t have any interest in shooting guns. So we decided to just escape from there.”
“When my parents came to Canada, they told me some stories about their time in Ghana,” said Alphonso. “It’s sad – it was a tough time and it was hard. Growing up listening to these stories, I just want to make a better life for my family.
“It’s a story that is part of me, and looking back, I can’t believe we made it out, which was amazing. I remember how hard they [parents] worked to free their family. Every time I step on the pitch, it’s for them.”
Davies had already started doing his bit for the family even before he became a football superstar. Aged just five when his family crossed the Atlantic, eventually settling in Edmonton, Alberta, Alphonso would help raise his two younger siblings while Debeah and the family matriarch Victoria worked long hours to make ends meet.
He also went to school, where his talent with the ball at his feet first caught the eye.
“Our little Alphonso,” said Melissa Guzzo, Davies’ Grade 6 teacher and sports coach at the Mother Theresa Catholic school. “He’s just one of those kids who had a permanent smile on his face, always dancing in the hallways. He’s such a natural talent. Anything he touched – track, basketball, any sport – he was the kid.”
Leave a Reply