T HE G AZ ET T E
Wednesday, October 30, 2013 s
Page A-11
From poster child for peace to teammate on the pitch Teen survives civil war in Sierra Leone to find a place in school community n
BY
SARAH TINCHER
SPECIAL TO THE GAZETTE
In talking with Memuna Mansaray McShane, a junior at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac with a bright smile and a positive outlook on the world, no one would immediately guess what she’s been through. Though you might be able to tell by looking at her. On Sept. 18, standing in the front of an auditorium with her teachers and classmates listening carefully, she finally revealed the answers to so many questions about her life. Why was she adopted? Where is she from? And what happened to her arm? Memuna’s story began 17 years prior in Sierra Leone. In 1996, Memuna was born amid a civil war between the government and anti-government rebels had already been violently tearing the nation apart for five years. At age 2, she and her family were hiding in a mosque in Freetown, the nation’s capital, when members of a rebel militia came in with guns and the intent to kill. The militants fatally shot
PURPLE Continued from Page A-1 asked what recourse the state would have if the company stopped running trains as often as it had agreed to. Kay said withholding payments was how the state would motivate the company to follow its contractual obligations. Whatever company ends up
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Memuna’s mother and grandmother while she was in her grandmother’s arms. Bullets also shattered Memuna’s right arm, which doctors were later forced to amputate. Little did Memuna know that this would be the turning point in her life. She was placed into a refugee camp, but not for long. Little Memuna fit the description that the president of Sierra Leone was looking for — young, cute and an amputee — to try to bring international attention to the violence of the war. She was quickly removed from the camp, and soon became the worldwide poster child for the peace movement—taking photos with then-U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former President Bill Clinton, being showcased at peace talks and protesting in the streets of New York City all around the age of 3. Then, Memuna made her way into the United States permanently when the New York Rotary Club brought her, along with seven other refugees, to the country for treatment. She spent the next two and a half years living in foster care before she finally found a place she could call home in 2002, when Kelly and Kevin McShane permanently adopted 6-year-old Memuna into their Washington, D.C., home,
along with their two children Molly and Michael — a transition that Kevin McShane called “pretty seamless.” Memuna said she doesn’t remember much about her life before living with her adopted family. She doesn’t remember Sierra Leone or Madeleine Albright, and she certainly doesn’t remember being a monumental factor in ending the civil war that savaged her own home and family. In her mind, the war isn’t her story at all; so to Memuna, despite everything she’s been through, being adopted has had the largest impact on her life. “I don’t use the war to guide me through my life,” she said. “I don’t worry about the past, just the here and now and the future.” And for Memuna, the “here and now” is pretty typical of a high school teen: school, friends and sports, including soccer and basketball — arm or no arm. “[Her experiences have] made her a loving and caring person, but other than that she’s just a normal 17-year-old girl,” said Kristin Butler, a soccer teammate and close friend to Memuna. By the time Memuna tried out for the St. Andrew’s soccer team as a freshman, she had been playing the sport ever since she began living with the McShanes — and it certainly showed; she
made the varsity team during her first tryout. “She made an athletic and emotional impact from day one,” said head coach Glenn Whitman. “Beyond where she’s been and what she’s been through, I’ve been truly amazed by what she can do on the field.” But despite her confidence and ability to adapt, Memuna still had to deal with the emotional stress that inevitably comes with only having one arm. When she began playing soccer at St. Andrew’s, Whitman almost immediately noticed that she constantly wore fleece jackets during training to hide her arm, even in
the summertime. But in time, the fear dissipated and Memuna finally became confident and comfortable enough to stop hiding. “One thing I’ve been proud of both Memuna and the team for is she no longer trains with a coat on,” Whitman said. “The girls have always treated her like a full person.” Memuna attributes her ability to be comfortable about the things that have happened to her throughout her life and to the welcoming nature of her teammates. “I had a hard past but the soccer team has made me feel welcomed and not like an outcast,”
taking on the role, Kay said, would have incurred debts that needed repayment and therefore would be unlikely to jeopardize getting regular payments from the state. He likened the arrangement to taking out a mortgage. “You want them to have enough debt so they are motivated to take care of the asset,” Kay said. Councilwoman Nancy Flo-
reen (D-At large) of Garrett Park, pressed him, and Mike Madden of MTA, about how much the county would be responsible for — not including the cost of the Capital Crescent Trail, which will cost the county about $16 million. Kay said Prince George’s and Montgomery counties were responsible for 10 percent of the total $2.2 billion, making Montgomery County’s share $110
million. However, the county has already made contributions — such as rights of way — that will be taken into account when the final tallying is complete, he said, so no final number was available. The state is expecting about $900 million in federal funding and the concessionaire’s contributions could be from about $400 million to $900 million for
construction. The state will know for sure about the federal funding by February, Kay said, which will be key before issuing a request for qualifications from companies. “No private partner will invest if we don’t have federal funding,” Kay said. The MTA will present the P3 idea before a state Board of Public Works meeting Nov. 6.
BILL RYAN/THE GAZETTE
Memuna Mansaray McShane (center) is congratulated for scoring a goal by her soccer teammates Katherine Bruchalski and Jarena Harmon on Oct. 19 at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Potomac.
she said. “I would probably be completely different person if it wasn’t for them.” According to Kristin, 17, Memuna made it easy for the team to accept her into the group. “She thinks we were welcoming toward her, but she was welcoming toward everyone else. She’s part of the team family,” she said. And Kevin McShane, who is also the team’s assistant coach, attributes Memuna’s success to the entire St. Andrew’s community, not just the team. “A big part of Memuna opening up about all this is being part of the community,” he said. “She feels very safe here to open up about her story, wear short sleeves, all of that stuff.” Although Memuna gives her friends, family and teammates the credit for her perpetual smile, she isn’t the only one benefitting from the experience. “We always say she’s given us so much more than we could ever give her,” Kevin McShane said. And according to Whitman, despite the team’s competitive nature and constant strive to win, the lasting memory for them all probably won’t have much to do with soccer. “What we’ll remember most is what she taught us about adversity and never giving up,” he said. The board consists of the Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), Comptroller Peter V.R. Franchot (D) and Treasurer Nancy Kopp. Franchot and Kopp both represented Montgomery County in the General Assembly. “We need for this to work,” Berliner said. “We’ve invested a lot of time. We’ve invested a lot of our own resources.” ablum@gazette.net