With his mother's vision in his heart and his generosity in hand, a Lanham resident who has achieved national sports success is giving back to Prince George's County, his alma mater and his native country through a center for local and global health education at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Madieu Williams, 28, a free safety for the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings since 2008, announced Nov. 4 a $2 million endowment for the Madieu Williams Center for Global Health Initiatives.
The center is a partnership between the Madieu Williams Foundation — a Missouri-based nonprofit that focuses on health, wellness, nutrition, fitness and education for underprivileged youth — and the University of Maryland's School of Public Health, Prince George's County and the Embassy of Sierra Leone. The center will focus on local, state and global health initiatives, health education and allow for health screenings of high risk diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, diabetes and malaria.
"Prince George's County isn't [dissimilar] to Sierra Leone," Williams said.
Robert Gold, dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Health, said this center will improve the quality of life for people in Prince George's County and in Sierra Leone.
Gold said he began talking to Williams about the center in summer 2008; work will begin on the center in early 2010.
Gold said he and Williams plan to take a trip to Sierra Leone before the spring.
Williams said the center's concept came years ago from a vision he shared with his mother, Abigail Burscher, who was a nurse and died in 2005.
"The goal, the hope is to impact the lives of people in Prince George's County and in Sierra Leone with health education and nutrition [education], to make a difference in the lives of people," he said.
Williams is a graduate of DuVal High School in Lanham and a 2003 graduate of the University of Maryland's School of Public Health. Williams was born in Sierra Leone and came to Prince George's County at age 9.
Williams' donation will provide annual support for a Center for Global Health Initiatives, which will be on the College Park campus in the School of Public Health.
University of Maryland President C. Dan Mote Jr. said the new center will address quality of life issues, enhance the school's relationship with the communities surrounding the campus and build a relationship with the global community.
Sierra Leone Ambassador H.E Bockari Kortu Stevens said that many people who come from poor countries tend to forget their background, but not Williams.
"He is bringing these two countries together in the medical field," he said.
Michael Herman, chief of staff for Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D), who attended on Johnson's behalf, said what Williams is doing is "remarkable."
"What you're doing now on a bigger scale is predictable, but extraordinary," Herman said. "[This gift] will help improve the quality of life on two continents."
E-mail Liz Skalski at eskalski@gazette.net.
