Jimmy Thoronka, 20, came into the UK to represent his home country Sierra Leone in the 100 meters sprint at the 2014 Commonwealth games hosted by Glasgow. A brilliant sprinter and the first to carry the queen's baton in Sierra Leone vanished after the games and his whereabouts remained unknown until his was arrested for overstaying his visa after been found living rough on the streets of London.
Under normal circumstances the home office would deport individuals found to have overstayed their visas but Jimmy's case make quite a compelling story because of the state of affairs back at his home country Sierra Leone. The country is among the worst hit by the Ebola virus which claimed thousands of lives in West Africa and reports are, the athlete has lost his family after the virus claimed the lives of both his adopted mum and siblings (lost his biological parents in the civil war that ravaged his country between 1991 and 2002).
Jimmy who has the potential of becoming a world class athlete according to his coach back home filed for asylum in the UK after been released by the police and since the news of his arrest broke a lot of kind hearted individuals from around the world have helped raise nearly £20,000 to help him rebuild his life and become the athlete he dreams to be, however all this is dependant on whether the Home office decide to allow him make a home for himself in the UK or not.
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| Jimmy Thoronka |
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