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Redskins receiver finds joy in giving

July 25, 2008 12:15 am

BY ADAM HIMMELSBACH

ASHBURN--

The rookie wide receiver sees five members of the Air Force holding jerseys and footballs that they would like signed. Kelly stops. He takes a pen from one of them, and he begins scrawling his name.

"You've got the best hands on the team," one of the soldiers tells Kelly.

"Thanks," he says, smiling. "You guys are some brave souls."

One of the young soldiers looks up innocently at the 6-foot-2 Kelly.

"If I could do what you do instead of what I do, I would," the solider says.

Kelly clenches his jaw and nods his head approvingly. He has seen some of the things the soldiers have seen. He is so grateful for the position he is in.

Earlier this month, Kelly spent a week on a hospital ship off the coast of war-torn Liberia. He saw an area ravaged by civil war. He saw children in dire need of care.

He did not go on this trip because he wanted attention. He did not go because his agent or his team or his shoe company asked him to.

He went because he wanted to help.

Kelly's former teammate at Oklahoma, Manuel Johnson, told him about Mercy Ships, a goodwill organization based 25 miles from his home in Longview, Texas. Since 1978, the organization has sent hospital ships across the world to offer care where it is needed most.

"In Liberia, those are the poorest of the poor," Kelly said. "Once I found out about going over there, I wanted to be a part of it. It was a life-changing experience."

Liberia, with a population of about 3 million, sits off the western coast of Africa. It was ravaged by civil war from 1989-96, then again from 1999-2003. More than 250,000 people were killed and over 1 million displaced during the two wars.

Today, few homes have electricity or running water. There is no structured educational system. The mortality rate for children under 2 is nearly 40 percent, and there is minimal medical care.

According to Todd Robison, a vice president of Mercy Ships, there are just three dentists and two doctors in the entire country, and the average salary of an adult is $12 per month. Kelly visited from July 5-10, during the country's rainy season, when pools of standing water can lead to malaria outbreaks.

"You can just imagine what this place looks like," Kelly said. "They're still trying to recover from all the war, and it's a slow process."

Kelly and his personal trainer, Chip Smith, were among a small group of people who flew to Monrovia, the country's capital, where the Mercy Ship was docked.

Kelly met children who suffered from medical problems that American babies often get treated for at birth.

He met a 13-year-old girl who had cataracts and had been severely burned. Kelly sat with her and made her smile as she prepared for her eye surgery.

He met two young boys named Prince and Darling who had clubbed feet and were severely malnourished. Kelly spent several hours with them before their surgeries as well.

When he stood up to leave, the boys ran to him and tugged at his arm. He went back in their hospital room and talked a little longer.

That night, when he couldn't sleep, Kelly went to check on the two boys.

"It's just a situation where we see people who are helpless," Kelly said. "Just to see somebody like that and what they're going through, you really can't complain about anything."

Kelly's trip came three weeks before his first NFL training camp, so he needed to stay in shape. He and his trainer went to the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex and conducted training sessions with local athletes. The air was humid and the mosquitoes were everywhere, but it didn't matter.

Children watched as Kelly completed drills and caught footballs. Liberian Olympic hopefuls watched as Kelly completed speed and resistance-training workouts.

When Kelly and Smith left, they left behind $7,500 worth of training equipment. Kelly said he plans to send Nikes to the athletes as well.

"I've sent 800 guys into the NFL, and I've never had a player so unselfish," Smith said by phone from Atlanta. "Malcolm gets the big picture."

Robison, who is based at Mercy Ships' headquarters in Texas, said he has received frequent e-mails from the ship's volunteers, asking how training camp is going for Kelly. This fall, the ship will have a Fox satellite feed, so many of Kelly's games will be broadcast.

"There are a lot of new Redskins fans in Western Africa," Robison said by phone from Texas.

Kelly said he will return to Liberia sometime after this football season ends. He also plans to make a donation to Mercy Ships for every catch he makes this season, with the money going toward surgeries in Liberia.

"The whole trip was life-changing," Kelly said. "It showed me to just be grateful for everything life gives me."

NOTE:

Rookie receiver Devin Thomas suffered a strained right hamstring in the morning practice and had to be carted off the field. He is expected to miss at least two weeks.

Safety LaRon Landry suffered a mild left-hamstring injury in the afternoon practice. Defensive end Chris Wilson suffered a strained left calf in the morning.

Adam Himmelsbach: 540/374-5442
Email: ahimmelsbach@freelancestar.com