Union Player, Temple Professor Team Up To Kick Ebola In The Butt
By Tim Jimenez
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - As the National Institute of Health prepares to care for an American doctor exposed to Ebola in West Africa, a local professor is teaming with a Philadelphia Union player to raise money for the fight against the disease.
Union midfielder Michael Lahoud's native Sierra Leone has been devastated by Ebola -- something he got a better grasp of when he played in the Africa Cup of Nations in the past month, seeing the fear first-hand and wanting to act.
"This is something that's a world issue. It's not just an African problem," he says.
So he got together with Temple Assistant professor Thilo Kunkel to create the #KickEbolaInTheButt challenge.
He says there's no ice buckets here, but a soccer ball that is kicked:
"Your friend takes a shot at your butt. If he hits your butt, then you donate whatever amount you feel like donating. If he misses your butt, then he donates."
The money goes towards Doctors without Borders.
"(Ebola) impacts not just the infected individual but also the whole health system," Kunkel adds. "Now, individuals who suffer from regular diseases or regular health issues are actually dying because the Ebola virus has the health system in its grip and it's basically taken away all the resources."
The official kick off to the challenge took place Sunday afternoon at Temple's Geasey Field.
