Fugees in Clarkston, GA

I met Luma Mufleh in the Dallas airport on the way home from our annual meeting.  Luma was born in Jordan and came to the United States to go to college.  She also loves soccer.  After graduating, she found a job in Clarkston, GA.    One day,  after making a wrong turn, she came across a group of kids playing soccer in the parking lot with no shoes, makeshift goals and a worn-out ball.  The next day she returned with a new ball and was suddenly the best friend to this group of children.  Luma learned that they were all refugees from other war-torn nations.  They were poor and had very low English language skills.  Luma recognized that soccer might be the bridge that would get them from poverty to a better place, so she formed a soccer team called the Fugees (short for Refugees).  She was their coach.  Her love for the children grew, and she soon recognized that they were being left behind in their current school settings.  Some had received A’s and B’s on their report cards but still could not read.  That is when Luma went from being their soccer coach to their Principal.  She quit her job  and using her own money and donations from others, opened The Fugees Academy for the children.  The children ride their bikes 10 miles to and from school, with a Clarkston police escort.  Well, Luma wanted to be  closer, so she has purchased 19 acres to build a new campus for the children.

It wasn’t pure coincidence that I ran into Luma in the airport.  She had been recognized earlier that day at the Keller Williams inspirational breakfast as someone that dreams big and then does what it takes to make her dreams come true.  Keller Williams then gave her a school bus to make it easier for the children to get to and from school, and a check to help with the construction of her new academy.  I came to Keller Williams for the training and support, but I stay at Keller Williams because these are the kind of people that run our company and these are the kind of people that we are trying to become.

Watch the CBS news piece at this link and contact me if you would like to help her make dreams come true.