OUR STORY
Rebound Liberia was founded in January 2019 at the University of Pennsylvania after rebranding from it’s 2018 PEACE pilot program.
Through generous grants such as the Kathryn Wasserman Davis Projects for Peace grant, and Penn’s Gelfman International Fund, Rebound Liberia, formerly known as Promoting Education and Cultivating Empowerment (PEACE), launched its first summer program in 2018. The program paired up two pathways to empowerment: personal development and basketball. With the generosity of the President’s Engagement Prize, Rebound Liberia expanded their program to include college and career readiness, academic enrichment, and computer literacy. Rebound Liberia fosters social gathering spaces to reinforce leadership, cooperation, discipline and a culture of mentorship.
Our Founders
Princess Aghayere, Co-Founder
At age 10, Princess began playing basketball to cultivate her confidence after emigrating from Nigeria. She was able to evolve as a player and compete at the Division 1 level as well as play basketball professionally in Spain. She knows first-hand the influence of basketball because it has enabled her to obtain a world-class education, create connections across cultures, and remain balanced despite growing up in an underprivileged community.
Oladunni Alomaja, Co-Founder
Oladunni Alomaja was born in Nigeria and immigrated to the United States in 2013. While in Nigeria, she experienced gender inequality where women were limited to household responsibilities and “traditional female” careers. She defied the odds by pursuing careers in engineering, social entrepreneurship and medicine. She hopes to be an inspiration to the girls to also pursue unconventional fields and careers.
Summer Kollie, Co-Founder
Summer Kollie and her family immigrated to America in 2003 to seek refuge from the Liberian civil war. For the first time in 15 years, she returned to Liberia to implement the aforementioned pilot program and invest in the youth of Liberia. She aspires to increase access for students who come from similar backgrounds as she. Through her experiences she has learned that education is a prerequisite for promoting peace, understanding, and equality in Liberia and the world at large.