Whenever there’s a pause in the action in the Bundesliga, Josuha Guilavogui spends the time on a project that is close to his heart – and this winter break was no exception. Last week, before retiring for what was already a short Christmas break, the VfL midfielder travelled to Guinea, where he has been running an orphanage since October 2019. The fact that the Frenchman is drawn to the West African country again and again is not only because it’s important to him to spend time with the children at his institution – he is also currently expanding the project by building his own, new orphanage with an adjoining school. The move from the rented house to the new home is planned for the coming summer.
Excitement for the move
There are currently 14 children in the care of the orphanage. The youngest is five, the oldest eight years old. The new facility on the 2,000-square-metre site will not only be more modern, there will also be bedrooms separated by gender and more space overall. The adjoining school will also soon include a football field. “The children already know that they will be moving and are really looking forward to it,” says Guilavogui, who travelled to the country of his parents’ origin with his father, two uncles and two cousins. “My family is a huge help to me, but I also get a lot of support from the club. Our kitman, for example, has given me a lot of clothes. VfL Wolfsburg is very well known here anyway, and now you also see a lot of children playing in green and white training clothes here in my village. That's just great.”