Shield City
Has Closed
September 2025
Special Needs in Africa
After many months of deliberation, Director Laura Sharpe made the difficult choice to close Shield City and move her family to Albania for a steady job in special education. Our football team will continue under Laura’s supervision, with coaches and staff on the ground in Kano, Nigeria. The house and center are still in use by some of our players and a few of our children continue to receive tutoring from our soccer players.
Founded under a new name in 2023, SCEI or Shield City Empowerment Initiative is a non-profit organization in Kano, Nigeria. We provide hope for families of children with special needs by providing personalized tutoring and physical therapy. These services are freely provided to any of the needy families who have children with different disabilities. Besides helping children with special needs, we also run a football (soccer) club for young men in the different communities around Kano State. SCEI helps them to prosper both on and off the football pitch with free computer courses and start-up funds to help them run their own unique small businesses.
