“It was hard to live because the only way you survive sometimes is you have to carry guns,” remembers Alphonso’s father, Debeah. “We didn’t have any interest in shooting guns. So, we decided to just escape from there. They have a program called resettlement, and they said ‘OK, you have to fill in a form for Canada.’ We went through the interview and everything, and made it, and came over here.”
The Davies family were able to immigrate to Canada when Alphonso was five, eventually settling in Edmonton, Alberta. Debeah and the family matriarch Victoria worked long hours to make ends meet. Even Alphonso chipped in around the house, helping to raise his two younger siblings while attending the Mother Theresa Catholic school, where his talents first caught eyes.
“Our little Alphonso,” said Davies’ Grade 6 teacher and sports coach Melissa Guzzo. “He’s just one of those kids who had a permanent smile on his face, always dancing in the hallways. He’s such a natural talent. Anything he touched—track, basketball, any sport—he was the kid.”
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