Chargers’ Junior Colson has a dream fueled by painful past
LOS ANGELES (BVM) – Junior Colson’s remarkable journey has taken him from a poor orphanage in Haiti to being a third-round selection for the LA Chargers in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Colson’s path has influenced a dream that’s arguably bigger than the NFL.
“One of the biggest things I want to do when I go back to Haiti is I want to build an orphanage because I came from an orphanage,” Colson told Video Vision 360.
Colson grew up in Haiti working on his family’s farm – up until his father died when he was just 7 years old. As a result, Colson was put in an orphanage owned by his uncle.
Colson’s mother was alive at the time of his placement into the orphanage, but she has since passed away, according to MLive.
“[My dad’s] will was for me to get adopted,” Colson told Big Ten Network in response to why he was put up for adoption.
After two years at the orphanage, on Jan. 12, 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the city of Port-au-Prince (near Colson’s orphanage). An estimated 222,570 people died, and countless more were left with no food, shelter or clothes.
Haiti – a third-world country already grappling with poverty – faced even greater challenges in the aftermath of the earthquake. Colson’s orphanage found itself in an even more dire need of food and clothing.
Not long after the earthquake, an American mom and daughter, Melanie and Amanda Colson, traveled to the orphanage to aid in the aftermath. This was when they met Junior. After Melanie exchanged thoughts with her husband, Steve, the family decided they wanted to adopt, as described by the Colsons for NBC Sports.
Junior Colson was adopted from an orphanage in Haiti pic.twitter.com/1FLubEyvt5
— Jessica Martinez (@Jessica75897817) May 3, 2024
Two years later, Junior arrived in America after the adoption process had been finished.
“The house we lived in at the time was only three bedrooms, but we had a bonus room and a living room and a dining room and a two-car garage,” Melanie told The Athletic. “It was a very huge dwelling for him. He was like, ‘Wow, we’re rich.’ We were like, ‘Yeah, buddy, we’re not. We’re just an average middle-class family. Welcome to America.’”
Junior experienced many other big shocks. He didn’t know what American football was, nor did he understand English, but he made it his goal to succeed in the sport.
“I got a lot more opportunities here in America than I would ever get in Haiti,” Colson told the Detroit Free Press. “… I got a better life, I got a better education. My dad basically helped set me up for success. He wanted me to succeed. That’s why he’s on my mind every single day.”
Junior hasn’t been back to Haiti ever since he was adopted in 2012 (he was about 10 years old). The next time he goes back, it’ll be to build an orphanage.
“The t-shirt that he was wearing when he came home (to America) said, ‘I’m going to change the world,’” Melanie told NBC Sports.
