Former Gopher Thomas Tapeh strives to help in his native Liberia through schools and coffee beans

About 200 miles east of Monrovia, the largest city in Liberia, lies the town of Tappita. As you enter the city, there's a sign that reads, "A Place Of Peace And Prosperity."

It's appropriate that Thomas Tapeh has a farm there. He's at peace after finally finding a purpose in life after football. And his mission is to help Liberians get a proper education.

Tapeh, the former Gophers running back and former member of the "Pair and a Spare" backfield with Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney in 2003, plans to enter the coffee business in his homeland. The goal isn't just to invest and provide jobs in a struggling economy. His plan is to build schools and provide an educational foundation to children there.

It will be a lengthy process, for it takes a few years to grow coffee beans, and Tapeh's farm has operated for only a year. But he has 1,000 acres in Tappita and is prepared for the long haul.

"I can go back and build a proper school," said Tapeh, 43, who came to the United States in 1989 and starred at St. Paul Johnson before joining the Gophers.

There is joy in Tapeh's voice as he discusses his project from his home in New Orleans. He wasn't always so ebullient.

His football career ended during the 2008 season. He played three seasons with the Eagles before signing with the Vikings in 2008, then being released in October. Tapeh chuckled nervously when asked what his post-playing career was like.

"There's a thing called life. You've got to figure it out," he said. "Playing football was easy. You get up, go to work at practice. Get up, practice, play. But [now] you get up and you have to find work. To figure out life outside of football, it was hard because there were not many Liberians that played in the NFL when I was there."

With no one to relate to, his struggled during his post-playing career. He coached youth and high school football for awhile in New Jersey but wasn't happy. He moved to New Orleans and partnered in a sno-ball shop, which are popular there, but that venture didn't last.

"I went through life experiences of [not] playing football, the depression, psychotic thinking," he said. "It was hard because you worked so hard for Sunday, and now you're trying to figure out how you're going to take care of your family and live your life."

At the urging of former teammates during an Eagles alumni gathering, Tapeh reached out to the NFL players association. "They started giving me the services that I needed and got therapy," he said.

He was doing better but went through a divorce in 2018 that dragged on for a few years and brought on more depression. It was also in 2018 that his mother, Cecily Hawa Hina, asked him to return to Liberia to attend her wedding. He initially resisted, but agreed to join her.

One night he sat in a chair outside a hotel in Monrovia and people-watched. He saw poverty and lack of facilities, mothers carrying children on their backs.

"This is not right," he thought.

It would be the first of four trips to Liberia in the following years as he studied the country and wondered what he could do. The coffee idea came when he went to a local shop and learned that coffee there was in short supply. Through his foundation, he acquired land in Tappita and has about 20 employees.

"There you go," Tapeh said. "Thank you Lord."

He returns to Liberia to check on the farm's progress once or twice a year. His divorce is behind him. His future is defined. And he's resolved to help Liberians receive a quality education and prosper.

"If the foundation is laid properly, the recruiting portal will be in Liberia," Tapeh said. "It may not be while I'm alive, but when the foundation is laid, you will see."