DAAR ES SALAAM (Tanzania) - FIBA Foundation Propose a Project successful applicants; Enouce Ndeche, Mzwake Phiri, and Bahati Mgunda, were part of the latest African Mini Basketball Convention delegation, held in Tanzania.

Attended by 19 delegates from 16 African nations, the event was hosted in November 2023 by the Tanzania Basketball Federation, and organized by the FIBA's Africa Regional Office with the support of the FIBA Foundation.

These successful applicants were given the chance to participate and gain insights helping them to advance their projects with more resources. Here are their testimonies so far.

Stand Tall initiative: Kenya

Enouce Ndeche from Kenya leads the Stand Tall initiative, which focuses on SDG 8: decent work and economic growth", to combat unemployment in Nairobi.

The Stand Tall initiative is run under the Vijana Amani Pamoja (VAP) Organization.  The initiative is just one part of the organization that offers youth basketball and leadership programs that are centered on empowering the participants’ strengths.

The program uses basketball as a vehicle for involvement through on and off-court exercises, and participants have life-changing experiences that encourage them to establish objectives and have more optimism for their futures. The VAP coaches teach basketball skills and drills based on studies on social-emotional learning, and the development of young people's employability abilities.

The support from the FIBA Foundation which included basketballs and financial support has been of great impact and value to the Stand Tall project. The coaches have been using donated balls to implement the Stand Tall project with young people in different communities and schools. The grant has been used for capacity building and scaling up of the project as well as supporting coaches in their daily work of reaching out and implementing basketball-based programs in schools and communities as an after-school program.

“The Mini Basketball Convention gave me and my fellow coaches, professionals, and other like-minded organizations the chance to network, learn, and exchange best practices,” said Ndeche.

Dunkylaine Foundation: Eswatini

Mzwakhe Phiri, the creator of the Dunkylaine Foundation, is the brain behind the Dunkylaine Basketball Academy. It is a sports foundation that seeks to develop all sports in Eswatini, with basketball being one of them.

Based in the capital city, Mbabane, the purpose of the initiative is to encourage sports among the young of Eswatini in all of its facets and to raise awareness of the opportunities that sports can provide for everyone. The program’s main focuses are teaching fundamentals of basketball and life skills, and offering guidance in spiritual life and basketball scholarships for their players.

Through such exposure, the players receive a broader outlook on potential career development opportunities as professionals should they choose to follow that route.

“The assistance with basketballs from the FIBA Foundation greatly eased our drills because each person has a ball as we train.” - Phiri

We Plant Hoops & You Play: Dar Es Salaam

Based in the heart of Tanzania, Dar Es Salaam, We Plant Hoops & You Play is a project run by Bahati Mgunda.

Run under the  Mambo Basketball Tanzania program, the project focuses on ‘planting’ hoops and infrastructure in varying parts of the city to help create awareness of the sport and to leave the communities with sustainable infrastructural means to learn and grow it. 

The FIBA Foundation provided the program with both financial support and basketballs. This aid allowed the program to ‘plant’ hoops in nearby schools and create courts where community members, and especially children could play.

Thanks to the coaching and teaching capacity attained from the Seminar, Mgunda is confident to reach 1000 participants in his city. Because the local government is pushing the initiative of introducing basketball into elementary schools, the project is receiving positive feedback from them as well. 

Promoting partnership and collaboration, the FIBA Foundation hosts varying Seminars to bring various Youth Leaders, Coaches, and basketball enthusiasts all in the name of forging the Basketball For Good movement forward.

****

The FIBA Foundation is the social and legacy arm of FIBA that addresses the role of sports particularly basketball in society, preserving and promoting basketball’s values and its cultural heritage