Honduras celebrates the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, based on the IBF's ''Basketball for Good'' initiative

Established in 2013 by the United Nation’s General Assembly, with the support of the International Olympic Committee, each year the worldwide community celebrates on April 6 the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.

The Honduras National Basketball Federation, for the third year in a row, joined the global activities with several initiatives, many of which were led by the IBF and several national federations from around the world.

The International Basketball Foundation (IBF) was established by FIBA in 2008, and its mission is to foster basketball in communities, education, women empowerment, health and wellbeing, and conflict resolution. With its project, Basketball for Good, IBF promotes the values and the cultural legacy of basketball as an agent of change, while developing inclusive programs to address the pressing issues that affect the youth.

“We're very much aware that work is being done every day to foster dialogue channels, inclusion and peace through the values of sport; which activates a social development led by inclusion. It also creates conscience about the responsibility of projecting a more human, united and accessible basketball,” said Carmen Cubas, Development and Mini Basketball Director of the Honduras National Federation.

This time, the activity in the Central American nation was centered on basketball with a social focus. Honduras 3x3 Basketball, or “Basketball for All”, comes together due to the necessity of developing youth for their limited sports structure. Free classes were given to children under the age of 12 in a public school of the capital city of Tegucigalpa, which featured a sports demonstration by Wheelchair Basketball athletes.

“We're moving forward thanks to our volunteers. We're giving our gifts and talents to the same sport, that makes us stay here with the team of collaborators that is built this time with national basketball players Leonardo Amador, Erasmo Sierra, César Iván Estling and Emanuel Flores Medina, as well as Harold Murillo of Honduras’ Convive Parks Foundation,” added Cubas.

“I support Mini Basketball because I believe it’s a great initiative to develop new talents and positive attitudes in boys and girls, and it contributes to future national teams,” stated Erasmo Sierra, senior national team player.

“What brings together our sport with Honduras’ 3x3 is the visibility of us in society, so that people with different abilities may learn this modality. We hope to continue to have the support of Honduras 3x3 to develop and keep working on the project to integrate people with disabilities,” added Ixim Mejía Cárdenas, player of Wheelchair Basketball club Fénix.

For the national federation, the main objective of these activities is to believe and work toward the development of sport and peace as spearhead of social initiatives and demonstrate that having the will to do so is the first resource for any initiative to move forward. Also, a uniforms donation was made by the students of Tegucigalpa’s American School. Lizza Castellón, in their representation, gifted the garments to the social sports project beneficiaries.

“I practice basketball since I was 8. I decided to participate in this project because I love basketball and my family and knowing that basketball may rescue girls and boys in underprivileged communities that day to day see drugs and gang (violence) in their life. Sports are able to keep them away from all that and give them better opportunities. I want to show them that there is hope and that they shouldn’t give up when reaching for their dreams. Basketball will always be something positive,” said Leonardo Amador, Honduras national team member, to FIBA.basketball.

“FIBA Americas showed me in 2014 the 3x3 project and I turned it into a reality, into an opportunity. That's how 3x3 Honduras Basketball was born: as a project that shares a vision like that of FIBA’s foundation to use basketball as a service to the World,” concluded Carmen Cubas.

FIBA