Nairobi, Kenya, Jul19- Basketball development program Giants of Africa will hold its three-day training camp in Kenya from August 13 -15.
The course will focus on helping players develop athleticism, enhance life skills, set goals and inspire them to accomplish their dreams.
The programme is part of the six camps being held across Africa aimed at enhancing skills among young Kenyan players and will also include a community outreach project in Kayole.
The Giants of Africa summer camps also brings together elite and emerging coaches from across Africa and internationally. The skills sessions are tailored to develop aspiring basketball athletes both on and off the court.
The youth focused camps is expected to kick off in Rwanda from August 7 to 9, Uganda from 10th to 12th, Nigeria from 18th to 20th, Ivory Coast from 23th to 25th and conclude in Senegal with boys’ and girls’ camps from August 26th to 28th.
“One of Giants of Africa’s fundamental mottos is Dream Big. We believe that basketball can be used as a tool to educate and develop youth around the world to accomplish their dreams,” Giants founder Masai Ujiri said.
“In addition to training coaches in each country and building infrastructure, we strive to serve as role models for these kids to learn from and be motivated by hard work. We feel a deep sense of responsibility to help them develop as athletes and be good citizens within their community,” Ujiri, who is also the Toronto Raptors president, added.
In Rwanda the team is scheduled to open a new court at Rafiki Club, Visit Saints Orphanage in Nigeria, Cite d’Ivoire Orphelinat De Bingerville in Ivory Coast and will support the SEED project in Senegal.
In addition to running, basketball camps and community outreach initiatives across the continent, the organization will also be screening its documentary of the same name, ‘Giants of Africa’ in Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda and Nigeria.
The main aim of the documentary will be to spread the notion of using basketball as a tool to create lasting change and to empower others to dream big, while growing the game in Africa.
Since the Giants of Africa camps began more than 100 camp attendees have moved on to high school and university in the United States, with around 20 now playing professionally in Europe.
Giant of Africa 2017 camps will be made possible with the support of NBA, Nike, Nestlé Milo, Ecobank, MLSE Foundation and Sportscorp Travel.
-By Kennedy Motari-