Basketball Court for South Sudan
Donation protected
Akech Manyiel (pictured above, second from the right), survivor of the Sudanese civil war, and a refugee living in Melbourne, Australia, wishes to complete a basketball court in Yirol, a remote South Sudanese town near where he was born.
Akech was separated from his family when he was 6 years old due to civil unrest, and spent much of his younger years in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. After being displaced from his home and family, he walked, with many others, first to Ethiopia and then following unrest in Ethiopia, walked to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Following identification as a fast runner he went on to school in Nairobi, and it was here that he started playing basketball. He played in elite level basketball teams and was selected to go to the United States on a scholarship but after sustaining an injury returned to Kenya. In 2004 he arrived in Melbourne on a humanitarian visa.
Since arriving in Melbourne, Akech has completed a degree in Exercise Science and Human Movement at Victoria University, run basketball programs for children and youth from public housing estates, he helps organise the bi-annual national Sudanese Basketball tournaments and supports the South Sudanese and inner city communities in many ways as a volunteer. He is employed in a part time Community Liaison role with Collingwood Basketball, and in an Education Support role at Spensley Street Primary School.
Akech believes strongly in the value of sport as a means for young people to improve their lives and this is what has motivated him to help young people to play basketball in Australia and to build a basketball court in his hometown of Yirol.
Akech has tried a number of times to get the basketball court built. At the end of 2013 Akech visited South Sudan to see his mother for the first time in 26 years. Collingwood Basketball had raised some funds to start building the basketball court but civil unrest broke out in South Sudan just as Akech arrived. So whilst he was able to get to his village and meet his mother for just a few days, it was too dangerous to undertake any work on the basketball court.
At the end of 2014, Akech again returned to Yirol, this time with further funds from the basketball club and money raised by students at Spensley Street Primary School.
Akech used the money that was raised to purchase and erect poles, backboards and rims, and spent many hours preparing the surface of the court. However, due to higher than expected costs of materials in South Sudan, and difficulties getting supplies to Yirol due to it’s remoteness and lack of reliable road infrastructure (a lot of the materials for the courts, on his previous visit, were transported by boat, on the Nile river), he did not have enough money to cement the court and this is needed so that the surface doesn’t get washed away in the rainy season. Whilst some further work was done with the support of Fitzroy Rotary, the court has since grown over with grass and needs more work to be in a fit state for use.
Akech is returning to Yirol in mid December 2015. This will be his last visit for quite some time and he hopes to complete the basketball court during this visit so it can withstand the rainy season, and the local community can benefit from its use for years to come.
Akech has saved enough money to cover his travel costs to South Sudan but needs extra funds to complete the court. The money raised with this campaign will go towards clearing the court of grass and re-levelling the playing surface, reo (metal framework) and gravel foundations, cement and markers, and food and first aid for labourers.
Due to the timing of Akech’s upcoming trip, this is a very short campaign and we’re really hoping that with a whole lot of support, we can meet the $8000 target in this time and help Akech finish the job he so passionately started. Akech and the community of Yirol greatly appreciate the consideration and generosity of those who offer donations and share this campaign amongst their community.
We hope to have photos to share of the completed court and the local community enjoying it upon Akech’s return to Melbourne in early 2016!
If you would like to know more about the Sudanese civil war, a recommended book is ‘What is the What’, a New York Times Best Seller novel written by Dave Eggers.
A suitable book for kids wanting to know more is ‘Brothers in Hope, The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan’, written by Mary Williams.
Below are some links to various media reports mentioning Akech’s volunteer work in Australia.
http://www.cam.org.au/News-and-Events/Features/Migrant-and-Refugees/Article/12920/the-power-of-sport#.VRpHsvmUeSo
http://www.africamediaaustralia.com/meet-akech-manyiel-a-young-basketballer-who-is-making-a-difference-in-the-community/
Thank you for supporting this cause!
Above: Local's admiring the new hoops during Akech's 2014 visit.
Below: The court has since been damaged by rain and overgrown with grass and weeds.
Akech was separated from his family when he was 6 years old due to civil unrest, and spent much of his younger years in refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya. After being displaced from his home and family, he walked, with many others, first to Ethiopia and then following unrest in Ethiopia, walked to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Following identification as a fast runner he went on to school in Nairobi, and it was here that he started playing basketball. He played in elite level basketball teams and was selected to go to the United States on a scholarship but after sustaining an injury returned to Kenya. In 2004 he arrived in Melbourne on a humanitarian visa.
Since arriving in Melbourne, Akech has completed a degree in Exercise Science and Human Movement at Victoria University, run basketball programs for children and youth from public housing estates, he helps organise the bi-annual national Sudanese Basketball tournaments and supports the South Sudanese and inner city communities in many ways as a volunteer. He is employed in a part time Community Liaison role with Collingwood Basketball, and in an Education Support role at Spensley Street Primary School.
Akech believes strongly in the value of sport as a means for young people to improve their lives and this is what has motivated him to help young people to play basketball in Australia and to build a basketball court in his hometown of Yirol.
Akech has tried a number of times to get the basketball court built. At the end of 2013 Akech visited South Sudan to see his mother for the first time in 26 years. Collingwood Basketball had raised some funds to start building the basketball court but civil unrest broke out in South Sudan just as Akech arrived. So whilst he was able to get to his village and meet his mother for just a few days, it was too dangerous to undertake any work on the basketball court.
At the end of 2014, Akech again returned to Yirol, this time with further funds from the basketball club and money raised by students at Spensley Street Primary School.
Akech used the money that was raised to purchase and erect poles, backboards and rims, and spent many hours preparing the surface of the court. However, due to higher than expected costs of materials in South Sudan, and difficulties getting supplies to Yirol due to it’s remoteness and lack of reliable road infrastructure (a lot of the materials for the courts, on his previous visit, were transported by boat, on the Nile river), he did not have enough money to cement the court and this is needed so that the surface doesn’t get washed away in the rainy season. Whilst some further work was done with the support of Fitzroy Rotary, the court has since grown over with grass and needs more work to be in a fit state for use.
Akech is returning to Yirol in mid December 2015. This will be his last visit for quite some time and he hopes to complete the basketball court during this visit so it can withstand the rainy season, and the local community can benefit from its use for years to come.
Akech has saved enough money to cover his travel costs to South Sudan but needs extra funds to complete the court. The money raised with this campaign will go towards clearing the court of grass and re-levelling the playing surface, reo (metal framework) and gravel foundations, cement and markers, and food and first aid for labourers.
Due to the timing of Akech’s upcoming trip, this is a very short campaign and we’re really hoping that with a whole lot of support, we can meet the $8000 target in this time and help Akech finish the job he so passionately started. Akech and the community of Yirol greatly appreciate the consideration and generosity of those who offer donations and share this campaign amongst their community.
We hope to have photos to share of the completed court and the local community enjoying it upon Akech’s return to Melbourne in early 2016!
If you would like to know more about the Sudanese civil war, a recommended book is ‘What is the What’, a New York Times Best Seller novel written by Dave Eggers.
A suitable book for kids wanting to know more is ‘Brothers in Hope, The Story of the Lost Boys of Sudan’, written by Mary Williams.
Below are some links to various media reports mentioning Akech’s volunteer work in Australia.
http://www.cam.org.au/News-and-Events/Features/Migrant-and-Refugees/Article/12920/the-power-of-sport#.VRpHsvmUeSo
http://www.africamediaaustralia.com/meet-akech-manyiel-a-young-basketballer-who-is-making-a-difference-in-the-community/
Thank you for supporting this cause!
Above: Local's admiring the new hoops during Akech's 2014 visit.
Below: The court has since been damaged by rain and overgrown with grass and weeds.
Organizer
Narelle Watson
Organizer
Fitzroy VIC
