As special guests of
Dr. Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh, President of the Republic of Gambia, the
SBA Sports Management and Entertainment Group is spearheading a trip for
the SBA All-stars, SBA Ouch Girls, IAF, RGI and SBA Coaches and Management
Staff to be a part of the Republic of Gambia’s Independence Day
celebration and parade February 14th-21st, in West
Africa. In addition, the SBA will be headlining a ceremony unveiling two
outdoor full-court venues with new asphalt, lines, and professional style
basketball goals that have been under construction and supervised by the
SBA.
Since the SBA
introduced the International African Basketball Initiative last November,
Jerrod Mustaf and members of the SBA have had two recent trips over to the
Gambia to assess the current basketball infrastructure and to execute
plans for construction of new basketball courts throughout the region and
to start organizing proper training and coaching. The upcoming trip to
the Gambia will serve a number of purposes, as the SBA Show & Expo will be
utilized to entertain and to re-introduce, the sport of basketball to the
Gambia. Throughout the trip RGI and the SBA All-stars will perform a
number of clinics going over basketball fundamentals and the latest street
ball moves, as well as playing exhibition games with the top Gambian Teams
and National Team.
After the week long
trip, the SBA Sports Management and Entertainment Group will have two SBA
Coaches along with Big Mike Richmond of RGI, and spoke's person for I Am
Focused on the ground in the Gambia full-time organizing and implementing
daily basketball clinics and instruction, setting up new teams and
leagues, and overseeing the countries overall basketball development. In
addition, to initial steps of creating an alliance with the President of
the Gambia, touring the country and assessing the current basketball
structure, construction and renovation of basketball courts and
facilities, the SBA Development Program now shifts giving the SBA
All-stars, IAF, RGI and SBA coaches an opportunity to be “hands on” going
over to Africa to entertain and teach the sport of basketball.
With IAF,
RGI and SBA coaches in the Gambia, they will improve the country’s overall
level of play providing an opportunity for African players to receive
proper instruction, guidance, and a solid foundation to learn from. IAF,
RGI and The SBA will work with top sports officials from the Gambia to put
together, train, and coach a National Team that will compete at the
African Championships in the upcoming years with the long-term goal to
qualify for the 2012 Olympics.
The I Am Focused Foundation announced that they are honored to
present the KidCare Photo Events spokes persons will be Ukee Washington
KYW Channel 3 News, former
NBA player Tim Hardaway and former European basketball player Michael
Richmond. I Am Focused are proud to announce that Mitchell & Ness
will be one of its sponsors for 2004.
Roosevelt T. Hagins, Founder & Executive Director of I Am
Focused Foundation, expressed his thoughts regarding the spokes persons
for the KidCare Photo Events, I am thrilled to have these fine
individuals, who are also stand-outs in the community to talk about the
importance of getting parents & guardians the necessary information
if their child became lost or abducted.
About the KidCare Photo Events
KidCare Photos Events are dedicated to providing parents with
personal safety ID’s with the necessary information if their child is
ever lost or abducted. Parents
can obtain a free standardized, high –quality instant photograph of
their child in an ID booklet where they can also maintain statistics.
A missing child is a parent’s
worst nightmare, especially considering that cases of abducted and
runaway children occur at an alarming rate every year. Each year,
approximately:
§
450,000 children run away
§
350,000 children are abducted by a family member
§
4,600 children are abducted by strangers
That’s more than 800,000 children
missing each year- one child every 40 seconds. Yet less than two percent
of parents had a copy of their child’s fingerprints at home in case of
an emergency.
About the I Am Focused Foundation
I Am Focused Foundation objective is
to perform as a diversified entity for the Community. This will be
reached by not only helping children in need, but whole families. I Am
Focused will use an array of Fundraising campaigns, as well as special
events as an avenue in which to merge; local outreach organizations,
religious leaders, political leaders, and the business community
together in an effort to make a difference in the lives of many
individuals.
For complete information on IAF, visit
our website at www.iamfocused.org
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