“CREATING A PATHWAY FOR YOUTH THROUGH SPORTS”

Our mission is to use basketball as a means to educate and enrich the lives of African youth. We aim to provide quality facilities, gear and coaches with the goal of growing the game of basketball within Africa. We create awareness and support for underprivileged children and young adults through our camps, which place emphasis on hard work, accountability, honest living and positivity. We strive to create opportunity not only as a player, but in other related areas – urging African youth to Dream Big.

DREAM BIG

Growing up playing basketball in Africa, NBA Champion and Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri realized the abundance of talent in his homeland – but these players were often referred to as raw, lacking experience in the game and lacking access to coaching and facilities. Ujiri drew upon these personal experiences and founded Giants of Africa in 2003 – a non-profit organization with the of goal of changing this reality and the lives of countless boys and girls on the African continent through the power of sport.

Each summer since 2003, Ujiri’s Giants of Africa has traversed the African continent and conducted camps for boys and girls between the ages of 15 and 19. Connecting with youth in over 17 African countries and territories thus far, Giants of Africa has developed players at the local, national, international and professional levels. Over 100 of Giants of Africa’s campers have attended high school or university in the United States and Canada, nearly 25 former participants have played on junior teams in clubs throughout Europe and over 65 have attended the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders program in Africa. And those numbers don’t include the hundreds of Giants of Africa youth who – inspired by the game of basketball – have gone on to become doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, teachers and so forth.

In addition to hosting camps, Giants of Africa has built basketball courts and conducted outreach programs in communities of need throughout Africa, including United Nations-sanctioned refugee camps in Kakuma and Dadaab.

FOUNDER