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Hoops 4 Hope is a
not-for-profit organization that supports youth development in
Zimbabwe and South Africa by working with schools, shelters, and
community organizations.
Hoops 4 Hope provides the most basic tools that young people need
to play team sports and face the many challenges of growing up
in communities plagued with poverty, crime, and HIV/AIDS. We build
basketball courts, organize leagues, distribute athletic equipment
collected from around the United States, run coaching clinics,
organize tournaments, supply financial assistance for team travel,
host international basketball coaches and players, and provide
children with a safe, nurturing environment in which they develop
more than just skills for the court, they develop SKILLS 4 LIFE!
is the H4H Life Skills program. Life Skills are acquired or developed
skills or tools that help a person be successful in Life. This
extends from knowing how to brush your teeth to being able to
use language effectively. Both  are
Life Skills because both help us achieve success in our lives,
but in very different ways.
There are Life Skills that are needed by specific groups because
of their culture or where they live. There are also essential
Life Skills that we all need that may not be taught at school
or by parents. These are the kind of Life Skills that SKILLS 4
LIFE is concerned with. Though young people face very specific
challenges because of their culture and where they live, we believe
that by focusing our efforts on the Life Skills that are essential
to all people, we are providing them with the important tools
they need to develop a strong and positive character, so they
will be equipped to make healthy positive choices.
Of all of the challenges young people face, HIV/AIDS is certainly
the most frightening. It is literally a matter of life or death.
But as devastating as this disease is, it is just one of life’s
challenges they face. Poverty, crime, and lack of proper education
are obstacles they must confront each day. Add in the difficulties
that all young people face such as peer pressure, family and identity
issues, and these challenges become truly formidable. We must
empower them to develop to their fullest potential. This is what
SKILLS 4 LIFE is all about!
(Click here to read more about our SKILLS 4 LIFE program.)
Since 1995, HOOPS 4 HOPE (H4H),
a global not-for-profit organization, has supported youth development
throughout southern Africa by providing more than 10,000 school-age
children with our Basketball/Life Skills program. Using sport
as a vehicle for social and personal change, H4H empowers children
to become productive adults, engage in  healthy
lifestyles, and become leaders within their communities and the
world. Our extensive network of partnering schools, children’s
shelters, and community groups helps get kids off the street.
Basketball and other team sports provide an infrastructure where
social skills can develop. Young people in our programs learn
that the skills they will develop playing sports extend well beyond
the playing field and are applicable to life’s challenges.
Life Skills are any acquired techniques that help an individual
deal successfully with his or her own life.
Organized sports encourage more than healthy competition; they
help erase racial boundaries. Sports unite adults and children
from different backgrounds. Moreover, the trust that develops
between coaches and the young people they mentor provides an opportunity
for discussion of the crucial issues that affect their lives every
day.
From urban playgrounds across the United
States to the rural Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe to crowded townships
in South Africa, there is basketball. Played and shared and loved.
It is truly a global game! Technology feeds the world’s
hunger for the game by sending highlights from the National Basketball
Association (NBA) across the globe, and those images have sparked
dreamers of all ages, races, and religions. Countless exciting
games are being  played
at this very moment on streets, dirt roads, mountain tops, and
in schoolyards around the world.
Basketball helps break down racial and economic boundaries by
bringing young people together on a neutral playing field, where
dedication and teamwork are the qualities that make one excel--not
social standing or group affiliation.
Basketball’s secret weapon is the Team Coach. A good coach
is much more than just a sports teacher: He/she is a mentor, a
role model, an older person who cares and who can give a youth
the support they need to build Life Skills as well as court skills.
The trust that can develop between a coach and a young person
can be the bedrock for significant personal growth. For many young
people, the basketball court is the perfect place to cultivate
the discipline that will help them achieve success in other parts
of their lives.
H4H runs programs in Zimbabwe and South
Africa. In cooperation with schools, community organizations,
and children’s shelters, H4H reaches over 10,000 children
a year.
This year, our staff of 15 coordinators
ran programs in 75 schools located in 15 different communities.
We trained over 200 coaches and teachers and hosted hundreds of
games and exciting tournaments for more than 5,000 children.
H4H coordinators, along with local
and international volunteers, work with schools and community
groups to deliver our basketball and life-skills programs. This
year, we conducted over 100 clinics (averaging 50 children at
each), organized games between communities, hosted exciting tournaments,
and trained more than 30 coaches in basketball and Life Skills
education.
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