THE United States Embassy successfully partnered Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) for the 2024 edition of the Sports Envoy programme where current and former American professional athletes and coaches engaged underserved youth athletes and coaches through a weeklong series of events that include sports clinics, school engagements, media appearances and meetings with local officials.
In this year’s program, the US embassy in Harare and BUZ hosted renowned basketball players Billy Garrett and Essence Carson.
As part of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sports diplomacy programmes, the initiative taps into the shared passion for sports around the world to address US foreign policy priorities to empower women and girls, strengthen resiliency against extremist influences, develop academic and leadership skills, promote conflict resolution, and encourage inclusion in diverse communities.
The envoys, who left the country on Wednesday last week, carried out engagements in Dzivarasekwa and Mbare as well as Sunrise Sports Club and Chiedza Center while they also travelled to Kadoma.
BUZ secretary general Charmaine Chamboko expressed delight in working with the US sports envoys.
'We have had a lot of fun having the envoys here I think mainly because of our development it really inspires our athletes. I think our coaches are getting a great session in learning about how professional athletes work it out so hopefully this will elevate the level of basketball that we have in Zimbabwe right now," she said.
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On June 21, the Sports envoys travelled to Dzivarasekwa, where Hoops4Hope runs an afternoon basketball program five days a week.
They worked with over 200 girls and boys; ages 9-13 and their coaches, providing technique training, coaching drills, and playing games together.
The following day they spent the day at Sunrise Sports Club in Harare, with 80 young athletes aged 16 -18 and the participants included national team players and club team players, among other invitees.
The envoys travelled to Kadoma town on June 23 to give their time to over 100 children between the ages of 6 -13, providing technique training, coaching drills, and playing games together.
Chiedza Centre was their next port of call on June 24 where they talked and played with the children, and served them lunch.
On the same day, the envoys participated in a Hoops4Hope programme in Mbare, helping vulnerable youth develop life skills, playing games, and engaging in reading activities.
This also presented the envoys with an opportunity to talk about drug and substance abuse, which is a prevalent problem amongst the youth in Zimbabwe.
The envoys' visit ended with a roundtable discussion with local basketball coaches and national team captains on June 25.
"What we do is we go out, we share sport and the joy that it brings will children through out the community. We have been able to hold couple of camps, go to a few schools and work with a few children there.
"It has been a blast to be able to work with the children and see the joy that basketball has brought them. It about the same if not more joy for me It's been amazing to see the work together, see them build chemistry with each other and just enjoy the sport overall.
"So I have had an amazing time doing so and I look to possibly do it again," one of the envoys Garrett said.
Garrett is an American professional basketball player for CD Estela of the LEB Plata.
He played briefly in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the New York Knicks and has also played professionally in the NBA G League as well as for teams in several international leagues.
The highlights of his professional career include a G League Championship in 2021 with the Lakeland Magic and All-PLK Team recognition in 2022.
Essence Carson is a Paterson, New Jersey native, Rosa Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts/Eastside High graduate and member of the Rutgers University Athletic Hall of Fame.
She is a 13-year WNBA veteran, All-Star, World Champion, musician, philanthropist, TEDx speaker, and music industry professional.
Selected seventh overall by the New York Liberty in the 2008 WNBA Draft, Essence became a WNBA All-Star in 2011 and went on to win a WNBA Championship with the Los Angeles Sparks in 2016.
The championship ended a 20-year drought for Los Angeles and was their first since the Lisa Leslie era.