Ex-NBA player seeks funds for Sudan schools
Nov 29, 2005 (WEST HARTFORD) — Manute Bol, the 7-foot, 7-inch former NBA player from Sudan, will be in Utah on Friday to help raise money for a nonprofit organization that wants to build schools and provide school supplies for students in Sudan.
The Dinka tribesman will share his stories about his life, from herding cattle in the Sudan to playing 11 seasons in the NBA. Sudanese food will be served and the Southern Sudan Education Project also will share photos and videos from recent trips to the country. Items also will be from sale from Africa and an auction is planned.
The Southern Sudan Education Project is a local nonprofit organization raising funds to build schools in southern Sudan and to support other education initiatives such as adult education and literacy, gender equality, leadership and peacemaking, and HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention training.
Southern Sudan recently emerged from a war that killed 2.5 million people and displaced 4.5 million more. The Southern Sudan Education Project was founded by a Sudan “Lost Boy” who resettled in Utah.
The event will raise funds to build the first permanent primary school in Bor South County of southern Sudan.
Bol first played basketball at age 18. He was spotted by a college recruiter and came to play at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. He was drafted by the Washington Bullets and also played on the Philadelphia 76ers, Golden State Warriors and Miami Heat.
Bol supports his homeland through the Ring True Foundation (http://www.ringtruefoundation.org).
(Salt Lake Tribune)