ibaka

Dreams Academy Camp Brazzaville 2017
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Dreams Academy Camp Brazzaville 2017

Dreams Academy

Dreams Academy Camp Brazzaville 2017

In his hometown of Brazzaville, Serge Ibaka hosted the Dreams Academy basketball camp for another summer. The Makélékélé gym was the location for the camp, part of the Cowbell Ibaka Games event. Ibaka spent time with the participating kids, who listened to the motivating stories by the Raptors player. The coaches, who share the same basketball courts with Ibaka in their youth, motivated the players to take advantage of the opportunity to practice with and in front of an NBA player and a local idol.

Cowbell Ibaka Games 2017
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Cowbell Ibaka Games 2017

Dreams Academy, Foundation, Other

Cowbell Ibaka Games 2017

Connecting with the congolese youth and inspiring them, and celebrating congolese culture using basketball and music. Those are the goals of the Ibaka Games, which were held for the fourth straight year in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo’s capital and Serge Ibaka’s hometown. In partnership with Cowbell Milk, the event hosted boys and girls from three to eighteen years old and public from all ages.

The event consisted of different activities, outdoor and indoor, at the Makélékélé sports center. Outside, the youngest children from different orphanages participated in an initiation basketball clinic with Serge Ibaka. It was him, too, that greeted the directors of each institution. They received the symbolic bags of dairy product that illustrated the contribution that they will receive during the whole year. Still outside, there were dance, music and art performances building up the anticipation of the main event inside the gym.

In the morning and in the previous day, a selection of kids, fourteen to eighteen years old, had participated in a Serge Ibaka Dreams Academy basketball camp. In the afternoon, the same kids played an exhibition game for the crowd, that filled the stands in an unprecedented way in the city. Almost 4.000 congolese where in attendance. Musical performances and a dunk contest followed and preceded the main event, the celebrity game with Serge Ibaka himself and guests like profesional basketball players Christian Eyenga and Chanel Mokango, or congolese comedias like Saï Saï and Esobe. The crowd cheered and experienced an event rarely seen in the Congo. It was a big celebration of african culture and sports that will for sure have another chapter next summer.

Back home with Cowbell
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Back home with Cowbell

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Back home with Cowbell

For the second straight year Cowbell Milk was our partner in Brazzaville, Serge Ibaka’s hometown and the capital of the Republic of Congo. The partnership is solidified and growing, and the charitable plan put together is having a major impact during the whole year. Working closely with orphanages and youth centers, the partnership provides dairy products on a monthly basis, satisfying a basic need for the children living in these institutions.

In June 2017, the Foundation’s expedition visited three centers (Ecole Speciale, La Bonne Semence, Espace Jarrot)and greeted 4 more (Notre Damme de Nazareth, Coeur Immacule de Marie, St Joseph Gaston Celeste, Soeur Dorcas) during the anual sports and culture event Ibaka Games, delivering product and spending time with the dedicated people in charge of the institutions. Bigger plans to develop their facilities are in the works as the partnership with Cowbell grows.

Inspired in Kimbondo
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Inspired in Kimbondo

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Inspired in Kimbondo

The Kimbondo Pediatrics, Orphanage and Hospital in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, has a special place in the Foundation’s heart. The connection that was made in the summer of 2014 with Father Hugo, his staff of nurses and collaborators and, specially the almost a thousand boys and girls that live there, made a lasting impression. This is why for the fourth year the Foundation collaborated with Kimbondo.

Once again, the boys and girls greeted the expedition led by Serge Ibaka with enthusiasm and joy. The kids received gifts and sang, danced and played with the expedition. Father Hugo proved to be once again a great inspiration in helping others, showing humility and dedication to a cause that none one should forget. In communication with Father during the year, the Foundation made sure to provide the supplies that were needed. It won’t be the last time.

Serge Ibaka elected to the NBPA Foundation Board

The NBPA Foundation, the charitable arm of the National Basketball Players’ Association (NBPA), welcomed Serge Ibaka to its Board of Directors this month. According to the NBPA Foundation, the appointment highlights Ibaka’s personal journey as one that has inspired many players and others while it also speaks directly to the philanthropic role of sports in society.

Sherrie Deans, Executive Director of the NBPA Foundation said, “Serge’s insights and his accomplishments in international charity and philanthropy complement the wide-ranging work being done by our board president, Chris Paul and vice president, LeBron James. With Chris, LeBron and Serge on our board, we have an even stronger team to help us support and develop the charitable work of our players in the US and around the world.”

NBPABoard Ibaka with (L to R) Michele Roberts, Sherrie Deans and Chrysa Chin

Since being drafted in 2008, Ibaka has earned a place among the most recognized players in the NBA. He grew up playing on the courts of Avenir du Rail and Charles de Gaulle park in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. He left at the age of 17 to pursue a professional career, starting in France, then going on to Spain where he was noticed by NBA scouts after standout performances in international showcases. As seen in the acclaimed documentary film series “Son of The Congo,” he is conscious about making his off-court journey a priority when it comes to helping others achieve their highest personal goals Ibaka has made yearly trips home on a mission with the Serge Ibaka Foundation to improve the lives of youth in his hometown and to learn how those improvements can be sustained

Serge Ibaka feels that “it is an honor and a privilege to be part of the board of the NBPA’s Foundation. I take it as an opportunity to learn and help and add as much as I can to the already incredible work done by the Foundation”. Ibaka and the Serge Ibaka Foundation will work to help the NBPA Foundation, now entering its 20th year, expand his mission and reach internationally, specially in Africa.

Ibaka joins current board members Michele Roberts – NBPA Executive Director, Chrysa Chin, Executive Vice President, Strategy & Development, NBPA, and fellow players and longtime philanthropists Chris Paul and Lebron James. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.nbpafoundation.com.

Thanksgiving giveaway
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Thanksgiving giveaway

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Thanksgiving giveaway

New team, new city, new community. But the goal of giving back stays the same. Right before Thanksgiving, we partnered up with the Orlando Magic and Amway to give away 450 turkeys and Thanksgiving meals to Orlando families. Serge Ibaka delivered the turkeys personally and took time to meet with some of the families. “Thanksgiving is about giving back and I felt like we had to do something in my new community. Sometimes a gesture like this can bring a family together or help a family enjoy a holiday so it’s always worth it to give a hand”, said Serge.

Partnership with Bàsquet Manresa

The Serge Ibaka Foundation and the Bàsquet Manresa basketball club, through it’s own Foundation, signed an agreement for a partnership that will bring young basketball players to the catalan organization. Through the Serge Ibaka Dreams Academy, the sports arm of the Foundation, the players will have the opportunity to develop on and off the court in Manresa. The destination is not a coincidence: Serge Ibaka himself played for Bàsquet Manresa during the 2008-2009 season, before going to the NBA. Serge doesn’t hesitate when saying that “Manresa is like home for me. It’s an organization that takes care of its players and that knows how to develop them. It’s the best place for young african players to grow as players and personally and prepare for their future“.

Serge came back to Manresa to officialize the partnership, and had the chance to meet again with the local fans and the many club employees that he first met years ago. By his side, Bàsquet Manresa player Romaric Belemene who, like Serge is from Brazzaville, Congo. Belemene is one of the first players that participated in the Serge Ibaka Camps in his native Congo, and now fins himself playing in the first club as his mentor, and from now on he will be the one doing the mentoring with the new congolese players arriving to Manresa.

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Cowbell Ibaka Games Brazzaville
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Cowbell Ibaka Games Brazzaville

Dreams Academy, Foundation

Cowbell Ibaka Games Brazzaville

Playing for the first time at the Makelékélé gymnasium in his hometown of Brazzaville was a dream for Serge Ibaka. Partnering with Cowbell, the first Cowbell Ibaka games took place in the summer of 2016. From early in the morning to late in the afternoon, basketball fans and neighbors of Brazzaville had the chance to participate in different activities and to see Serge play in person for the first time.

In the morning, 300 boys and girls from local orphanages participated in a basketball clinic and in recreational activities in the outdoor area of the gymnasium. Cowbell provided lunch and drinks for everybody, and different local performers put on a show for the audience including Serge Ibaka. Six different orphanages received Cowbell dairy products for a whole year and the kids were excited to received the news from Serge himself.

In the afternoon, everybody went inside the gym for the first Cowbell Ibaka Games All Star Game. Two teams comprised of local players from Brazzaville participated in the exhibition game with Serge Ibaka. The Orlando Magic star played one half with each team and told the media that: “it is a dream come true to play in front of my friends, family and fellow people of Brazzaville, and put on a show for people to enjoy and have fun“.

@sergeibaka7 going coast to coast during the @cowbellmilk Ibaka Games in #Brazzaville!! #anythingispossible #toutestpossible #todoesposible

A video posted by Serge Ibaka Foundation (@sergeibakafoundation) on Jul 28, 2016 at 3:35am PDT

Playing in front of his hometown fans @sergeibaka7 put on a show in the first @cowbellmilk Ibaka Games. #anythingispossible #toutestpossible #todoesposible A video posted by Serge Ibaka Foundation (@sergeibakafoundation) on Jul 27, 2016 at 4:50pm PDT

Visiting orphanages in Brazzaville with Cowbell
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Visiting orphanages in Brazzaville with Cowbell

Foundation

Visiting orphanages in Brazzaville with Cowbell

During the summer we went back to some of the orphanages we work with in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. At the St Joseph orphanage the kids welcomed Serge Ibaka and the Foundation with joy and music. At the Space Jarrot, we were able to see first hand the improvements in their facilities. The investment by the Foundation at Space Jarrot started in 2012 in a project with Unicef. This summer, the management was happy to show the improvements, including two potable water tanks, a new floor in the whole premises, a new kitchen and a new office.

The visits, organized with our partner Cowbell Milk, where the first part of the charitable efforts during the week. The following day the same two orphanages, and six more, received the first consignment of dairy products by Cowbell. The total of eight orphanages will receive the product to feed the boys and girls for the whole year. During the two days, the kids were given lunch and gifts, and spent time with Serge Ibaka.

Oklahoma City Gala 2016
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Oklahoma City Gala 2016

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Oklahoma City Gala 2016

The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum hosted the fourth anual Serge Ibaka Foundation Charity Gala benefiting the Foundation and Sister Rosemary Nyirumbe’s Sewing for Hope Foundation. The Gala gathered 700 hundred people from Oklahoma and other parts of the country and the World, including Sister Rosemary that came all the way from Uganda.

“The first year we had less than 200 people and now 700! To see how we have grown and the support that the Oklahoma community has given us is incredible“, said Serge. “I am blessed to have the opportunity to partner with great people to help many children in Congo and Africa“.

The Foundation executive director, Pere Gallego, expressed his gratitude for all the support. “All our partners, sponsors and donors are genuinely interested in helping Serge’s and Sister’s Foundations and we feel blessed for that. The Oklahoma community is always behind us and we will work to grow even more in the future”.