August 14th 2010
Patriot Ledger: ‘Basketball clinic aids Hull, Rwandan youth’
The Patriot Ledger (http://www.ledger.com/), in its Aug. 14 edition, wrote about former Bentley women’s basketball player Kate Kelley, who has spent time in Rwanda working with that country’s youth, and will be holding a basketball clinic to benefit the youth of her hometown of Hull and Rwanda.
GateHouse News Service
HULL – Kate Kelley knows basketball.
Now, the 26-year-old Hull native and former basketball standout at Notre Dame Academy in Hingham and Bentley University is using her athletic skill to help others locally and as far away as Africa.
Kelley, a two-time Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic, will have a basketball clinic for girls at Hull High School Tuesday through Friday.
Proceeds benefit Hull High girls basketball and a youth camp Kelley has organized in Kigali, Rwanda.
The cost is $100 for the four days. Participants can also pay $30 for a single session.
The clinics will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for ages 10-13, and from 1 to 4:30 p.m. for ages 14 to 18.
Kelley traveled to Rwanda last year to start the UBUMWE (Unity) Basketball Program that uses sports to promote togetherness and reconciliation among youth while supporting Rwandan basketball development.
The massacres that plagued the country in 1994 left many children homeless, orphaned, hungry and looking for ways to survive.
“We are not simply teaching children how to play basketball,” Kelley said. “We are providing Rwanda’s next generation with the opportunities to engage with their peers and to appreciate and respect the differences that exist among them.”
The basketball program aims to rejuvenate the lives of youths, build self-esteem, promote healthy lifestyles and inspire a joyful spirit to cope with a traumatic past.
“For these children, basketball is not just a game, it is their chance to learn how to become children again,” Kelley said.
In Rwanda, Kelley has partnered with the Ministry of Sports and Culture, the Ministry of Education, and the Rwanda Basketball Federation to help with her efforts.
She is returning to Rwanda in November.
As a three-year starter and captain at Notre Dame Academy, Kelley was the second player in the school’s history to score more than 1,000 points.
She earned a scholarship to Bentley, where she scored more than 1,000 points and grabbed more that 600 rebounds.
While playing professionally for the Waterford, Ireland, Wildcats during the 2006-07 season, Kelley averaged 24 points and 9 rebounds a game.
After returning home, Kelley retired from competitive basketball and took a job as an analyst for a start-up venture capital firm in New York City.
Three years later she decided to follow a childhood dream of working with youth in Africa.
For more information on the camp and to receive a sign-up sheet, contact Kelley at kate@awfri.org.
READ MORE about this issue.
Copyright 2010 The Patriot Ledger. Some rights reserved
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Tags: Patriot Ledger, Youth
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