Basketball

Soccer is clearly the most popular sport here. As I have mentioned
before, not having a favorite English Premier League club results in
social awkwardness from time to time. The kids even play in an orphan
soccer league, and they are actually pretty good (they pass and
everything). However someone went to the effort of putting a
basketball hoop up at AHOPE and I think it is my duty to make sure it
is put to good use.

There is not a lot of basketball in Ethiopia. I'm told, in some
African countries (where the populace is a little taller on average no
doubt) such as Angola and Senegal there is a fair amount of basketball
played. However in Ethiopia just the fact that there is a reasonable
facsimile of a backboard is quite an achievement. The one at AHOPE was
clearly fabricated by some local welder, one wonders if he had any
idea what he was making. The rim and net I'm told were brought into
the country in someone's checked luggage. Regardless, though it is
about 9 and a half feet off the ground, it is very functional.

The most common use for it unfortunately is a game where kids take
turns trying to kick a soccer ball through the 8-inch space between it
and a wall. Now I am by no means a stellar basketball player by
American standards (or even European standards these days), but in
Ethiopia I can hold my own, and serendipitously one of the
tutor/teachers is supposedly on the Ethiopian basketball B-team
(though I'm not sure if this means anything, or is even true), Him and
I fostering the nascent growth of basketball at AHOPE. And we are
succeeding, not that we have brought down soccer or anything (not
that I would want to), but the cumulative field goal percentage as
well as total shot attempts have both increased significantly since my
arrival. Even my skills are a little sharper, though when I get home,
all of my shots will probably be 6inches short (same as it ever was).

When I say goodbye to the kids of AHOPE at the end of this week I'm
not sure how much lasting impact I will have. The kids may forget
their English lessons and their multiplication tables, but I will be
happy if a few more jump shots are going through the net.