Image 1- Annette is her name and through her strong presence she was the motivating force behind our girls focused program.

Image 2-a boy wearing his Impano shirt (impano means a special gift in Rwandan)

Image 3- a day of community outreach, donating shoes, school supplies and shirts which resulted in great partnerships and friendships made with the locals of the village http://www.impano.org

 Through my travels to villages in Rwanda, I had eye-opening experiences. In those villages, I met children who were barefoot and lacking proper clothing who nonetheless were very happy, eager and open to showcase their talent for jumping and racing. They played and competed with such a joyous and motivated spirit which naturally inspired questions within me.  What can I do and how can I bring them better lives using what they love and enjoy? What kind of help do they need to thrive and be successful?

Those questions could only be answered by looking back at my own story and what contributed into me surpassing societies expectations on me as an African-American, to having been a professional athlete and now an Ivy League college track and field coach. The answer to that was of course Sport! Being selected and identified for the talent I possessed,training in facilities with full resources, getting the support of committed and dedicated coaches that not only made me a professional athlete  but also a successful individual.

I felt my passion for sport and giving back could be used to help these talented but unfortunately disadvantaged children reach their dreams of one day being professional athletes. 

What will Your Contribution do:

• build a fully equipped gym
• dining area
• library (children will be highly encouraged to be outstanding students as well as athletes)
• locker rooms and showers (for most children this is not accessible in their everyday lives)
• programs will be run successfully (camps and clinics , girls sport programs, academic scholarships)
• local staff will be hired to provide additional coaching and mentorship ,which will create employment opportunities that will benefit the community

How will the center help the children:

•  will keep children from unsanitary play areas,
• by providing a coach who will train and guide them to be the future athletes of Rwanda
• by staying active and motivated it will keep them from falling into unhealthy and dangerous habits
• for children who come from poor families this facility and coaching program will be the only opportunity to developing their talents
• by providing girls focused programs it will have a huge impact in reshaping the role girls and women have with in sports and society
• it will create successful athletes who will look back to what changed their lives and pay it forward

You can help me by taking part through a small contribution that will make a huge difference for these children. 

I will be going back to Rwanda in July to start the first phase of the building and will keep all of you updated through videos both on the website and here with all the smiling faces of the children who hopefully we will all get the chance to watch grow from young vulnerable children to successful athletes. 

For tax deductible contributions you can donate through www.impano.org A 501 (c) (3) organizations I founded with like minded individuals that are working hard to see this through.