The Adeola Oluwatoyin Ajayi Foundation Basketball Camp came to a close on Friday in Otta, Ogun State with over 150 kids in attendance.
Adeola Ajayi, the initiator of the programme and former Nigeria basketball player was full of joy at the turnout of young players and coaches that were present to teach the kids the rudiments of the game.
Also on ground were American basketball coaches, Curtis Berry who also played professional baseball in Europe for over 15 years.
As part of activities in this year’s edition, the Adeola Ajayi Foundation renovated a school, the Otta basketball court and a classroom block, provided hundreds of basketball kits and apparels for the programme.
Proprietor of Dodan Warriors Basketball Club, Colonel Sam Ahmedu (Rtd), who was present in Otta for the camp was full of commendations for the event. “I am moved by Ajayi’s gesture. We have a lot of Nigerian players based abroad but only a few have come back home to give back to the society. The camp is a development in the right direction. It is a wakeup call to other Nigeria internationals to help develop our sport because if we wait for the basketball federation, not much can be achieved.”
The 2023 Adeola Ajayi Basketball Camp shelved the usual visit to charity home in Ogun State but instead visited some of the campers from the neighborhood that their parents are widows or that are struggling financially and provided half bags of rice (55lbs) for each family.
According to Adeola, “We visited 8 families in total. 440 lbs of rice distributed in total. And we also visited the house the founder lived in while he was in Nigeria.
“And our visiting coach, Curtis Berry was able to witness the poverty level of these families first hand. According to him, “I’ve been around the world; I’ve never seen anything like this. I apologise to Adeola Ajayi for not fully believing in him when he tried to explain the situation. You won’t understand until you see it yourself.”