Nneamaka Anyanwu, encouraging the participation of young girls in basketball
Nneamaka (Maka) Anyanwu holds a BS degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a minor in Development Sociology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. She later attended Business School, in which she received a Master’s Degree in International Business Management from Kingston University, London, United Kingdom. She is a former Division 1 Basketball player, Maka played for Cal State Fullerton University and Cornell University.
In Brooklyn, NY, she was Assistant Coach at Sheepshead Bay High School, for the Boys Basketball Team during the 2012-2013 seasons. She has also coached in camps and clinics throughout her collegiate career in Ithaca, NY, Oakland, CA and Vincennes, IN.
Nneamaka has an extensive background working with NGOs over the past 7 years. She started her experience with City Year New York, and served as a Corps Member empowering underperforming, at risk youth through education. She helped them to bridge the educational gap through hard work and dedication. Nneamaka also mentored and guided her students through their internal and external challenges. Next, she led Kechie’s Project as Program Director, an NGO that focuses on empowering young girls through education in Harlem, New York and Nigeria. Later, Nneamaka joined the historical Catholic Charities, New York, in which she was Purchasing Associate. Her work consisted of procurement, finance and administrative duties. She was responsible for overseeing contracts of over 200 programs within the organization. Lastly, she was instrumental in the start-up of Semperfi Childcare Initiative, Lagos, an NGO that provides education and healthcare assistance to indigent students in Nigeria. Her role as Chief Executive Officer enabled her to understand the challenges NGOs face in Nigeria. Her passion for service has proven impeccable. For Nneamaka, this is just the beginning. Girls Basketball Champions Series is a year round initiative that will have multiple sessions throughout the year.
Reason for the initiative
I have dedicated my years to serving others and when I moved to Nigeria, I noticed a big gap in female empowerment and girls’ basketball. Therefore, I decided to start my first initiative that serves the underprivileged girl-child. I realized I could be doing so many other things, like working in Corporate America, but I decided life is more fulfilling when giving back to others. With, Girls Basketball Champions Series, I hope to build up future female leaders and empower them through basketball, education and service. My goal is to use the organisation to build up improvised communities through the work of the girls. I also want to give the girls international exposure and opportunities to live out their basketball dreams.
What are the dates of the program? What happens when the program is over?
Girls Basketball Champions Series is a year round initiative that will have multiple sessions throughout the year. The sessions are as follows:
Two Day Clinic Launch: August 31st and September, 1st, 2018
Session 1: September 4th- September, 29th 2018
Session 2: October 23rd – November 23rd, 2018
Session 3: January 15th – February 16th, 2019
Session 4: March 5th – April 6th, 2019
Session 5: May 7th to June 1th, 2019
Summer Camp: TBA
The following academic year 2019-2020 will have similar dates, the program is designed to parallel the academic school year. There will also be summer camps that will be announced in the near future.
How can they participate and what is the age range?
We are looking for girls ages 11-17 to participate in our clinic launch and to join our program. They can register online at SGELITE.ORG, it will take them less than 5 minutes to fill out the questionnaire.
Worthy of mention
Girls Basketball Champion Series goes beyond basketball we are empowering the girls to become future leaders. We will teach them the value of serving and reaching out to improvised communities. They will have mentors, academic tutors, coaches and staff building them up to be respectable young ladies. We need the community to support the initiative, an initiative driven by sound principles and integrity. The’ Girl Champion’ is the future. We need support from the community, public and private sector, and Nigerian Basketball Federation.
Kemi Ajumobi