Five years ago I set up the Bismack Biyombo foundation in the Goma and Lake Kivu area, where we run an elite free school for kids, we upgrade hospitals, we run free mobile health clinics, and do everything we can to help. We are already on the ground helping victims and their families in and around Goma, but we desperately need more supplies, donations, and your help.
The DRC is a large nation, in fact it's the second largest country in Africa, but the Eastern part of it is where I am from. It’s the exact same part that is getting slammed by this volcano, earthquakes, fires, and a sea of deadly lava.
Please, if you can, visit my Foundation Site and donate whatever you can to help. It’s all good. This is truly one of the worst disasters that has ever struck my homeland and people, please help us. Thank you and God Bless. ]]>From the beginning, one of the primary goals of the Bismack Biyombo Foundation was to improve hospitals and access to healthcare in Bismack’s home country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Most DRC hospitals were in poor condition, basic needs were not being met, and primary medical supplies were in short supply.
So starting in 2016, the Foundation set out to improve the quality of care for six medical centers across the DRC by upgrading equipment and facilities, while also operating mobile clinics in rural regions. Plans for building new hospitals were also in development – when everything changed fast.
Fast forward to Spring 2020 when COVID-19 hit. In a country of over 80 million people, there were only 50 oxygen masks in existence in all hospitals combined, and very few face masks or other vital equipment. Facing an unprecedented public health crisis, Bismack and the Foundation sprang into action.
“How can we save lives and prevent more people from getting infected?,” Bismack asked himself and his team. And with that question, the Foundation’s goals immediately shifted to addressing the crisis head-on.
As the virus began to spread across Africa, Bismack donated one million dollars and critical supplies to combat the crisis, including 10,000 face masks, 780 hazmat suits, medical beds, and more. Bismack’s Foundation was established to make a difference, and suddenly this difference was between life and death.
Throughout 2020 and into 2021, the Foundation’s work – timely hospital upgrades, new equipment drops, and supply distribution network – saved lives. All of this was possible because of volunteers, Foundation staff, partner healthcare workers, and donors from across the world.
If you can, please join Bismack’s ongoing efforts to improve the lives of so many people in this critically underserved part of the world. Even small donations can make a big difference in the lives of so many. Visit bismackbiyombofoundation.org for more information on how you can help change this world for the better.
As Bismack likes to say, "We’re gonna keep putting out our effort and coming up with solutions. And I think we’re gonna get there.”
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The Kivu School is fully internationally accredited, and is a modern facility, equipped with 21 classrooms, library, computer lab, and sports facilities, including the country’s first covered basketball court. The school’s curriculum, in addition to teaching reading, math, and science, offers students French and English classes so they will have better career prospects both in the DRC and internationally.
Despite the COVID pandemic, The Bismack Biyombo Foundation plans to open a second school in the city of Lubumbashi sometime during 2021. Lubumbashi is Bismack’s hometown, so this project hits home. As he recently told NBC News, “I’ve learned so much, now I can use that to go back home and motivate a lot of kids, use that to put new ideas in them. Hopefully, now that we’ve started the work, they have a different understanding of life. They want to be somebody in life.”
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I created my foundation to build schools and sports facilities back home in the DRC.
We needed to help these kids dream, and we needed to be part of the solution. My Foundation’s work has been profiled in many newspapers, magazines, TV shows and more. Every day we serve hundreds of kids and families in need. We welcome and thank you for your support.
When the Covid crisis began we knew we needed to help out. Africa is not well-equipped medically as it is. So my Bismack Biyombo Foundation donated more than 10,000 face masks and 780 hazmat suits to people in my homeland. Supplies worth roughly $1 million. As the crisis deepened, we donated even more. One focus of my Foundation was already to refurbish Congolese hospitals, so we worked hard and fast to update facilities to prepare and protect.
The goal for me in building the Kivu School was to reach as many kids as possible and give them the best opportunities, because I didn’t have that. All of my past struggles led to a point where I have to do something, so that this generation and the next don’t have to suffer what I suffered. I was inspired by my countryman, the great Dikembe Motumbo who continues to give back so much to our people. Learn more.
After the summer of my NBA rookie year, and as soon as I could afford to, I traveled back to my homeland and founded basketball camps for kids. There were so few resources available, I even brought basketballs and shoes. Later, with sponsors, we provided more equipment for the kids and built courts, including the nation’s first covered basketball court. I knew firsthand how basketball changes lives and brings people together.
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I had made six, and I just needed one more to make the money, and it came down to the final shot. I missed it.
Mike looked at me and I thought he wanted to collect and taunt me, but he said. "I don't need your $1,000. I was just trying to teach you a lesson. This is how you're going to play, like you're playing for something every night."
I never forgot that moment, and I’ve played hard ever since. Every play. I always play with purpose, like every second matters.
My best advice to you whatever your goals are: find a way to increase the stakes. Find a way to practice and get better under pressure whenever you can. Learn to play for something every night.
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