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Senegalese Basketball Legend Helps Motivate Girls
By Scott Stearns
Photo: VOA
Photo S. Stearns
Girls in Dakar,
Senegal play basketball in Anne Marie Dioh's after-school program
Senegalese
basketball legend Anne Marie Dioh is helping to train the next
generation of women basketball players in her country. Dioh is making a
difference through her after-school program that also encourages young
people to stay in school.
Anne Marie Dioh captained Senegal's women's basketball team to two
African championships in the early 1990s. The retired shooting guard
now helps girls learn the game she loves in a country where women's
athletics are overshadowed by men's teams.
Dioh says that everything she knows about sports and basketball she must
pass on to young people. And that is what pushed her to create this
school.
Players from across Dakar come to Dioh's after-school program three
times a week for basketball and the structure of organized athletics.
Dioh says
that helps her draw in the children, so they can stay in school, learn
and play basketball.
Renata Maniaci is a Fulbright scholar from the United States who has
spent the last year studying women's basketball in Senegal.
"This teaches them discipline," said Maniaci. "A lot of the ex-national
team players say that the most important thing that they learned playing
basketball was discipline, hard work and respect for each other, respect
for the people they play against... And I see a lot of the girls
learning that here every day with Anne Marie."
With girls from six to 18 years of age, the program builds camaraderie
among teammates who often play together in neighborhood tournaments
season after season.
Abibatou Diallo is a point guard on the school's cadet team.
Diallo says the program has changed her life. She says she could not
play basketball before; now she can. She says she started when she was
six years old and that she is now one of the best players at the school.
Dioh says that a successful career on and off the court shows her
players that women have the power to create their own opportunities.
Dioh says these girls are not necessarily going to play basketball for a
living; they can be other things. She says they can be referees. They
can be coaches or even international players who represent their
country.
Renata Maniaci says Anne Marie Dioh is a role model for a generation of
young Senegalese women.
"They see Anne Marie and they see what she has become and how much she
has given back to the women who play basketball. So it really gives
them something to strive for," added Maniaci.
Student Abibatou Diallo says she has learned what it takes to succeed.
Dioh, she says, is her idol. She wants to be like her, do what she did
and play like her.
Diallo was one of Dioh's first players. But when her father died,
Diallo's family could no longer afford the program's fees. Dioh kept
her on the team because she says this time in her life is not about
making money.
Anne Marie Dioh uses her university salary to subsidize the cost of
insurance and uniforms for the team. She says the children who cannot
pay are often the players who work the hardest and that she does not
want to hold them back simply because of money. |
