Catching Up with Dikembe Mutombo

Don’t get excited-when I write ‘catching up with Mutombo’ I don’t mean I was blessed to meet the big guy-trust me, when I get an interview with him you’ll be the first to know…for now, we’ll have to settle for a great piece from SI.com. (The photo is from Vanity Fair 2007)

Our finger wagging baller has been a very busy humanitarian-as I’ve said before, Deke is a humanitarian first and baller second…and once again, his efforts trump most. His Mutombo basketball kicks by Peak will be released soon-they include his No. 55 and a logo of his finger wagging back and forth. “By the time I retire, I want to see if I can have a shoe that can be sold in Africa that will allow every African child to have the shoes at the low cost of $15 to $20. So every parent can afford to put the shoes on the feet of their kids” he said. Dare I say ‘Yes You Can’? And with much better success than we’ve seen from other-ballers-and-their-low-cost-shoes-sold-at-places-that-go-out-of-business-and-you-don’t-back-it-up with-actions-anyway…but who am I to knock someone for trying…

Deke’s Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital has been open for just over a year. “We have celebrated the first year of the opening Dec. 7,’’ he says, “We celebrate the first year when the world is crashing. Economically the world is crashing, spiritually the world is crashing. There is war all over the places right now, in Africa, in the Middle East, in Southeast Asia. We have to stay strong, to continue to do God’s work. Otherwise all of these people will perish.’’ An American consulting firm has told Mutombo that the hospital may become self-sustaining within another three years. This year, he says, the hospital is in need of $2 million to remain open. “If 100,000 people will each donate $20 to the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, we will have $2 million to give treatment to women and children and the oldest people who are dying every day from malaria. There is a child dying in Africa every 35 seconds. Last year alone more than 2.5 million children died in Africa because of malaria. It costs maybe $10 to treat each person. So imagine when somebody is donating $20, he is already saving the life of a child at the hospital.’’

This is really a simple request from Deke…just 20 bucks. Yeah, the economy sucks. Yeah twenty bucks is a lot of money to some people. But maybe next time you fork over $4.20 for a ‘no-whip grande cap with extra bullshit’ you’ll think about the fact the your spare change can save a life…if not, then your on the wrong blog.

Event Notice
This Sunday at the Saddle Ranch Chophouse on Sunset Boulevard (Los Angeles), LA’s hottest women are going to ride the mechanical bull for charity. Yes I will be there-and no-while I am the queen of (a-hem) bull rider, I will not be riding the bull…I will be interviewing the celebrities in attendance and taking lots of photos…Babes on the Bull…hope to see you kids there.

As always, thanks for reading. Delinda@athlebrities.com