'Hoops For Hope' In Africa

Three East Hamptoners who use basketball as a means to work with youth - Mark Crandall, William Hartwell, and Anthony Allison - have formed a nonprofit organization, Hoops for Hope, that they hope will not only spur the growth of the sport in South Africa and Zimbabwe's high-density suburbs, but also will serve as a link between young people of the South Fork and the South Bronx and those of Cape Town, South Africa, and Harare, Zimbabwe.

Mr. Crandall, 28, a graduate of East Hampton High School and the University of Vermont, who first went to Zimbabwe as a Rotary exchange student while in high school a dozen years ago, has come to spend part of the year in southern Africa, helping to run a popular sports camp in Harare and working with young people in Cape Town, who, were it not for the recreational outlets that he helps provide, could be expected to roam about in gangs.

"Like A Whirlwind"

South Africa's minister of sport, Steve Tshwete, has said that "basketball has hit our shores like a whirlwind."

But the boom in interest there has not been accompanied by the courts, hoops, backboards, sneakers, uniforms, and so forth that are required in order for the sport to take hold.

That's where Hoops for Hope comes in. "There are only eight courts for eight million people in Soweto, for instance," said Mr. Crandall during a recent conversation. "When I visited in '94, I had this idea: There's a lot of equipment here, we have practice uniforms here, balls, sneakers.... Sneakers that would be thrown out here would be highly utilized over there...."

South African Effort

There were, said Mr. Crandall, South Africans who were doing things - chiefly, Liz Bester, a former provincial player who oversees the highly successful Hout Bay Dolphins basketball program, and Terry Kita, a Zairian pro who "travels all over with six portable hoops in his truck and gives massive clinics."

"I help both of them when I'm there, in the townships and high-density suburbs around Cape Town. That's who Hoops for Hope is linking up with. Liz says a new team calls her every day. But there are no resources. The kids have a lot of time on their hands, but no place to play. They take public transport many miles to get to what courts there are."

"There's a big need for uniforms of any kind," Mr. Crandall continued. "That's one of our goals. We're writing all the athletic directors in New York State to ask them for matching uniforms of any kind. Bill Hudson [of East Hampton], who donated about $2,000 last summer, is also donating 600 T-shirts with 10 different colors and sizes."

"We're also building a couple of courts. There are a lot of concrete surfaces lying about idle. We want to get the government's permission to convert those spaces into courts. Liz and Terry will do that. Local guys will construct the hoops and backboards. Cape Town's a windy city, so they'll have to come up with sturdy hoops. We estimate that a set of hoops will cost $500."

"Got To Do It"

Mr. Crandall essentially is transferring to Zimbabwe and South Africa methods of youth counseling that Mr. Hartwell has used on the South Fork for years.

"When I mentioned the idea to William," said Mr. Crandall, whose East Hampton Sports Camp participates in various activities with Mr. Hartwell and Mr. Allison's Camp Hampton, "he said, 'Oh yeah, we've got to do it.' "

All three have found that basketball is an excellent means of connecting with kids. "Basketball helps you get to the next level," said Mr. Allison, who has worked with at-risk young people throughout the world. He added, "As Maya Angelou said, 'If you're not thinking of someone else, you're not living.' "

"The kids here are used to having the resources," said Mr. Hartwell. "It's altogether different in Africa. The one thing they have there is space, but with the space comes trouble. We've got to help them have things that we here take for granted. Then the kids here, if they give their old sneakers, for instance, will feel they're helping to make a difference."

Mr. crandall said that "the life changes" that Bester had helped bring about in Hout Bay had been "amazing. Through her persistence she got them a set of hoops and balls, and started to coach. It's been an experiment in basketball. The town and the kids have completely changed around. The court has become a focal point of pride. The kids under 14 pick up the game so quickly, and the older kids are progressing very well. They begin not being able to look you in the eye or dribble the ball."

As examples, he offered half-a-dozen statements by Hout Bay teens included in the Hoops for Hope brochure.

"Never did I think basketball would change my life," writes Dawn Douw, a 13-year-old. "My work has improved. I was a child always bored at home. When I told my parents about this sport, they told me to go and join and that I would never get this opportunity again. If I think back most of us would be gangsters today. Basketball has changed the lives of many youngsters. When I am older I would like to teach children to play this game. Out of basketball I have learned self-control and to be on time for any outings or practices."

A Web Site

The linkage that Hoops for Hope hopes to promote should be abetted soon by a Web site that is being designed for it by the I.Q. Company of New York City. "That way," said Mr. Crandall, "we'll be able to link schools, such as Bridgehampton or those in the South Bronx with schools on that side. Maybe sister and brother exchanges will come about to further bridge the gap. We can talk together using the computer. It would expand awareness on both sides."

Mr. Crandall added that he had found during the Hoops for Hope's organizational period - Mr. Crandall, Mr. Hartwell, Nick Scoppetta, New York City's children's advocate, and Mr. Allison make up its board of directors - "people have always been willing to help. It's been so inspirational. The whole idea and the progression of Hoops For Hope has been positive. It's bringing out the best in people."

As for the kids, "It's a fundamental right to have fitness and fun," he said.