Former Fordham hoops star Mo Akiode has made an Olympic team and started a non-profit organization. But she’s about to embark on her toughest challenge yet — three weeks of government-mandated “boot camp” in her native Nigeria.
Mo Akiode couldn’t be prouder of the alums of her hope4girls program who’ve gone on to play ball at U.S. colleges. But even more than their athletic accomplishments, she’s proud of how far they’ve come in their educations.
Both the under-16 boys and girls basketball national teams were in line to compete in Egypt this past month, and the under-19 girls had qualified to compete in the world championships in Chile. Two weeks before Chile, however, there was a report in the media that the basketball federation would be pulling out of the under-16 and under-19 tournaments because of a lack of money.
Source: Nigeria’s light fails to shine
Felecia Ayietan is 6-foot-6 and growing every day on the basketball court and even more so as a person. At 12, Felecia Ayietan was one of the youngest campers during the inauguration of Hope4Girls Africa. Now, approaching her 14th birthday next week, I can’t help but think how far she’s come and how much further she will reach.
