Golden Star Resources supports Giants of Africa return to Ghana

After a year’s absence, the continental basketball development programme Giants of Africa (GOA) has announced that they will be returning to Ghana on October 12.

According to a press statement, this year's programme will feature training camps for young basketball talents selected from different parts of the country and Golden Star Resources is the proud lead partner of this year’s national event.

The programme takes place from Friday October 12-14,2018 at the newly built, multi-purpose sports and recreational facility sponsored by Golden Star for the Prestea community.

Over the years, GOA has toured several countries on the continent, providing quality facilities, gear and coaching, with the mission of enriching the lives of African youth and growing the game of basketball.

GOA camps were last held in Ghana in 2015 and 2016 in the nation’s capital, Accra, but this year’s programme will be held at Prestea in the Western Region.

Golden Star has long realized the importance of partnerships in the delivery of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, with the Company having partnered with the government and other development agencies to bring sustainable benefits to its employees and host communities in the past. This partnership between Golden Star and GOA to host a national basketball camp follows that same principle. The facility, which will be managed by the Company and representatives from the community, will be run using best practice business models to expand its use beyond sports. The partnership also aims to equip youth in Golden Star’s catchment communities with leadership skills and to provide them with mentoring support to encourage them to aim high and attain important personal goals, using basketball as the medium.

The top 54 young basketball players (under 18 years of age) from different areas of Ghana will converge in Prestea for coaching and mentorship lessons at the multi-purpose sports facility, which boasts an African-themed playing surface and changing rooms, with ample space to host professional competitions.

Co-Founder of GOA and Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri highlighted the importance of encouraging young people to ‘dream big’ in his statement: “Over the past 15 years I have watched countless timid, hopeful kids transform into inspired, mission-driven leaders as a result of simply being exposed to more. As we work to create greater opportunity for young adults on the continent, expansion is our natural next step in delivering on our mission. Basketball opened so many doors and built me up on many levels, so I’m excited to pay that forward to the next generation of African giants.”

Gerard H.O. Boakye, Group Corporate Affairs Manager, for Golden Star said the partnership is geared at impacting the lives of the entire basketball community, not just the youth in and around Prestea: “As a company, Golden Star has always been interested in youth development, thus most of our CSR initiatives have been geared towards them. This is yet another dimension of youth development, using an appealing tool such as sport as the medium.”

Local GOA coordinator, Kotei Neequaye, shared his excitement about the return of the programme: “Giants of Africa camps improve the skillsets of these selected players and provide an avenue to share some useful life skills with participants.”

David Ashong Addo, President of the Ghana Basketball Association commends the GOA team for their commitment to developing young talents in Africa: “The entire Ghana basketball community is happy with the return of the Giants of Africa camp and looking forward to learning from the experienced coaches.”