International Basketball Players Visit Goma

1.07.2014, Goma, DRC – TMB is proud to support the initiative of the Congolese basketball academy Promo Jeune Basket (PJB) which is organizing the visit of two players from the Belgian national basketball team to Eastern DRC, from 1 to 12 July 2014. PJB in particular notes the support of adidas in this initiative.

Promo Jeune Basket is an organization based in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, that uses basketball to inspire young people to take a serious approach to their education and civil responsibilities. The objective is to educate the youth of Congo so that they can one day become responsible and educated adults who can contribute to the reconstruction of their country. PJB believes that education is essential in the development of a society. At sport level, PJB aims at training a generation of talented basketball players who will be able to represent this sport and their country at the highest level.

Both players from the Belgian national team, Guy Muya and Jonathan Tabu, are Belgians of Congolese origin. After years of training with top Belgian teams they are now key members of the Belgian national basketball team. TMB, PJB and its other partners wanted to offer young Congolese the opportunity to learn from the experience of two professionals in both sport and educational fields. To do this, Guy and Jonathan organized several training sessions in basketball as well as educational sessions during which they discussed their career, the necessary discipline of a professional, and the importance of sharing part of what life is offering with others.

This trip that was made possible thanks to AWBB (Association Wallonie-Bruxelles de Basketball), En Avant les Enfants and TMB, is primarily a message of hope for thousands of young people in the region, a message of encouragement to show them that anything is made possible with work and discipline.

Already in April 2014 TMB had supported a trip to Goma by Yvan Devreught, the coach of the Belgian U-20 national team (the national team of young people under 20). Yvan visited Goma in order to train athletes from PJB and its technical staff. The training was successful and PJB became 2014 North Kivu champions in both the male and female competitions. PJB is now preparing to represent the province in Kinshasa from 10 to 24 August at the Congo Cup.