Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Sports News

Former NBA player Bol helping Sudanese

|
|
 
  
Published: Nov. 4, 2009 at 2:05 PM

ROCHESTER, N.Y., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- Former NBA player Manute Bol says despite his serious physical ailments he is heading back to his native Sudan to help the poor.

The Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle reported Wednesday the 7-foot-7 Bol, who was in a wheelchair because of arthritis, spoke of his intention to travel to Sudan next Monday to assist the struggling African nation through the non-profit Sudan Sunrise program's education and reconciliation efforts.

Bol, 47, who retired from the world of basketball in 1995 and was seriously injured in a 2004 taxi cab accident, spoke in Monroe County Tuesday about how many children in Sudan are forced to walk miles to reach a teacher and write in the dirt since they have no schools.

"They have no shoes," Bol said. "When they go back (home), they might not have food. That's why I help."

Bol's Monroe County appearances were sponsored by the University of Rochester.

The Democrat and Chronicle said while a 2005 peace agreement helped end a 20-year civil war in Sudan, the African country is facing new crises in the form of poverty and famine.

© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Women's Olympic soccer qualifiers Paterno remembered at Penn State Cheerleaders of 2012
Additional Sports News Stories
1 of 15
Rose McGowan at The Heart Truth's Red Dress Fall 2012 Collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week In New York
View Caption
fark
Subby, for one, welcomes our new Pennsylvania Purple Squirrel overlords (with purple-pic)
The toughest place to be a train driver
"Can a man be 'slut-shamed?'" Well...yeah
Problem: You have a city full of people who have no ability whatsoever to parallel park. Solution:...
38KKK air bags keep woman safe in car crash
NJ DOT committee presents recommendations on ways to reduce train-related deaths. #1: Stop getting...