NEW YORK, Aug. 10 -- One of the highlights of Basketball without Borders Africa will be the dedication of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation Dormitories at Ithuteng Trust, a school for troubled and underprivileged youth in Pimville, South Africa, on Thursday, September 9 at 2:00 p.m. featuring NBA Hall of Famer and NBA Legend Bob Lanier and NBA players from 10 different teams taking part as coaches for the camp including New York Knicks teammates Kurt Thomas and Mutombo and NBA players from Africa DeSagana Diop and Ruben Boumtje Boumjte.

The newly constructed dormitories, the first of its kind at the school which will provide proper housing facilities for the many orphans who live on school grounds, were the result of a donation made by the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation during last year’s Africa 100 Camp.

Sept. 6-10, 2004 Johannesburg, South Africa American International School of Johannesburg

Last year’s trip to South Africa also featured Read to Achieve events and the unveiling of what was then the first Reading and Learning Center outside North America at Ithuteng Trust, a Youth Empowerment Program founded in 1990 by Jackey “Mama Jackey” Maarohanye. The school works to assist “at risk youth” with life skills and education. The Trust instills love, discipline, responsibility and respect to the almost 2,500 students enrolled in the peer tutoring educational program. Most of these students come from extremely poverty-stricken families and the majority are orphans due to political violence, crime and AIDS. The students meet after school as well as on weekends to tutor each other, study, participate in sports and musical activities, using music as a mechanism for healing.

“I feel very happy to come back to South Africa and help Mama Jackey and the Ithuteng Trust,” said Dikembe Mutombo. “These dormitories were in need for a very long time, and I am happy that the NBA has helped us to build an environment that will be a safe haven for children for years to come.”

Basketball without Borders highlights the league's strong and lasting commitment to creating programs that improve the quality of life for all people and has created and implemented programs that address important social issues, with a special emphasis on reading and on-line literacy initiatives for children. Each year the league, its players and its teams donate millions of dollars and thousands of hours to charities and community outreach programs. The camp, which will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, September 6-10, at the American International School of Johannesburg, is co-organized by the NBA, FIBA and BSA and sponsored by Molten, Reebok, South African Airways, Spalding and Sprite, among others.

In addition to basketball instruction and competition, the young players, 16-18 years of age, taking part at the camp will share living quarters with their new teammates and participate in daily seminars featuring Lanier that promote leadership and healthy living, HIV/AIDS and drug abuse education and prevention.

“The NBA is committed to use the sport of basketball as an international language to promote global friendship and sportsmanship,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern. “Through Basketball without Borders, we bring together young people from all walks of life to create important dialogue and to teach them about important social issues such as HIV/AIDS education and prevention.”

The U.S. Embassy in Pretoria and the U.S. Consulate in Johannesburg will again partner with the NBA in activities scheduled during this year's Basketball without Borders camp, including activities focused on HIV/AIDS education and prevention and other community outreach. “We are very pleased to assist Commissioner Stern and the NBA with the Camp," says U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Dr. Jendayi Frazer. "Basketball is a special sport. It has been a positive influence in the lives of millions and millions of young men and women. If we can help share the sport with South Africans, we're more than happy to do that.”

The American International School of Johannesburg, last year’s location for the Africa 100 Camp, will again host Basketball without Borders Africa. Co-organized by the NBA, FIBA, and BSA, the camp is sponsored by Molten, Reebok, South African Airways, Spalding and Sprite, among others. Joining Mutombo at the camp will be Minnesota Timberwolves center Michael Olowokandi (Nigeria), Cleveland Cavaliers teammates Ruben Boumtje Boumtje (Cameroon) and DeSagana Diop (Senegal), Dallas Mavericks center Shawn Bradley, San Antonio Spurs forward Malik Rose, Portland Trail Blazers forward Zach Randolph, New York Knicks forward Kurt Thomas, Toronto Raptors center-guard Chris Bosh and Toronto Raptors forward-guard Michael Curry, who is also President of the National Basketball Players Association. In addition, NBA coaching and team personnel from 10 different NBA teams including Detroit Pistons President of Basketball Operations Joe Dumars, Toronto Raptors assistant coach Alex English and Dallas Mavericks assistant coach Donnie Nelson will coach at the camp. The camp’s directors Dallas Mavericks Director of Scouting Amadou Fall, a native of Senegal, and Sam Vincent, head coach of the South African national team, also headed last year’s Africa 100 Camp.

Since its founding in 1946, the NBA has truly become a global phenomenon that transcends national boundaries. With 29 teams in the United States and Canada, NBA games and related programming are broadcast to 212 countries in 42 languages; they are one of the largest suppliers of sports television and Internet programming in the world. The NBA is a recognized leader in global sports marketing with 13 offices around the world. At the end of the 2003-04 NBA regular season, the League featured 67 international players from 33 countries and territories on team rosters, resulting in global media coverage and increasing fan interest worldwide. The NBA works with its strong roster of global marketing partners to create integrated marketing platforms for many of the world’s most recognizable brands. For more information on the NBA, visit www.NBA.com.