NEW DELHI, July 5, 2008 -- The third day of the Basketball without Borders Asia was a loaded day for campers, NBA coaches and players alike. While campers attended a life skills seminar hosted by the Modicare Foundation on HIV/AIDS education and prevention, coaches and players took to the court and hosted a women’s clinic for members of the Indian Women’s Senior and Junior National Teams along with the Delhi girls’ team.

This unique opportunity was the very first time Basketball without Borders has ever featured a program for women. The team took the court bright and early, ready to show their skill and improve their game fundamentals. NBA Coaches not only led drills covering shooting, passing, dribbling, but also talked strategy with the team.

In a country that only knows the rules of cricket, this basketball team is a true demonstration that basketball has no borders and is a sport that transcends all boundaries of age and gender. Many of the players on the team were members of the Delhi Women’s 19 & under team who just won the gold medal at the Indian Championships.

Back at the life skills seminar, tt was obvious that campers had received basic knowledge on HIV/AIDS education and prevention back in their home countries, however they still showed great participation and interest in the class that Modicare Foundation had spent months specially designing it for these athletes. Despite the language barrier that had them break into five groups and hosting the class in two rooms, every camper truly enjoyed themselves and took part actively in discussions and dialogue with their counselors.

Lim Sheng Yu from Singapore and Kim Min Wook from Korea both gave the right answers when asked what “The Red Ribbon” that everyone received signified, “to increase public awareness of HIV/AIDS.”

E to E Learning Center – Education Given Back to the Community
In the alleys of New Delhi housed a brand new Learning Center that was officially dedicated to the community by BWB Asia with Literacy India this afternoon. Painted in bright shades of blue and orange were a new technology center, activity room as well as a vocational center that provided training for women in crafts and other skills, all for the aim of creating a community based livelihood enhancement model to achieve reduction in poverty.

At the dedication ceremony, speakers including Mrs. Malini Thadani from HSBC, Mrs. Mala Ramadorai from TATA, Indraani Singh from Literacy India, Kyle Korver and Pat Garrity all agreed that these children who had been pulled out from the slums were real angels, and hoped that they could truly enjoy the facility.

“Thank you to all the partners who have made this afternoon’s ceremony possible,” said Indranna Singh, founder of Literacy India. “Children, this is a gift to you and we hope that you will truly enjoy using this center whether it is learning or playing in it.” Children were keen to bring players and coaches into the technology center and show them what beautiful pictures they could create on the computer, while some children taught them a game of chess in the activity room. Guests also supported the center by purchasing arts and crafts placed inside the vocation center that had been created by the women under the training of Literacy India.

“Seeing all these little children smiling was an amazing feeling,” a smiling Sam Perkins remarked, “I feel like they touched us more than we touched them.”