Rose Contributes to Mutumbo’s Congo Cause

Opponents on the court for Monday evening’s Suns-Rockets contest, Phoenix’s Jalen Rose and Houston’s Dikembe Mutumbo teamed up before the game for a very special cause. In an effort to support Mutumbo’s Biamba Marie Mutumbo Hostpital and Research Center located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rose presented the All-Star center with a check for $100,000.

“We’re trying to help kids and the people of his native Congo and I’m excited to be a part of it,” Rose said. “To be one of the guys to help contribute to something that monumental is something I love being part of.”

The facility – named after Mutumbo’s late mother – opened in 2006 and features 300 beds which provide desperately needed healthcare to the impoverished population. One out of every five children in the Democratic Republic of Congo do not live to see their fifth birthday, diseases including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, measles and cholera infecting millions.

“Contributing this facility just means so much to me,” Mutumbo said. “It’s something I’ve been trying to do for ten years, and it really has been like a dream come true.”

Rose’s donation will help provide a new operating room for the hospital, the former teammate of Mutumbo knowing exactly how appreciated his efforts are by the Houston Rocket.

“He’s been passionate about this for years,” Rose said. “It’s a very noble thing he’s doing and I’m happy to be a part of it. It’s something I’d like to be a part of someday with my hometown of Detroit.”

Rose and Mutumbo were teammates for two seasons in Denver, the center watching the young point guard Rose blossom before his eyes. Each has journeyed the NBA quite a bit since that time, but both remember that special bond formed in the mid 1990s.

“I was a mentor to Jalen his rookie year and he’s become a friend over the years,” Mutumbo said. “He sets such a great example and shows that we really can make a difference in this world.”

Added Rose, “Dikembe was a great teammate, especially for a point guard because he fished down low, blocked every shot and got every rebound. He was a point guard’s dream.”

Not wanting the attention for his donation, Rose at first attempted to give Mutumbo the check in private. Something the 7-2 center would have no part of.

“I didn’t want to do the presentation before the game, but he told me he’d strangle me if I didn’t do it,” Rose laughed. “He wanted to make sure he got his check.”