Western Kenya and Kisumu county specifically has always been considered as the dominant origin of the best basketball talent in the country and beyond. However, there has been a gap in the development of youth on the right fundamentals at an early age ( 8-18YRS ) resulting in a large exodus and in some cases exploitation of young basketballers to other regions. Additionally, there is a high prevalence of drug abuse amongst the youth due to lack of proper guidance. These issues necessitated the formation of Urbanville Basketball program to help in mitigating & offering alternative solutions.
Our vision is to (develop into a sports academy that will) nurture, grow and develop youth from Kisumu and the larger Western Kenya region into becoming successful and valuable members of society through sports, education and socio-economic youth empowerment initiatives.
Urbanville youth basketball club was formed in the year 2012 and officially registered in 2013 with the main objectives of:
1. Tapping into the predominant basketball talent pool that exists in Kisumu and western Kenya for skill development in the game of basketball mainly through Fundamental and basic skills’ development through camps.
2. Creating a platform for youth to exhibit their basketball talent through tournaments and a team participating in the Kisumu county Basketball League.
3. Offering a platform through which young boys and girls can get academic and athletic scholarships & assistance to join institutions ( Secondary schools and Universities ) both in Kenya and abroad hence getting a much-needed avenue to further their education with fewer constraints.
4. Converging and mobilizing various resources to assist the youth in engaging in social-economic activities for self-sustenance and development, progressively helping to keep youth out of harmful activities such as drug abuse and crime that are prevalent, especially in the low-income urban areas.
5. providing mentorship to the youth through networking with professionals in different sectors to provide guidance towards the youth realizing their respective divergent career aspirations.
ACTIVITIES, FUNDING & RESPONSIBILITIES
Our activities also include social responsibility engagements where we visit and assist childrens’ homes and orphanages and spend quality time with our less fortunate brothers and sisters ( Photos attached ) . This is one way through with participants are encouraged to add value to society and impact the larger community as a whole.
Our activities have mainly been funded in the past through personal donations and donations from Organisations and we are looking to continue working with like-minded progressive organisations and individuals towards creating even more opportunities for the youth through the initiative(s) as we work on ways and means to create sustainable income streams in the near future.
OUR CORE VALUES
The core value for the initiative is based on discipline which is the basis of all other values and virtues that are impressed upon the youth in the program to enable them excel in Basketball, academics and as members of the larger community.
Urbanville basketball has a motto of “ Value beyond success “ which reminds the participants to not only strive to be successful in what they do but also to add value to those they are able to impact through sharing what they have learned and experienced. We have 5 main priorities that are our parameters for success & value: God first, Family, Academics, Friendship & basketball excellence.
The youth group has a current membership of over 40 youth both young men and ladies who participate in different activities as per the calendar including camps, tournaments, and the Kisumu County League where they have managed to excel throughout the time they have participated. The club teams have also taken part in 3 National Qualifying tournaments ( 2013, 2015, and 2019 ) and are scheduled to attend this year’s tournament as well.
We have had several camps since 2016 with the guidance and facilitation of senior local coaches and international players and coaches and in partnership with individuals and organizations from Kenya, Uganda, The U.S, and Germany. Two boys were picked in 2019 on scholarship to study and play in the US ( Ricky Omondi & Kjellan Otieno ) with 3 more ( 2 boys and one girl ) scheduled to join them this year based on a partnership program with Big Dream Vision, a U.S based organization. We have also been able to assist more than 30 kids to get scholarships in institutions in Kenya & Uganda over the period of existence through scouting opportunities at camps and tournaments.
Reviews
Awards
2013
KCBL
2015
KCBL LEAGUE
2019
KISUMU CLASSIC
2020
Urbanville Basketball Tournament
2012
MLS League Cup
Our sponsors
