As I alluded to in my introduction to this trip, Mali is orchestrating the largest integrated health campaign in the world. Translation to my sports readers . . the DREAM TEAM of health campaigns. Any time you get a group of All-Stars together, whether they are the best athletes in the world, or public and private organizations dedicated to various health initiatives, leadership becomes the deciding factor in the over-all success. Essentially this campaign could be the greatest “pick-up game” ever played in the health field (with incredible players, but no real direction), or it will be known as the “gold-medalist”– the most productive distribution of targeted health care needs to a country.

In my opinion, the Mali Ministry of Health is Red Arabauch, of this Dream Team, as it is leading the charge with both human resources and financial support. This is important for two reasons, the first of which is that it is much more difficult to help someone who is unwilling to help themselves. In this case, the national government has already established the groundwork to make this a campaign a success. Secondly, when you are pooling the resources and expertise of so many “big-time players” (in this case it would include the UN Foundation, Malaria No More, PMI, WHO and many more) there must be a organized and qualified voice to take the lead, a voice that not only knows the qualifications of the players but that also has a pulse on the community.

As we all know, teamwork is essential to success. I have been amazed at the willingness of these “players” to work together. No egos, no conflict of process or policy, just a willingness for everyone to do their part and also to defer to their teammates in areas where they are more qualified. As we launch this campaign, I am filled with a sense of anticipation.

There is something exciting about putting our best team forward in this ground breaking effort. Knowing that at the end of this week it is not a gold medal we will attain, but rather the knowledge we are not only saving thousands of lives but we are also creating a blueprint for many more successful campaigns to come!

Talking is an integral part of today’s culture, to the point where we can barely wait for the plane to land before we turn on our cell phones. We are constantly in conversation: talking to friends, co-workers, family members or lovers. In America it would be hard for us to imagine this, but what if we were talking and no one could hear us . . . Either our voice was simply too soft or there was no one there to listen. What if you had to rely on someone else to speak for you? What if you were the one speaking on behalf of those who desperately want to be included in the conversation or simply to be heard?

Spokesperson-(n) somebody authorized to speak on behalf of another person or other people.

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to join the NBA and GBC (Global Business Coalition) on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria) where we had a meeting with a group Reuter journalists from around the world talking about the NBA’s partnership with the GBC and the other NBA Cares initiatives as well as Basketball Without Borders. As I talked about my trips to Africa last year, and my upcoming visits to South Africa and Mali I felt unusually emotional. There was also this odd sense of pressure that I don’t usually get when I speak in front of people. It was an uncanny excitement that I had the opportunity to share my thoughts and experiences combined with a sobering sense of responsibility to make sure that I not only relay what I know, but more importantly that I tell the story correctly. You see I am not a journalist or a author, I am not trying to persuade you to my opinion on matters–I am essentially just a VOICE.

Basketball has proven to be the microphone by which my voice is heard. As I head to South Africa with an NGO called Triad (www.triadtrust.org), my voice will be used to not only to teach what I know about basketball as we do camps and clinics, but also to educate the coaches and players about HIV/AIDS and hope to give them information to live healthier lives as well as attempting to eliminate the stigma associated with those diseases. From there I will travel up to Mali with the UN Foundation to participate in the largest integrated net distribution campaign and to talk about the devastating effects of Malaria.

I write this with complete humility, not assuming that my voice is somehow more important than the next, but rather as prelude to the trip I am about to make with recognition of the responsibility I have to tell the stories that I will encounter. It will be my honor to share with you my journey over the next few weeks. . . Perhaps what I am saying will spark some conversation, and through that dialog, an awareness, interest, and desire to get involved will be ignited.

After taking the summer off from blogging, I figured I might “pick up the pen” so to speak and get back to writing. My off-season so far has been a bit chaotic, so I will try to bring you up to speed pretty quick. In the beginning of Oct, I found myself at the National Book Festival in D.C.—this happens to be one of my favorite events. It combines two things I am passionate about: I am an avid reader and I LOVE the NBA/WNBA’s Read to Achieve program that not only creates reading and learning centers for kids, but emphasizes the importance of education and helps to develop a love for reading!! The next stop I found myself in New York for the WNBA’s sales and marketing meetings—as an athlete, it was very educational to understand the business beyond what happens on the court.

Next stop: the mid-west. I spent most of my life on a farm, so there is something comforting about going home to the familiar faces and environment. My high school, North Miami, is literally in the middle of 4 cornfields—I know typical of Indiana. The first event was fundraiser for Nothing But Nets (www.nothingbutnets) where we raised $4,500! Then, I did a free basketball clinic for all the kids of my school. I have to share one quick story with ya: there is a gym full of K-6 graders, so you can only imagine that it was a bit chaotic with basketball going everywhere. One of the little kids accidentally set off the fire alarm, next thing I know the siren is blaring loudly and all my little kids got very quiet and formed a perfect single file line around the gym to go out of the building They were so cute!!

Continuing from Indiana, I headed up to Detroit where Nothing But Nets was doing a city launch. I had the opportunity to talk at the faith breakfast—where I spoke to leaders of many different churches in the area about my experiences from Africa and how they can get involved with our fight of preventing malaria. I also had the opportunity to visit Pare Elementary School. Many people approach me, asking how tall I was in the first grade, ect . . . well obviously I don’t remember stuff like that, but I can guarantee you that my little line on this kindergarten chart would have been the highest line by far!!!

I am currently playing for Lotos, Gdynia (Poland), where we just had 3 days off for Easter. It was not enough time to go home, so I thought I would do the next best thing: go to Israel. I am very open about my Christian Faith, so I thought it would be a unique experience to actually see the places I have always read about.

First of all, the hardest part was actually getting there. Although I was not really scared to travel, I guess the airlines were a bit scared of me—you see coming and going I had to go through extra security checks where it took a couple hours to convince them that my ipod speakers were NOT a bomb. Once I arrived, I was immediately approached by a taxi driver, who kindly offered his services for a “special” price. Since I was in for an hour ride, I asked to look the sports page—to my surprise there was a huge article about Shay Doron (3rd round draft pick for the New York Liberty). There was a lot of national pride for the first Israeli woman to be drafted in the WNBA. I also learned that game 1 of the finals for the women’s league was taking place that night, so of course I made plans to go . . . ironic that I couldn’t escape the WNBA, even on my vacation.

The match-up was Ramla, Plenette Pierson (Detroit), Latoya Thomas (San Antonio), and Monique Currie (Chicago) against Ramat Hasharon who sported Mwadi Mabika (L.A.) and Deanna Jackson (Chicago). Uncertain of what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised. The gym was packed, on one side there were mostly young men (yes, I said men) who stood the whole game, cheering, jumping up and down, and of course harassing the opponent and the officials. The other side were more of average fans, families, and sponsors. Although it was a hard fought game, Ramla came out with the first win of the series.

The rest of my weekend consisted of a few tours, from Old Jerusalem, to Nazareth, to the Dead Sea. I was deeply impacted by the “past” and “present” of what I was experiencing. As I walked down the Via Dolorosa with thousands other people on Friday, retracing the steps that Christ walked, I found myself in awe of the events that had taken place there. For such a small country, it boasts an amazing amount of historical sites.

Then, there was the “present” of the situation. Staying in Jerusalem during the Passover, taught me a lot about the Jewish religion. As I walked though the streets I couldn’t help but to be amazed at the contrasting yet integrated blend of class, culture, and religion. It was a combination of the Orthodox Jew the Muslim and the Christian. Looking around, there were literally people from all around the world, most of which couldn’t communicate if they wanted to, yet they were bound together through the bond of a similar faith (respectively). There are very few things that universally unites people in a way were words are not necessary: Faith and sports are unique in this area.

Have you ever sat next to someone at a game who knew absolutely NOTHING about basketball? Every play they were like a 3 year-old asking, “but why . . .” That’s what I felt like on this trip: clueless, but very interested. Every question I raised brought yet another one to be answered. I felt empowered by the small amount of information I have gained, and with this newly found knowledge comes a privilege and a responsibility to share that with you!! I want you to join with me in this very serious competition that I have recently engaged as a player in: the Game of Eliminating AIDS. Before we begin, I must warn you—it is not your normal game, the setting is real and the stakes are life and death!

Starting line up:

Your first question may be: why should you even be a participant in this game? If a moral conviction isn’t enough to get you signed up, then please note that bad guys have an increasingly negative effect on the global economy and that this pandemic and other related global health issues are continuing to grow at an alarming rate: every day 8,500 people die from AIDS and there are 13,000 newly infected people.

Before we go any farther, I must ask you to do one thing: you must eliminate all misconstrued ideas you might have about our opposition. AIDS is not a disease that only targets promiscuous women, a specific sexual orientation, or drug users. It is the #1 killer in the USA for young African American Women. Testing HIV positive is not a death sentence! Through Anti Retroviral drugs (ARVS), HIV positive people are able to live normal lives. There are 40 million infected HIV positive people around the world, but what you may have failed to realize is how many people are affected by this disease. By 2010, more than 20 million children will be orphaned by AIDS worldwide!

Just like any winning team, we must all work together. Yes, there are some players that are more talented—we can’t all be the “Michael Jordan” of battling this complex opponent, but that doesn’t make our individual contributions any less significant.

As you are debating whether to join our team, you may be wondering what your role is going to be. If you are approaching this competition from a corporate perspective, I strongly encourage you to check out the GBC—it is a coalition that skillfully joins public and private partnerships to produce the maximum influence possible. If you are wondering how one person can make a difference, there are numerous ways you can get involved. You can support the Red Campaign—where a percentage of profits from companies like: Motorola, GAP, MAC, American Express, and many more will be donated toward the Global Fund. You can participate in local AIDS walks to raise support. If you are passionate about one specific area (ex: orphaned children), then find a local or global non-profit organization that focuses its efforts in that category.

Just like in the game of basketball, we all must be educated and aware of the rules by which we are playing. I strongly encourage everyone to know their HIV status. When it comes to this game—ignorance and disinterest are deadly risks to take. Knowledge is not only an empowering resource that allows us to unify in our strategic approach to this fatal opponent, it also allows us to recruit more people to strengthen our team. With all this being said, the ball is now in your court . . . . please don’t stand on the sidelines anymore, we need you in the game!!!