Athletic Equipment Africa-Bound 5,000 Pounds Of Sports Gear Amassed In Community Drive

Two and a half tons of sports equipment bound for Rwanda were loaded Wednesday on a C-130 transport plane at Fairchild Air Base.

Shipment of 5,000 pounds of basketballs, soccer balls and athletic shirts to the African nation is the culmination of a community drive initiated by Spokane businessman Rocky Rothrock, whose son Brad works with Catholic Relief Services in Rwanda.

Donations were solicited in June during Hoopfest, Spokane’s 3-on-3 street basketball celebration.

Senior Airman Dan Skurka said, “The people of Spokane got this off the ground. … We’re just the federal express part of the project.”

Skurka said 3,000 new basketballs, roughly 2,000 soccer balls and 1,500 athletic shirts will go to the country torn by a 1994 civil war.

Pumps to inflate the equipment will also be on board, Skurka said, when the shipment goes to Norfolk, Va., and on to Nairobi, Keyna Feb. 18.

Rothrock arranged for the transfer under the auspices of of the Department of Defense. The DOD is authorized to ship privately raised foreign assistance on government aircraft under the Denton Amendment to Title X of the Foreign Assistance Act, Skurka said.

Rothrock said former U.S. Rep. Tom Foley helped point the way through governmental channels.

“Some of the basketballs I looked at are signed by children,” said Skurka, the air base liaison with Rothrock.

Basketballs were purchased through an arrangement with the distributor of Baiden basketballs and Hoopfest officials. The shirts are the ‘95 Bloomsday T-shirts.

“A military shipment like this bypasses potential problems, like local customs,” Skurka said. “The equipment winds up in the right hands.”

The destination is Kigali, Rwanda.

The equipment, Brad Rothrock says, can “foster values” and bridge cultural gaps.

, DataTimes