[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            A SALUTE TO THE DIKEMBE MUTOMBO FOUNDATION, INC.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. LOUIS STOKES

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 1998

  Mr. STOKES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to a very 
worthy cause. On Friday, June 26, the Board of Directors of the Dikembe 
Mutombo Foundation will hold a special celebration dinner. I am proud 
to speak to you today about this organization.
  Atlanta Hawks player Dikembe Mutombo created the Dikembe Mutombo 
Foundation in 1997. He wanted an organization that would fulfill his 
longstanding desire to aid the plight of health care in Africa, 
particularly in his native homeland of Kinshasa, located in the 
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  In the Congo, children die every day from curable diseases, the sole 
reason being lack of adequate health care resources. The Foundation was 
created to address that problem as well as to ensure that immunization 
programs are available, and to improve the health, education, and 
quality of life for the people of the Congo. Another of the 
foundation's major projects is to build a General Hospital in Kinshasa, 
the capitol city.
  The humanitarian efforts of the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation are merely 
an extension of Dikembe Mutombo's personal efforts. Off season, Dikembe 
has made four goodwill ambassador trips in five years to Africa. In 
1996, he provided uniforms and expenses for the women's basketball team 
from the Congo during the Centennial Olympic Games in Atlanta. He has 
served as the international spokesman for CARE--an international relief 
effort organization. He travels throughout Africa on behalf of the NBA 
performing at basketball clinics for as many as 2,000 children per day.
  Dikembe is also involved with the Strong STARTS (Schools Taking 
Action to Reach Troubled Students) program. Strong STARTS is designed 
to reach the growing number of adolescents suffering from untreated 
emotional disorders that impair academic performance and social 
achievement. He serves as a spokesperson for the Atlanta Hawks Team Up 
program. Team Up's foundation is making a difference in the community. 
It encourages middle school students to take an active role in their 
communities from conducting canned food drives and toy drives to 
recycling cans and working at a local senior citizen's homes and soup 
kitchens.
  Dikembe visits local schools with the message of overcoming 
adversity, and promoting reading. Along with his promotion of good 
study habits and staying in school, Dikembe tapes Public Service 
Announcements on violence prevention, volunteerism, and not smoking.
  Mr. Speaker, Dikembe Mutombo is a role model to many with his 
humanitarian efforts and selfless giving. He provides opportunities to 
many underprivileged children and remains a man who stays in contact 
with his native homeland. As a child, Dikembe had hopes of becoming a 
medical doctor, in an attempt to aid those in need in his hometown. His 
career as a pro athlete with the NBA has taken him down a different 
paths. Dikembe has still managed to fulfill his childhood dream, by 
aiding not only his hometown, but those in the Atlanta and 
international community as well.
  I would like to thank my colleagues for allowing me this time to give 
a special thanks to the Dikembe Mutombo Foundation, Inc., and to 
Dikembe Mutombo.

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