A brief encounter in a hospital hallway in Tanzania is what led junior Sohum Kanabar to mix his passion for basketball with helping others.
Kanabar started Hoops4Hopes, a non-profit organization where he conducts basketball training for the youth in the community to raise funds for a young man, Ali, who is living with cerebral palsy. It was Ali’s mother who he met in that hallway across the world and changed the direction of his life.
“While visiting my grandparents, I met this woman dying of cancer and she told me she only had a month or two to live and her main worry was that her son was going to be left behind,” Kanabar said.
The mother told Kanabar that her son, Ali, was 13 years old and has cerebral palsy. The story motivated him to find Ali and also find a way to help.
“I knew I was really passionate about basketball and helping other people,” Kanabar said. “So why not raise money by helping the youth in my community with basketball and raise money for Ali? Hoops4Hopes became a way to bring hope to not only to Ali, but other kids in the community.”
Through basketball training sessions, bake sales and social media campaigns, Kanabar has raised more than $12,000 in the last two years to support Ali’s medical needs.
“We built a roof over his house, and we got him enough food and water to last him six months. He also had never seen TV before so we got him an internet line, a TV and electricity,” Kanabar said. “He was in a really bad wheelchair so we also got him a new one.”
With the money raised, and the Kanabar family’s connection to the hospital in Tanzania, they were able to move Ali into a facility in order to help improve his living conditions and get him better treatment.
“He went through two surgeries so far to open up the nerves in his legs because they’ve been closed off with the way he has been living,” Kanabar said. “Now he has prosthetics and he’s actually doing a lot better, and he’s still working on treatment.”
Balancing school, basketball and a non-profit isn’t easy, but Kanabar sees it as his purpose.
“Growing up, I was a late bloomer for basketball, and I needed a lot of help to build my skills,” Kanabar said. “I knew what it meant to a lot of kids. I knew that parents would love to see their children thrive and get help from someone with experience in sports in the Southlake community. The coolest experience is the differences you could make. I’ve done a lot of charity work and honestly the biggest thing for me is Ali and the help he has been receiving. It’s just the smile on his face when we help him.”
For more information on Hoops4Hopes visit https://www.hoops4hopes.com/.
