AHEAD, Inc. Unveils First-Ever Outdoor Basketball Court in Bukoba District, Tanzania
AHEAD, Incorporated USA, and AHEAD, Incorporated Tanzania in collaboration with the board of directors of the Maruku Secondary School, are excited to unveil a new outdoor basketball court in Bukoba District of Kagera, Tanzania on Monday, July 14, 2025. Located on the campus of the Maruku Secondary School, the facility is the first of its kind in the region and it is expected to provide young boys and girls with the opportunity to play on a FIFA regulation, high quality basketball court. The sports court unveiling will be centered on a seminal 4-day basketball and soccer (futbol) camp for students of the Maruku Secondary School with AHEAD volunteers, schoolteachers, and parent volunteers serving as coaches, counselors and educators. Students have been provided on-line educational video links to being to learn the game of basketball, its rules and drills weeks in advance of the camp, prepared by AHEAD volunteers, to prepare the Maruku School students for this new and exciting basketball experience. Equipment donated to AHEAD by local athletic clubs in the Washington, DC, USA area will be delivered to the Maruku Secondary School.
Speaking about it, AHEAD CEO Donna Williams-Ngirwa, DDS said, “this initiative originated in the summer of 2023, after students at the Maruku Secondary School asked if AHEAD, Inc., would help provide the school with sports equipment. AHEAD volunteers and its leadership heard the request loud and clear and went into immediate action to raise the funds and partner with local contractors in the Bukoba region to design and build this amazing state-of-the-art outdoor facility.” The Maruku Secondary School community also joined in and worked to help clear the construction area, level, and seed the land surrounding the court.
Dr. Williams-Ngirwa acknowledged, “Our mission at AHEAD, Inc., is to reduce and eradicate disease and premature death, cultivate and advance healthy living, and foster sustainable environmental activities to improve the quality of life for vulnerable communities in Africa. Fully equipped with brand new basketball hoops and equipment, the new courts will provide an exciting gathering space for the community and a healthy space for boys and girls of Maruku to learn and play the game. AHEAD Medicine Director, Andrea Williams, MD, MPH, said of the sports court project, “AHEAD’s focus is creating an organized, healthy, fun, and exciting experience for the children, the school and the community that can be replicated and grown, helping to form healthy life styles centered on fitness that will go great lengths in improving community health outcomes and sustainability for the future, which goes to the heart of our mission at AHEAD, Inc.”
Maruku Secondary School Headmistress, Stephania is thrilled as the expediency of this project, noting, “It’s amazing how over the last 20 months this has gone from a student drea to a reality for our students, current and future, our campus, and our community. This is an amazing example of partnerships in action helping in allowing our children spaces to learn, play, work together, and grow.”
We anticipate thrilling unveiling of this fantastic project in July of 2025 and we are currently planning for the AHEAD-Maruku Secondary School Sports Camp for 2026, and look forward to additional partnerships to join in AHEAD’s efforts as we put into manifest the tenets of our organization to create healthy living through sustainable systems of support, while respecting, partnering, and investing in the communal fabric to insure the best outcomes.
