The concept of giving back to the society has never been more astute as the nobility of Nigerian born NBA superstar, Ejike Christopher Ugboaja, who has since his drafting into the NBA back in 2006, created enabling opportunities for fellow Nigerians.

Replicating his own opportunity, Ugboaja set up a charitable organization that provides educational opportunities for young people through sports.

The Ejike Foundation has since inception elevated over a hundred youths from impossibility to possibility. The foundation holds a summer camp yearly where various Nigerian youths are given the opportunity to express their potentials and many of them given scholarship to build a career.

Ejike Christopher Ugboaja was the first Nigerian drafted into the NBA, the highest Basketball body in 2006. He was drafted into the Cleveland Cavaliers as a first African drafted directly from Africa, Nigeria to be precise. A passionate man, Ugboaja did not wait a year to create a channel for such opportunities for his fellow countrymen as he set up a foundation that secures scholarships for potentials in America.

Thus far, the organisation has recorded multiple successes. It has secured scholarships in high schools and colleges across the United States for the athletes selected from its annual summer camps which are held in a number of major cities in Nigeria including Zaria, Yenegoa, Otukpo, Kaduna, Abuja and Uyo. Whilst the College Scholarships are fully comprehensive, the High School scholarships cover just the tuition of the students, which leaves the foundation with the responsibility of catering for their living expenses.

The support shown by the foundation for youth athletes in Nigeria is unprecedented, with a high turnout of participants at its annual camps. In June this year, over 1,300 athletes with the hope and aim of securing a brighter future showed up for the 2014 Summer Camp in Uyo. They trooped in from different parts of the country in groups and individually, with the objective of putting on a good show in the various sporting activities, to ensure they get selected. Out of the 1,300, 196 athletes (American Football – 86; Male Basketball – 70; Female Basketball – 40) were selected at the campgrounds.