‘The key to peace is education’ -
Manute Bol

SHELL
MERA, ECUADOR (ANS)- Manute Bol, the 7-foot-7 NBA superstar and super
humanitarian, died on Saturday, June 19, 2010. He was 47.

“Much has been said and written
about Manute Bol, and most of the focus has been on his fabulous nine-year
career as the tallest person to ever play in the NBA. But there is a much
deeper side to the seven-foot-seven native of Sudan. Although he and his family
lived in Olathe, Kansas, he always called the village of Turalei in Southern
Sudan his home,” said a release from M. Sliwa Public Relations.

It added that Manute often traveled
back to Sudan and spent much time promoting peace, especially in Darfur, and
helping friends and family as much as he can.

“Manute said he was going to
build reconciliation schools in southern Sudan. This from a man who lost 250
members of his own family from religious violence. He put together schools
taught by Christians and Muslims for children who were Christian and Muslim.
They would learn and study under the shade of trees, using sticks and rocks to
write. Manute moved forward to build the first school with the help of
volunteers from all faiths,” said John Zogby, President of Zogby
International, and a Sudan Sunrise board member

An un-educated young man when he
came to the US to attend school and play basketball in 1983, Manute has since
come to place a high value on education. He knows that one of the important
keys to peace in Sudan is education for its children and learning English. As
an active member of Sudan Sunrise he dedicated his life to helping the
Sudanese.

“Sudan and the world have lost
a hero and an example for all of us,” said Tom Prichard, executive
director of Sudan Sunrise, who had worked closely with Bol in the Sudan and
also the U.S.

Sudan Sunrise is a grassroots
movement of Sudanese and Americans working together to facilitate the
reconciliation efforts of all Sudanese. This movement began in 2004 when
Southern Sudanese took aid to refugees from the genocide in Darfur. This aid
effort was extraordinary because the Darfurians had been used by the government
of Sudan in a 22-year war against the Southerners which left 2 million of them
dead and 4 million displaced.

Sudden death

Bol died at the University of
Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, where he was being treated for severe
kidney trouble and a painful skin condition, Prichard said.

Bol was hospitalized in mid-May
during a stopover in Washington after returning to the United States from
Sudan. Prichard said then that Bol was in Sudan to help build a school in
conjunction with Sudan Sunrise but stayed longer than anticipated after the
president of southern Sudan asked him to make election appearances and use his
influence to counter corruption in the county.

He said Bol had undergone three
dialysis treatments and developed Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, a condition that
caused him to lose patches of skin. Prichard said the skin around Bol’s mouth
was so sore he went 11 days without eating and could barely talk.

Prichard said it’s believed Bol
contracted the skin disease as a reaction to kidney medication he took while in
Africa.

Bol’s Legacy

Bol played in the NBA with
Washington, Golden State, Philadelphia and Miami, averaging 2.6 points, 4.2
rebounds and 3.3 blocks for his career. He led the league in blocks in 1985-86
with Washington (5.0 per game) and in 1988-89 with Golden State (4.3 a game).

“Manute’s impact on this city,
our franchise and the game of basketball cannot be put into words,” 76ers
president and general manager Ed Stefanski said in a statement. “He …
was continually giving of himself through his generosity and humanitarian
efforts in order to make the world around him a much better place, for which he
will always be remembered.”

Bol joined the NBA with the
Washington Bullets in 1985 and played three seasons there.. He returned to the
team briefly toward the end of his career. The Wizards [their new name] lauded
him as a “true humanitarian and an ambassador for the sport of basketball.”

“Despite his accomplishments on
the court, his lasting legacy will be the tireless work and causes he promoted
in his native Sudan and the cities in which he played,” the club said in a
statement.

After the NBA, Bol worked closely as
an advisory board member of Sudan Sunrise, which promotes reconciliation in
Sudan.

Note: Sudan Sunrise, a
not-for-profit, non- denominational organization, is a movement of Americans,
Sudanese and others to facilitate reconciliation and solidarity between
Southern Sudanese Christians, Darfurian Muslims and all Sudanese. For more
information on Manute Bol’s schools in Sudan, see: www.sudansunrise.org/programsmanutebol.htm

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About Dan Wooding

Dan Wooding is an award winning British journalist now living in Southern California with his wife Norma, to whom he has been married for 46 years. He is the founder and international director of ASSIST
(Aid to Special Saints in Strategic Times) and the ASSIST News Service
(ANS).

Wooding was, for ten years, a commentator, on the UPI Radio Network in Washington, DC., and now hosts the weekly “Front Page Radio” show on KWVE in Southern California and which is also carried on the Calvary Radio Network throughout the United States. The program is also aired in Great Britain on Calvary Chapel Radio UK. Wooding also a regular contributor to The Weekend Stand on the Crawford Broadcasting Network, and a host for His Channel Live, which is carried via the Internet to some 192 countries. He is the author of some 43 books. Two of the latest include his autobiography, “From Tabloid to Truth”, which is published by Theatron Books.

To order a copy, press this link. Wooding, who was born in Nigeria of British missionary parents, also recently released “God’s Ambassadors in Japan” which is available at amazon.com.

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