One phone call changed everything... 

In 2014, a group of American high school basketball coaches were invited by the Basketball Federation of Mali to lead an elite basketball camp for the nation’s top teen athletes. The youth they served were driven and hard-working, but lacked many of the skills to succeed. 

Skill wasn’t all these teens were missing. Beneath their drive to succeed in basketball was their desperate search for hope and basic needs. 

Among the most dangerous and poverty-stricken nations in the world, nearly every door is shut to a better future in Mali. 

Terrorism plagues the northern desert region. Poverty and exploitation perpetuate generational illiteracy for millions of children. Living below the international poverty line with few employment opportunities, 80% of Malians depend on farming to make a living. Clean water is inaccessible to 3.4 million people. Positioned in a landlocked desert, finding enough to eat is a daily battle. Their children suffer the most: 1 in 4 children are afflicted by chronic malnutrition, with among the highest rates of acute malnutrition and stunting worldwide. 6.5% of babies die at birth. 

More than half of Mali’s 21 million citizensare under 18 years of age. In a few short years, Mali’s children will have to bear the full weight of the overwhelming circumstances plaguing their nation.

In such devastating conditions, basketball is a uniquely transformational opportunity for Mali’s people. The activity gives families and entire communities a common purpose to rally around with excitement and pride—and hope. With basketball scholarships to attend college in the United States**, young adults can forge a way out of poverty, bringing their families and communities with them.  

The American coaches spent 3 summers in Mali. They befriended teens like Boubacar, for whom basketball was respite from day-to-day survival as he discovered joy in building skill and character. They witnessed many young athletes like Kobe model themselves after local coaches like Gabe in place of absent fathers. 

Through developing character, training athletes and coaches, and increasing access to opportunity, the American coaches saw a future where a movement of young leaders could overcome the circumstances that dominated their nation. At the invitation of the Basketball Federation of Mali, they formed Leather and Iron, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and moved to Mali in 2018 to bring the vision to life. 

Access to quality basketball training is highly competitive. There are 33 official basketball clubs associated with the Basketball Federation, which provides performance-based funding to these clubs. Athletes must pay to play in these elite clubs. Although the Basketball Federation’s 33 clubs collectively train 10,000 youth per week, this opportunity is out of reach for most Malians. In response, Malian communities have created unofficial basketball clubs beyond measure. 

Leather and Iron found its niche in coming alongside these struggling local clubs. Through free equipment and training for coaches, the competitive abilities of athletes and coaches were elevated. To date, we have helped virtually all unofficial and official basketball clubs in Mali. More than 30 of Leather and Iron’s athletes like Kobe have earned college basketball scholarships. 

In 2019, Leather and Iron transformed one of the region’s poorest basketball courts into a fully-equipped basketball court, with a second court built in a rural village soon after. Together, the courts annually have more than 29,000 touches as they serve over 560 children per week. More than 500 basketball games and 2 National team competitions have been played on our courts since their construction. 

We were succeeding in bringing new skills, joy, and opportunities to people who were facing harsh futures. But it wasn’t enough. Although clearly a vital need, basketball alone can’t sustainably transform communities who need help now. 

Reflecting on 6 years of impact through basketball, it became clear that success was not achieved through training athletes alone, but equipping existing coaches to train athletes—impact multiplied. The same applies to the life-or-death needs of Mali. 

While having good intentions, relief organizations often provide short-term help that creates long-term harm by enabling dependency instead of equipping for self-sufficiency. Instead, Leather and Iron firmly believes generational community transformation is possible when leaders are equipped to care for their communities. 

Leather and Iron defines a leader as anyone who sees a need, desires to meet that need, and unites others to solve that need together. The people of Mali desperately want to make a difference in their communities. They see the need and have the desire to solve it. They just need someone to show them how. 

Leather and Iron trains local leaders with innovative mindsets to assess the reality of the situation in their villages and cities, uncover true needs, and solve the most critical needs first. Then, they are equipped with the skills, knowledge, and resources to sustain the solution. In doing so, we are investing in generations of people whose multiplied impact creates community transformation. 

Mali’s population is expected to double by 2035. The desperate need will only be magnified if the Malian people themselves are not equipped to solve the problems they face. 

We are committed to not only equipping the local leaders of today, but developing the leaders of tomorrow. Along with supporting the efforts of local leaders to solve the life-and-death circumstances of their communities today, Leather and Iron continues to use basketball as a means of developing Mali’s children into tomorrow’s leaders of character and purpose.  

In 2021, the leadership of 9 villages were equipped to construct their own solar-powered water well systems, giving over 9,000 Malians access to clean water for the first time. These local leaders have already begun creating other unique solutions for their communities. Hannah is developing a vocational training institute for female youth. Jared is organizing a school to bring the gift of literacy to children. And Boubacar now coaches 4 basketball teams, developing skills and character in his community’s future leaders.  

Mali faces immediate needs for clean water, women’s empowerment, sustainable agriculture, community health, transportation, childhood education, and income generation. Leather and Iron believes in the power of community to accomplish sustainable community transformation. We also connect expert partners with sustainable solutions to struggling communities and equip local leaders to solve those needs. 

And for our friends, this is where you come in. Our community of change-makers is not complete without you! Whether with your finances, social network, or words of encouragement, you can join us in the incredible generational transformation happening right now in Mali and other African and Middle Eastern countries. 

*For the protection of our in-country project managers, names have been changed above to protect their identity. 

**While some students do receive scholarships to play basketball in other countries, Leather + Iron does not receive compensation. Leather + Iron donates its time and energy to see these children succeed and receive 100% of that benefit.