University of North Carolina Athletics
West’s Summer in South Africa with Hoops4Hope
August 30, 2019 | Women's Basketball, Student-Athlete Development
Traveling nearly 8,000 miles from home, Morehead-Cain Scholar Hunter West spent two months of the summer with Hoops4Hope in Cape Town, South Africa and Harare, Zimbabwe. West is a sophomore guard from Deep Run, N.C. GoHeels caught up with West about her experience with Hoops4Hope.
GoHeels: Rumor has it you had a pretty exciting summer. What were you doing?
Hunter West: I was in Cape Town working with a nonprofit, Hoops4Hope. It uses basketball to teach life skills to youth and how to be better citizens, and to provide a safe and fun learning environment for them. There are two locations in Zimbabwe and South Africa. In Cape Town where I was for a majority of the summer, it's a really cool program because they go into the untouched townships and introduce the game of basketball. Cape Town is very European so the sports are rugby, net ball and basketball is maybe fifth or sixth. It was really cool to work with a nonprofit and introduce a sport to an area.
GH: How did you find out about this opportunity?
HW: Through my Morehead Cain scholarship, I was able to get connected with a scholar last year who worked with Hoops 4 Hope. Through contacting him and the founders of the program, I was able to find out about the program.
GH: What was the most impactful part of your summer?
HW: One thing the scholarship kept telling us is that you don't have the power to change the world so don't try to come into this area and thing you're going to do that. Whenever I was there, I was just going to walk alongside everyone I met and love them and better understand how they live their lives within Cape Town. Being there originally, I just went in trying to make friends. Yes, we were really able to cater to the students we were serving, but I found the most impact came from working with the staff. It was really empowering to see them realize their own potential through coaching these kids and teaching life skills. So really just being to better understand the staffs and better understand the lifestyle of the townships was a big takeaway for me.
GH: What was it like being that far away from home for two months?
HW: I'd been to the Dominican Republic a handful of times for a mission trip. Every time I went it was only for a week long. In the weeks leading up to the trip, whenever my parents would ask me about it, I would just shrug them off because I didn't want to think about being gone for two months. I knew that if I did, I would be full of anxiety and not want to go. I was kind of like Nike and just did it.
GH: What was your experience like in Zimbabwe?
HW: The last week in Africa, we went to Zimbabwe to see the other location the nonprofit. We were able to compare how the nonprofit functioned at different locations. Harare, Zimbabwe is the original location and basketball is more popular there. While we were there, we were able to go through a game reserve where lions were. It was kind of scary but such an amazing experience.
West and the Tar Heels begin the 2019-20 season vs. Western Carolina on Nov. 7 at Carmichael Arena.
Stay up to date with Carolina Women's Basketball by following the Tar Heels on Twitter and Instagram.
GoHeels: Rumor has it you had a pretty exciting summer. What were you doing?
Hunter West: I was in Cape Town working with a nonprofit, Hoops4Hope. It uses basketball to teach life skills to youth and how to be better citizens, and to provide a safe and fun learning environment for them. There are two locations in Zimbabwe and South Africa. In Cape Town where I was for a majority of the summer, it's a really cool program because they go into the untouched townships and introduce the game of basketball. Cape Town is very European so the sports are rugby, net ball and basketball is maybe fifth or sixth. It was really cool to work with a nonprofit and introduce a sport to an area.
GH: How did you find out about this opportunity?
HW: Through my Morehead Cain scholarship, I was able to get connected with a scholar last year who worked with Hoops 4 Hope. Through contacting him and the founders of the program, I was able to find out about the program.
GH: What was the most impactful part of your summer?
HW: One thing the scholarship kept telling us is that you don't have the power to change the world so don't try to come into this area and thing you're going to do that. Whenever I was there, I was just going to walk alongside everyone I met and love them and better understand how they live their lives within Cape Town. Being there originally, I just went in trying to make friends. Yes, we were really able to cater to the students we were serving, but I found the most impact came from working with the staff. It was really empowering to see them realize their own potential through coaching these kids and teaching life skills. So really just being to better understand the staffs and better understand the lifestyle of the townships was a big takeaway for me.
GH: What was it like being that far away from home for two months?
HW: I'd been to the Dominican Republic a handful of times for a mission trip. Every time I went it was only for a week long. In the weeks leading up to the trip, whenever my parents would ask me about it, I would just shrug them off because I didn't want to think about being gone for two months. I knew that if I did, I would be full of anxiety and not want to go. I was kind of like Nike and just did it.
GH: What was your experience like in Zimbabwe?
HW: The last week in Africa, we went to Zimbabwe to see the other location the nonprofit. We were able to compare how the nonprofit functioned at different locations. Harare, Zimbabwe is the original location and basketball is more popular there. While we were there, we were able to go through a game reserve where lions were. It was kind of scary but such an amazing experience.
West and the Tar Heels begin the 2019-20 season vs. Western Carolina on Nov. 7 at Carmichael Arena.
Stay up to date with Carolina Women's Basketball by following the Tar Heels on Twitter and Instagram.
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