Rollins Athlete Gives Back to Her Home Country

September 24, 2007

By Daniel Paulling (Class of 2008)

Women’s basketball player Ines Teuma (Class of 2009) saved her money for two years to get back to her hometown community in the Central African nation of Cameroon. And once she got there, she also wanted to give something back. So with the help of her teammates and other Rollins students, Ines collected three large boxes filled with used clothes, shoes and equipment.

To help distribute all of these goods, Ines organized a tournament with the help of several sponsors. Growing up, she had loved just playing basketball and wanted to help other people do the same. Six teams of 12 players each participated in the first “Lady Tars Tournament.”

“I paid for and borrowed a lot of things,” said Ines. “People there also gave me a lot of help in getting sponsors to help support the tournament.”

Clothes and shoes were given away as awards to the best players. Basketballs were donated to youth basketball programs.

Ines lived in Cameroon until the age of 18, when she moved to the United States and stayed with her older brother, who graduated with a Ph.D. in Biomechanical Engineering from the University of Central Florida. She did not know how to speak English, but now she is in the pre-med program at Rollins and starting on the basketball team.

Ines hopes to continue the collecting of items and giving them away in tournaments, but does not know when it will happen again. The airfare home costs $2,500.

“There are not too many kids who would do what she did,” women’s head basketball coach Glenn Wilkes Jr. said. “She really is one in a million.” Click here to read more about Ines in the latest issue of The Sandspur.

Ines Teuma (center) organized the “Lady Tars Tournament" for the basketball players of Cameroon.