At The Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York, NY

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Funny man James Harris aka Talent the comedian, actor, host of Kiss FM and showtime at the Appollo , did the honors in partnering with George Ntim , President and founder of African Development Foundation, which is also known as ADF, as Co-host , to start off what is turning out to be an annual ritual for a growing group of people that are hoping to bring hope to the hearts and mind of young and the less fortunate children of Ghana, by importing to the country in what is known to be Americas greatest pastime sport—Baseball! 

ADF is a non-profit organization whose mission is to strength relationships between the United States and Africa through youth oriented initiatives . And over the past five years , the African Development Foundation has worked to enhance opportunities for African youth through education , sports and health awareness outreach efforts .

The Foundation has collaborated with individuals , organizations , and sponsors to help provide these young people with basic educational necessities and recreational supplies. ADF has recently sent two young Ghanaian baseball players and their coaches to Port St. Lucie in Florida to attend the rookie sport training camp of the New York Mets. To say the least its outreach efforts have proven tremendously successful , with over 1,500 Ghanaian children participating in baseball and tee-ball programs

The African Development Foundation’s current project of building a baseball field complex on the campus of the University of Ghana, Legon, advances the Foundations philosophy of using “sports to promote Peace and Diplomacy”. President , founder and host George Ntim presented a ten minute documentary of Ghanaian children learning and practicing the game of baseball and to quote Mr. George Ntim at the end of the short film “the future shall be prosperous”.

African Development Foundation’s Annual dinner is a chance for the supporters to come together, celebrate their successes , and honor ten inspirational individuals. These honorees excel in their many different fields of work, yet all share a common commitment to the underlying mission of the African Development Foundation.

The public known honorees are : Willie Randolph—is the former manager of the New York Mets , where he guided his team to the National League East Title in 2006 with 96-65 record and finished second in the National League Manager of the year , now supporting ADF ; David Ortiz was born in the Dominican Republic who after being released from the Twins in 2002, signed as a free agent with the Boston Red Sox and played a major role in leading the Boston Red Sox to their first World Series Championship in 86 years , now a supporter of ADF ;

Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks basketball team was born and raised in Brooklyn New York. Known for his quickness , ball handling and perimeter scoring he averaged 15.8 points and 7.8 assists per game. In 2006 he began a manufacturing business to produce affordable basketball shoes that bear his nick name , “Starbury” and now a supporter of ADF ; Ambassador Francis Lorenzo is the Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN and focal point at the Dominican Mission to the UN in charge of work and initiatives relating to the Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) and ICT. He is the Founder and Vice Chair of the Public – Private Alliance Foundation, a Founder of the United Nations Association of the Dominican Republic, which has brought together thousands of student , teachers and key stakeholders in the country and now a key strategic supporter of ADF. These honorable individuals are striving to make the world a little bit better for childrens of the future through the leadership of ADF . .

We like to thank Mr George Ntim ,Founder and president of African Development Foundation, for his kind invite, feel free to log onto their website at www.africandevelopmentfoundation.us
 

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