Volunteer organization · Sport, Education, Community
Basketball that changes the game of life
Slums Dunk brings hoops, coaches, and opportunity to the neighborhoods that need them most. We use sport as a gateway to education, community, and a future.
What Slums Dunk is
Slums Dunk is much more than a sports project: it's a mission. The name comes from a play on words between "Slam Dunk" and "Slums", reflecting our goal: improving the living conditions of young people growing up in economically and socially disadvantaged areas.
Our story
In 2014 we built our first basketball court in the Mathare slum, in Nairobi, Kenya. From that hoop came a journey that continues today: using sport as a concrete tool for inclusion, education, and community. Slums Dunk is a non-profit volunteer organization, officially registered with Italy's National Single Register of the Third Sector (RUNTS) under no. 105519 dated 03/09/2023.
Over the years, our commitment has taken shape in different locations, with academies and initiatives launched in Kenya, Zambia, and Argentina. At the same time, we're working on a series of initiatives that will bring Italy into the picture too, spreading the values of sport and change everywhere.
Our mission
We are committed to engaging children and young people from vulnerable backgrounds around the world through our inclusive Basketball Academies.
We work in synergy with local organizations to offer programs that combine basketball with life-skills development and community empowerment.
We reclaim abandoned or neglected spaces, turning them into playing fields open to the community, where sport becomes a vehicle for educational, inclusive, and community-building activities.
What we do
- Rehabilitating or building basketball courts wherever there is a shortage of adequately equipped sports infrastructure.
- Reducing risk exposure for young beneficiaries by providing them with quality life-skills education.
- Providing free access to basketball for children and young people in disadvantaged areas.
- Promoting the development of local communities through awareness-raising activities.
A universal language
Sport is a universal language, capable of bringing people together beyond any barrier.
Basketball, in particular, shows that anyone can play: all it takes is a hoop, a ball, and the will to jump and shoot. It isn't just competition: it's a way to spread culture, values, and skills, offering opportunities for growth even in the toughest contexts.
That's why basketball was chosen as the vehicle to engage, mobilize, and attract young people: we use it every day as a way to teach life skills in disadvantaged areas of Africa.
Dreaming is a right
Slums Dunk wants to give everyone the chance to make their dreams come true. Leaving no one behind.
Even those born and raised in the toughest circumstances deserve to dream big: they do it through a ball, a hoop, a court, the guidance of their coaches, and the smiles of their friends.
Dreaming is good for you
Slums Dunk was founded with the goal of improving the living conditions of children and young people in places where fate seems stacked against them from the very start.
Through sport, kids learn values like solidarity, commitment, and perseverance. Basketball as a training ground for life, carrying the desire to lift the eyes, hearts, and destinies of children and young people: a winning slam dunk toward a different future and possible dreams.
Dreams are built, step by step
We personally follow every project through each stage of its development. Since 2011, we've spent part of our summers in the slums that host the Basketball Academies of Kenya, Zambia, Argentina, and Italy.
Crucial to this work is the encouragement and training we give local coaches — together with sport, the true "architects of dreams," able to shape the future teachers, engineers, and doctors.
On the court
Every day, everywhere in the world
Our values
Inclusion
The court is open to everyone, with no exceptions and no economic or gender barriers: we pay particular attention to the equal involvement of girls and boys.
Respect
The rules of the game apply off the court too: respect for yourself, for others, for shared rules.
Consistency
Real results come from continuous presence, season after season, not one-off events.
Community
Every project is built together with the neighborhood it serves, never imposed from the outside.
The team
The people who show up on the court with us every day.
Bruno Cerella
Tommaso Marino
Lara Tagliabue
Gabriele Borsani
Michele Papagna
Jacopo Generoso
Javan Opiyo
Francesca Cassani
Niccolò De Vico
Chanthy Vergnano
Francesco Chiapponi
Projects
Stories that start with a hoop
Mathare, Nairobi
Two years of experience in the slums of Nairobi led us to a concrete dream: building our own basketball court and founding the first Slums Dunk Basketball Academy.
We started from a complex reality: a slum of over 500,000 people, with no sports facilities and few recreational opportunities for young people after school.
Thanks to Slums Dunk, hundreds of children can now access sports activities every day — activities that don't just bring moments of joy, but also pass on the true values of sport.
We're not alone in this mission. Our partners focus on health and school education, helping build an extraordinary team. Together, we work to improve the community's living conditions, one step at a time, in every aspect.
Ndola
Ndola, in northern Zambia, on the border with the Congo: a different place, but with similar challenges.
Unlike the hustle of Nairobi, Ndola is a quieter city, with no traffic and a slower pace of life. Even so, the hardship and everyday struggles in the slums remain the same.
In 2017, Slums Dunk arrived here with a clear goal: bringing hope and opportunity through sport. In the Nkwazi slum and the rural area of Minsundu, we renovated two basketball courts, giving life to two new Basketball Academies in partnership with our local partner.
Today, nearly 500 children train every week under coaches we've trained over the years. For them, basketball is more than a game: it's a path to a better future.
Bahía Blanca
In 2018, Slums Dunk arrived in Argentina, opening a new chapter in Bahía Blanca in partnership with Club Pueyrredón, with the goal of bringing different cultures together and promoting sport as a tool for social change.
Among the most significant projects is the Valientes group, led by coach David and dedicated to women's basketball. This team was created to build a healthy, supportive environment, helping people facing difficult times overcome isolation and rebuild energy and confidence through teamwork.
In 2020, during lockdown, we renovated an abandoned area, turning it into a new sports facility. We're also working with Centro Loyola to develop sports activities and improve facilities in support of the local community.
In Bahía Blanca, our commitment continues: sport remains the engine for building a more inclusive and supportive future.
Milan
The project aims at social and urban regeneration through sport, using basketball as a tool for inclusion and community growth.
In Milan, at Viale Stelvio corner Via Paolo Bassi, the intervention combined the structural renovation of the court with a socio-educational program, designed to engage the neighborhood's young people through unstructured sports and play, fostering belonging and inclusivity.
The court has become a landmark for the community, thanks in part to artist Francesca Cassani, who led the artistic side of the project, with the support of numerous volunteers who turned the space into a welcoming place for everyone.
Legnano
The new Slums Dunk and Legnano Knights basketball court at Falcone e Borsellino park in Legnano was built to give young people a safe space to play sport, socialize, and grow together.
Made possible by the generosity of citizens, companies, and local associations such as the Rotary Club, the Lions Club, and Panathlon, the project raised over €50,000 for the flooring and hoops, with further funds earmarked to complete the structural details. The court's design, by Francesca Cassani, and the volunteer work of young people from Legnano Basket reflect the spirit of collaboration that made this initiative possible.
Today, the Slums Dunk and Knights court is ready to welcome kids and families, becoming a landmark for the Legnano community. Through sport, we want to keep building a present of inclusion and a future of opportunity.
Behind a dream like this, there's an enormous amount of commitment, work, dedication, and above all, passion.
Video
Watch us in action
Support us
There's a place for you on our court
Whether you want to donate or help out in another way, every contribution keeps a Basketball Academy running.
Donate
Bank transfer
- Account holder
- Associazione Slums Dunk ODV
- IBAN
- IT30L0306909606100000410515
PayPal
- Account holder
- slumsdunk@gmail.com
Your 5×1000 (Italy)
To include in your Italian tax return:
- Associazione Slums Dunk ODV
- Tax code
- 97707040156
Other ways to support us
- Spread the word among your friends and contacts
- Collect basketball uniforms and equipment
- Take part in our events
- Fundraise or organize an event
Want to become a volunteer?
Get in touch: tell us who you are and how you'd like to help, and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
