How Savannah Pride Used Basketball to Create a Community

Players from West Sydney community basketball initiative Savannah Pride, for Converse Australia

“There were a few boys from Egypt, and they used to play basketball out there. And then some people that came from Kenya, they play basketball too,” says Chagai. As he met more people who had recently migrated to Australia, Mayor noticed that basketball was the great equaliser. 

“We thought the best option is just get out, get ourselves together and go out in the park,” he says. However, as numbers grew, the community soon outgrew the park and required better facilities.

Obstacles appeared in the way of rules, regulations and fees. When Mayor and his friends formed a team and booked time at their local stadium, the governing leagues weren’t particularly accomodating. “They tried to stop us every time,” he laments. Sensing his initiative to unify people with basketball could be over before it had a chance to get started, Mayor stepped up. 

“I was lucky enough to be in an organised team back in the refugee camp. I learned a little bit about being in an organised team. So I just told to the boys, ‘let's just organise ourselves, and be responsible to get all the things the people here want. I'll respond to that.’”

Mayor took his role seriously, focusing first on satisfying league requirements, then building the Savannah Pride community, training the young kids who would come through, and creating the kind of community he had always envisioned. 

Now 13 years on, the impact of Savannah Pride is obvious across the scope of the community in West Sydney. Not only has the program provided local kids with an outlet to play basketball, it has sent several players off to American college basketball programs and, through Mayor’s ‘homework program’, Savannah Pride has seen over 20 attendees achieve scholarships at Australian private schools.

Mayor noticed early on the positive impact Savannah Pride was having on attendees. It wasn’t long before he used that influence to not only improve the players’ on-court performances, but to round out their skills in a more holistic way. Mayor soon developed his homework program, which  prioritised school work over basketball.

“I wanted all the kids in the program to actually prioritise their schoolwork. If I didn't get a chance to go to school then I wouldn't be able to manage, plan and do things that I'm doing,” says Mayor, explaining the ‘each one teach one’ philosophy that is at the core of Savannah Pride. So many of the program’s attendees were school-aged children, and Mayor had observed that many of them had nowhere to turn when school work became challenging. It was his intention to provide the academic assistance the kids weren’t finding at home. 

The program helped not only the kids, but also their parents. “[The parents] never went to school and don't have the capacity to help kids with their homework,” Mayor explains. “And when the kids get in trouble at school for not being able to complete their work, I've seen that there's no way that they're getting help. That's why I tie in the homework, and I show a great interest in it.” With Mayor’s help, the kids improve their school work and become more confident.

In conversation, Mayor acknowledges that in the early days of Savannah Pride, the thought of sending players off to American colleges was a motivating factor. The challenge of organising, motivating and training countless young ballers was likely made easier with the idea of creating his own NBA nursery in West Sydney planted in the back of his head. Through his homework program and his ability to forge strong relationships with the young men in his supervision, a new motivator was soon discovered. The glamorous links to division 1 US colleges still surface from time to time, but more regularly, Mayor is having a strong positive impact in other ways.

“We’ve had great success,” he says. “The previous generation that has come through have shown the result of that. A few of them managed to qualify for scholarships in private schools here in Australia. I was so inspired and happy to see the [academic] result, not just being a skilled basketball player. I was so driven by the initiative of attaching education as the main priority of the program.”

Mayor goes on to tell me about specific players who have accomplished great success via their engagement in Savannah Pride. He tells me about the players in the American college system, recounts specific scores players received on their exams, and beams with pride when he tells me about the former players who now hold careers in industries from civil engineering to finance. His pride is as evident as it is justified. Mayor’s legacy is not only seen in the next generation of Australian basketball talent, but in the homes of the first-generation immigrants who have achieved the Australian dream.

The impact of Savannah Pride is now transcending its West Sydney roots, as Converse has chosen the community basketball program to be featured in the brand’s global basketball campaign. Even before the campaign was live across the world, Mayor had noticed the positive impact the co-sign from the brand has had on his players.

“It has really motivated those kids,” he says. “It has had a great impact on them. When they went out and did the photoshoot, seeing their name associated with Converse and demonstrating the love of the sport to the wider community has really motivated them. They are doing really well out of their motivation.”

Converse have also helped the program by donating sneakers to the players. It’s a move that both touched and inspired Savannah Pride’s young ballers.

“Some of those kids struggled to get basketball shoes to continue playing, so when they heard that Converse was going to help them it really inspired them,” he says. “It's a big deal for them because they're local kids. They just started basketball two, three years ago. They're still very raw in the game but that gave them a sense of motivation.”

What was first a simple means of creating social engagement among new entrants to the country soon switched to a program with NBA dreams, and now provides pathways for people to succeed either on or off the court. After 13 years in the game, Savannah Pride has seen a shift in the way it enriches lives, but the core offering is still as simple as using basketball as a means of reaching out to anyone and creating community.