Died yesterday at the age of 58, Dikembe Mutombo leaves behind an enormous legacy, both on the basketball court but undoubtedly even more so outside it. The former kingpin was indeed appreciated for his multiple charitable actions, particularly in his native country of Congo. It was there – in the capital Kinshasa – that he opened a hospital in 2006.
This is the greatest achievement of Dikembe Mutombo’s life.
The man nicknamed “Mount Mutombo” was voted Defender of the Year four times during his NBA career, he is the second best blocker in the history of the League, and he managed to tar Michael Jordan himself. But it was far from the field, and far from the United States, that his impact was most significant.
Direction Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, more than 11,000 kilometers from Atlanta where Dikembe took his last breath on September 30, 2024.
It’s 1997.
While Dikembe Mutombo is one of the best NBA centers, his mother – Biamba Marie Mutombo – suffered a cardiac arrest that year. Unable to obtain the necessary care, both because of an underdeveloped health system and a very tense political situation (first Congo War in 1997) making travel complicated in Kinshasa, Dikembe’s mother died. Mutombo can’t help but say to himself: “She could have been saved if…”.
This extremely difficult moment will nevertheless push Dikembe Mutombo to take matters into his own hands to improve access to care in his native country. And he doesn’t waste time. The same year, the man who dreamed of being a doctor in his youth created his own foundation with a very specific project in mind: opening a hospital in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, in homage to his mother.
“We were very close. To achieve something of this caliber in the name of my beloved mother, it will mean a lot not only to me, but also to the people of Congo.” – Dikembe Mutombo
Dikembe Mutombo gathers the funds, obtains the authorizations, and the project begins to materialize. It was in 2001 that the first stone was laid. We then had to wait three more years for construction to really begin, due to various financial and even political challenges.
But that’s it, in September 2006, the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital officially opened its doors.
The cost of building the new hospital totaled $29 million, of which $15 million came from the pocket of Dikembe Mutombo himself. No doubt, Dikembe was ready to do anything for the project to come to fruition.
The Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital has 300 beds in total. 300 beds, but above all high quality care with various departments, from surgery to cardiology, including pediatrics and gynecology. In addition to that, the hospital is also accompanied by a brand new research center to fight against the numerous diseases (malaria, HIV, cholera, etc.) which are wreaking havoc among children and adults in Congo.
It has been 45 years since such an establishment had seen the light of day in Dikembe Mutombo’s country. It was needed more than ever.
“This hospital is an example of what a health system could look like if it were implemented correctly across the country. This could save so many lives.” – Ann M. Veneman, Director of UNICEF
Basketball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo, who passed away today from brain cancer, spent his life helping others. Here he recalls paying the medical bills of mothers held at a Congolese hospital’s maternity ward. pic.twitter.com/RJ8V0aPOfH
— Graham Bensinger (@GrahamBensinger) https://twitter.com/GrahamBensinger/status/1840888093886291992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
For his mother, for him, and especially for the entire Congolese community, Dikembe Mutombo followed through with his idea. And this has helped more than a million people in less than twenty years! Helping others, especially his own, was quite simply his vocation. Long before blocking balls on a basketball floor.
Forever, the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in Kinshasa will remain the symbol of the kindness and generosity that so characterized Dikembe Mutombo.
R.I.P.
