Batouly Camara makes great strides in empowering women

February 4, 2022 

In celebration of Black History Month in the US, we’re highlighting partners and initiatives from our network that are advancing equality and social change through and in sport. This week, we’re focusing on Batouly Camara who is empowering young women through basketball with her non-profit, WAKE.  

Native New Yorker, standout former basketball player at UCONN and current Head Basketball Coach and College Counselor at Blair Academy, has been inspiring those around her for years. Building from her experiences with basketball and the sisterhood, support and fun she gained through it, she founded Women and Kids Empowerment (WAKE) in 2017 after a trip to her homeland of Guinea to build a basketball camp. Over the course of two weeks, 30 young girls showed up and participated in the games and workshops. Witnessing the sense of fearlessness and hope in the girls put her on the path to uplifting girls and young women through sport, education and social entrepreneurship. 

“To have a young girl look you in the eye and say I need an opportunity to fight for my dreams, it became my absolute mission and purpose to do that,” she told Overtime X Converse.

This Black History Month, Batouly wants to recognize those who have paved the way to a brighter future. "I would like to honor those who have helped us get to where we are, celebrate those who are breaking down barriers today and inspire the next generation of future leaders to know that anything is possible."

Since its inception, WAKE has hosted basketball camps in India, France, New York City and Guinea – the first all-girls basketball academy located in the region – to build up girls' skills and knowledge, and to introduce them to new opportunities. The organization has worked with 792 kids, 33 coaches and165 women across North America, Asia, Africa and Europe.   

“We worked to educate, equip, and empower young girls through sport education and social entrepreneurship skills.” But Batouly realized that, despite her best efforts, the children in Guinea simply didn’t have access to the resources they needed to succeed. “It felt like it was so irresponsible of me to instill hope in young girls and not give them the resources, the opportunities, or the access for their dreams,” Batouly told In The Know. 

Watch her profile on In The Know by yahoo! here. 

The organization's mission is to provide girls with the resources for success, both on and off the court. They believe that by investing in girls’ holistic growth through sports, they can facilitate an equitable, empowered community and nation. To do this, they provide educational resources and scholarships, workshops, basketball camps and courts for girls aged 5-18 and young women aged 15-30. Last year alone, WAKE built two basketball courts, held three basketball camps, launched six full scholarships and donated over 200 school supplies.

Racial equality and gender equality are incorporated in WAKE's programming as a guiding principle through a racial equity framework. "We use a framework created by Robert Livingston called the PRESS Model, which means 1. Problem Awareness 2. Root-cause analysis 3. Empathy or level of concern about the problem and the people it afflicts 4. Strategies for addressing the problem and 5. Sacrifice, or willingness to invest the time, energy and resources necessary for strategy implementation. This framework allows us to identify and solve racial and gender equality in the workplace," said Batouly.

In addition to serving her community as well as running her non-profit, Batouly is a professional basketball player and serves as president of Collective Uplift, a holistic development support group for student-athletes across diverse ethnic backgrounds. Along with publishing a children’s book about inclusion and diversity in girls' sports, Batouly is a 2020 Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award honoree recognized at the ESPYs and was named to the 2020  Forbes’ 30 under 30 sports list -- all for her work to on race, gender equity, education and more around the world.

"I am thrilled she is a representative of the younger generation who are gladly accepting the baton of equality and leadership," said Billie Jean King. 

For Batouly, leadership was going against the grain despite barriers and creating a platform for others to thrive. Currently, WAKE is holding afterschool programs for girls in Guinea to receive academic support, basketball training and leadership programming.

In addition, WAKE is looking to expand its team and hopes to partner with health organizations across Guinea to use its courts as health and awareness centers for people to receive medical supplies and free check-ins by medical professionals. 

If you are interested in being a part of the WAKE family and empowering young girls through education, sports and leadership skills, please email [email protected]