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Gorgui Dieng is doing incredible things in Senegal

By Ian Levy

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 11: Gorgui Dieng #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves warms up before the game against the Sacramento Kings on February 11, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 11: Gorgui Dieng #5 of the Minnesota Timberwolves warms up before the game against the Sacramento Kings on February 11, 2018 at Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by David Sherman/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Timberwolves’ Gorgui Dieng is using his fortune and fame to make a huge impact back home in his native Senegal.

You may not know Gorgui Dieng for his work on the court. He averaged just 16.9 minutes per game for the Timberwolves this season, offering size, energy, defensive acumen and a smooth mid-range jumper. His quiet on-court presence belies an enormous off-court impact though. Over the past few years, Dieng has been working overtime, using his NBA salary and influence to help effect change in his native Senegal

Dieng has been working with MATTER, a Minneapolis non-profit, on a number of initiatives, which the Timberwolves recently highlighted in this inspiring video.

In March, Dieng and MATTER teamed up for an event in Minneapolis that raised over $500,000 for for health care and agriculture projects in Senegal.

According to NBA.com, MATTER and Dieng’s foundation have shipped seven containers of medical supplies to the hospital in Kebemer. The idea of Dieng’s NBA salary simply being used to pay medical bills for Senegalese who can’t afford to pay them themselves is incredibly moving. In addition, MATTER and Dieng’s foundation, “partnered with the Roger and Nancy McCabe Foundation to equip a new dialysis center in Dakar, and worked with Gorgui to design and implement a demonstration farm utilizing ecologically sustainable practices to increase yields and provide food for the community. It is estimated that 360,000 lives have been touched through these efforts.”

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These efforts are reminiscent of the work Dikembe Mutombo has done in the Congo. It was recently announced that Mutombo would receive the Sager Strong Award for his courage, compassion and grace, to be presented at the NBA’s official award show on June 25. Mutombo’s foundation works to improve the health, education and quality of life for residents of the Congo and helped open the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital in 2007, which has already treated over 250,000 patients.

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