Former NBA basketball star Dikembe Mutombo has turned to humanitarian endeavors in his retirement, particularly to projects in his native Democratic Republic of the Congo. He donated $15 million to build a hospital in Kinshasa, and Conde Nast Traveler’s Dorinda Elliot recently interviewed him about “the celebrity do-gooder thing” and how travel has influenced his life. “I went to South Africa in 1992 and learned about apartheid. Nelson Mandela had just been released, and we met with him in a secret place and visited the prison where he had lived,” Mutombo says. “There were people who didn’t want him to come to power, and his supporters were moving him every night to different safe places. From that trip, I learned a lot about struggle and freedom. We take so much for granted. People think of travel for work or play, but it can also be a lesson that will change your life.”
Related on World Hum:
* Suffering and Smiling: Vanity Fair Does Africa
* Carmelo Anthony and the Perils of In-Flight Publishing
* Magic Johnson Helps Launch Travel Agency
