U of A, Tucson basketball stars team up to support refugee camp

Tucson residents can help meet some of the most basic needs of young people living in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya through a donation drive organized by two basketball players with South Sudanese roots. Arizona forward Mabil Mawut and former Salpointe Catholic standout Majok Deng are asking for men’s and women’s underwear, sanitary pads, tampons, open toed sandals and financial contributions. Donations will be collected Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Z Street, 2731 E. Broadway, and can also be mailed to 2322 E. 7th St., Tucson, 85719.

The effort grew out of Deng’s visit to Kakuma in April. Deng, who spent last season playing professionally in Spain, traveled to Nairobi and then continued to the refugee camp near Kenya’s border with South Sudan to see his father and other relatives. He expected the trip to last four days, but stayed six as he reconnected with family members and confronted conditions that were more difficult than he remembered.

Deng had brought a duffel bag containing underwear and other clothing. The items quickly disappeared as relatives, friends and other camp residents asked for whatever he had. Deng said he had previously wondered why his mother and brother returned from visits to Kakuma with empty bags. During this trip, he understood that they had given away their belongings to people who needed them.

For Deng, who moved to Tucson in 2011 and later became a naturalized U.S. citizen, the experience highlighted the difference between his life in Arizona and the daily reality at the camp. In Tucson, he said, buying a package of underwear at a store such as Ross is relatively easy. At Kakuma, people may not have enough clothing to wear beneath their soccer shorts. Some of the men who accepted his underwear were so thin that even his large size did not fit them properly, but they took the items anyway.

The need extended beyond clothing. While showering in one of the camp’s bathing areas, Deng noticed pieces of fabric hanging up to dry and asked what they were. He learned that some women were cutting up clothing to use as sanitary pads, then washing and reusing the material. Deng said the practice raised concerns about illness, but the people he spoke with had little choice because they needed to manage with what was available.

Those observations prompted Mawut and Deng to expand the Children of the Nile initiative, a charity effort Mawut launched. The two became friends in 2025 through their shared South Sudanese background. Mawut was born at Kakuma, while Deng lived there as a child. Mawut arrived at Arizona last summer to join the Wildcats, and Deng had just completed a five year college career at Pepperdine and the Colorado School of Mines.

The pair’s first major Tucson collection effort brought shoes for South Sudanese youth. Mawut organized the drive around Arizona’s spring football game and received roughly five times as many pairs as he expected. He initially packed the shoes into 15 large bags obtained from DoorDash. The new collection is aimed at essentials that are less visible than food or outerwear but are closely tied to hygiene, health and personal dignity.

Mawut said Deng’s firsthand knowledge gives Children of the Nile a clearer understanding of what people in Kakuma need. Deng can provide direct information from his visits, helping the organization decide which supplies should be prioritized. Mawut said everyday items can make a significant difference, particularly when they help people maintain hygiene and avoid disease.

Getting donations from Tucson to Kakuma, another refugee camp or South Sudan remains a challenge. The organization is new and has limited funding, and shipping large quantities internationally could be expensive. After the shoe drive, Deng urged Mawut to approach airlines and explain the project. An opportunity emerged when a family of six traveled from Tucson to Nairobi in May.

The family flew Alaska Airlines to Seattle and then continued on Qatar Airways through Doha to Kenya. Deng spoke with an Alaska manager, who agreed to transport eight bags, effectively allowing one additional checked bag for each passenger. Carry on luggage helped move more shoes, although seven bags remained in Tucson at the time of the report. The organizers expect additional bags to be filled as future drives continue.

The Saturday collection is therefore both a donation opportunity and an early test of how the Tucson community can support a project with connections to the University of Arizona, local youth sports and families displaced by conflict. People who cannot attend at Z Street can mail contributions to the East Seventh Street address. The requested items are underwear for men and women, menstrual supplies and slides, along with money to help cover transportation and other costs.