12-year-old makes dream of providing
school for AIDS orphans a reality
By Allison Cox

“I’m just a normal 12-year-old who’s trying to live his life, shining for Jesus and do what I’ve been called to do by the Bible. Any other kid [can do this], all they’ve got to have is a passion and let Jesus ‘do his thing’.” Austin Gutwein, founder, Hoops of Hope

After raising more than $35,000 in December 2005 to help HIV/AIDS orphans in Africa, 12-year-old Austin Gutwein heard his dad, Dan, promise that if he raised more than $100,000 through his Hoops of Hope organization, Dan would take him to Africa.

Austin better pack his bags.

The 2006 event raised nearly $85,000 that will go toward building a school in Zambia.

The school will be built in memory of Jonathan Sim, a World Vision employee whose dream of building a school for his sponsored children was not realized before his death in 2006. His wife, Kelly, was able to raise part of the money needed to fund the building. Hoops of Hope raised the additional funds needed to start construction this year.

“I think that it’s going to be an awesome opportunity for us not only to share Jesus with some of the kids over in Zambia,” Austin said. “But it’ll be an awesome opportunity for kids to finally get the education that they’ve been wanting for so long.”

Austin was moved to start his nonprofit organization Hoops of Hope after watching a video about children in Africa orphaned by HIV/AIDS. He combined his love of basketball with a heart for children that were hurting and on Dec. 1, 2004, World AIDS Day, shot 2,057 free throws to represent the number of children who would be orphaned by AIDS during his day at school. Austin raised $3,000 to help support children in Africa through World Vision.

In 2005, Austin recruited more than 1,000 kids from across the country to join him in shooting free throws, and more than $35,000 was raised and sent to help AIDS orphans through World Vision.

Last December, kids who participated in the individual challenge of shooting 1,000 free throws each raised at least $250 – enough money to provide space for one child in the new Zambian school.

Austin is not only working to help AIDS orphans in a practical way; he is also showing kids by example that you’re never too young to join in helping children half a world away.

“A lot of times people think that Hoops of Hope is Austin, and it’s really not; Hoops of Hope is something that God has given,” Austin said. “God just uses me to get the word out.

“I’m just a normal 12-year-old who’s trying to live his life, shining for Jesus and do what I’ve been called to do by the Bible. Any other kid [can do this], all they’ve got to have is a passion and let Jesus ‘do his thing’.”

Realizing his dream of helping AIDS orphans took the support of Austin’s parents, Dan and Denise, who didn’t question Austin’s big ideas, but simply helped him find the resources he needed to make his dreams reality.

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Dan said he believes one of the reasons Hoops of Hope has been so successful is because participants are kids who don’t come with preconceptions about people living with HIV/AIDS.

“It’s a very pure motivation,” Dan said. “We shouldn’t ask, ‘How did you get sick?’ Adults are asking this, not kids. Kids just look at the situation and say, ‘Oh my goodness, these people are dying, and their children are left alone – what are they going to do?’”

He also encouraged other parents with children who want to get involved to let them just be kids who want to help other kids, and not attach any political agenda.

“I’ve met hundreds of children through Hoops of Hope, and not one of them came up to me and said, ‘I have an issue with AIDS’,” Dan said.

“I think if we just take down those barriers and those fears and let our kids be who they are, which is very compassionate people without a political agenda, I think you’ll see kids by the millions get involved.”

In an interview with NBC Nightly News, Austin shared with a national audience his desire for Hoops of Hope to change the lives of African orphans. After the taping, the NBC cameraman approached Austin and gave him $100, making sure Austin knew that the money was a personal gift to Hoops of Hope, because he was so impressed by Austin and the organization.

“There are so many cool stories that have come out of this from people who are non-believers, which is what it’s all about,” Dan said.

Hoops of Hope relies not only on generous sponsors to support the participants, but also contributors that give time and money to help the organization run, including a company that donated a $5,000 Web site to help promote Hoops of Hope.

“It does take a lot to run the operation, but every cent that we’ve raised has been able to go toward the school,” Dan said.

As ground was broken for the school in Zambia in April 2007, planning for the December 2007 event was already underway. Austin spoke in May 2007 at a Global Issues Conference in Luxembourg and recruited people from the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Qatar, and China to participate in Hoops of Hope. 

Austin has already decided to use money raised in 2007 to build a lab in Sinazongwe, Zambia, to help care for people with HIV and to administer antiretroviral drugs. The goal is to raise $150,000 to build the lab and provide equipment including a CD4 count machine, as well as a counseling center at a local medical clinic.

Before arrangements were made to raise funds for the clinic, the lab was just an idea in a 12-year-old’s mind, born of compassion and determination.

Shortly after the 2006 event, as Austin shared in a telephone conversation his plans to use the money raised from Hoops of Hope to build a medical lab in Zambia for people with HIV/AIDS, he stopped for a moment to let his parents chuckle in the front seat of their car.

“That’s usual; they do it every year,” he said.

But both Austin and his parents are serious when it comes to the task of using Hoops of Hope to mobilize kids for HIV/AIDS ministry.

“Every year we kind of chuckle when he says [something like] that,” Dan said. “But that’s just our lack of faith, because every year, he’s right. So I guess we’ll build a medical center next year.”