Iqaluit basketball player gives back to the community who helped him get to nationals

It took the support of a lot of people in Iqaluit for basketball player Kundai Nleya to raise enough money to head to the boys' under-17 nationals this summer and play with Team Territories.

Now the young athlete wants to give something back to the community that supported him in his time of need by donating the money leftover from his fundraising efforts to the soup kitchen and the Catholic church's grocery fund.

"The community has helped me a lot and I also wanted to help people in need," says Nleya.

In order to be able to attend the under-17 boys' national basketball tournament in Winnipeg, Nleya planned fundraising events, including lunches serving traditional food from Zimbabwe and a five-kilometre run.

• Community raises $6K for Iqaluit basketball player heading to nationals

His efforts paid off. People in Iqaluit reached deep into their pockets and donated the $8,000 he needed for his plane tickets, hotels, food and training.

Iqaluit residents were so generous that Nleya raised more money than he needed, so instead of investing it in new basketball gear, Nleya decided to donate the rest.

"This community is giving and I also wanted to follow that," says Nleya.

Nleya is splitting the remainder of the funds, giving the soup kitchen $1,000 and the Catholic church's grocery fund for families in need another $1,000.

'Everyone was skyscrapers'

Nleya and Iqaluit's Alexandre McDermott were the only players from Nunavut on the "all-territory" team, which also included six athletes from Northwest Territories and three from Yukon.

They headed to Yellowknife to train with some of their teammates and then flew to Camrose, Alta., to train together before going to the national tournament in Winnipeg from Aug. 1 to 6.

For Nleya the experience was eye-opening.

"I had no idea what I was going into," says Nleya. "Everyone was skyscrapers."

Nleya says he was blown away by the caliber of his teammates and coaches.

"I just took it all in and coming back home now I know what I need to do to play at the next level."

He says the support from the community has inspired him to dedicate even more time and energy to his sport.

"I want to make people in Nunavut proud."

For now he's taking a break from basketball as instructed by his coaches, but come September he's getting back on the court to train for the Canada Summer Games next year.