Raised in rural Benin, Pamela Akplogan found sport as a source of strength and comfort when her father passed away at a young age. “Basketball taught me how to express myself and help others understand me even if it is difficult to find words,” Pamela says. “It allowed me to become an actor of change. Through basketball, I’ve become a very strong woman.”

Pamela continued playing as she began her bachelor’s degree in business law and eventually joined Benin’s national team. While at university, she also served as a leader within the World Organization of the Scout Movement, for which she was named the chairperson of the Africa Scout Youth Forum through 2018.

“I have a lot of duties and responsibilities to promote sport and grow its platform in my society,” Pamela says. “[Sport] can be used for development and to help people blossom. This is about human beings, not just boys and girls. This is about human rights.”

In 2017, Pamela founded and launched Oladé, the first organization promoting social sport in Benin. Her initiatives, “Jump Up” and “She for Sport” involved national female basketball players leading life skills workshops while also providing on-court training to local youth.