The Sixers star breaks ground for his
hospital.<br><br>By Andrew Maykuth <br>INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
<br><br>KINSHASA, Congo - Under a searing African sun and
accompanied by the thrum of a traditional dance troupe, 76ers
center Dikembe Mutombo yesterday broke ground on the
hospital he hopes to build in his impoverished
homeland.<br><br>"This is a happy day for me," said a beaming Mutombo,
who had spent a chaotic week racing around Congo's
capital, greeting officials, visiting health-care
facilities, and handing out thousands of dollars to destitute
mothers, humanitarian groups and grateful
relatives.<br><br>The groundbreaking ceremony was a manifestation of a
dream for the 7-foot-2 NBA all-star, whose $13 million
annual salary is beyond comprehension to most people in
a war-ravaged country where the per capita income
is barely $115.<br><br>"There is not much more you
can do to demonstrate your love for others as Mutombo
is doing now," Dr. Mamba Mashako, Congo's minister
of health, said at the ceremony, which was filled
with plaudits for Mutombo, a national hero.<br><br>The
300-bed hospital, which is expected to take about three
years to build on a 10-acre plot still occupied by the
gardens of squatters, will be called the Biamba Marie
Mutombo Hospital. It will be named for Dikembe Mutombo's
mother, who died in 1998 of a stroke that her son
believes could have been treated had Kinshasa not been on
high alert for the outbreak of a civil war that is
still unsettled.<br><br>Mutombo, 35, who went to
Georgetown University in 1987, hoping to study medicine, and
emerged four years later as a high NBA draft pick, first
envisioned building the hospital four years ago. Since then,
he has received pledges for about $10 million of the
hospital's $14 million cost. That figure includes $3.5
million of his own funds. But finding donors has proved
daunting, especially among fellow basketball players,
people Mutombo thought would be more generous.