Up-close and Candid with Sarah Chan, the Toronto Raptors Scouting Manager
Sarah Chan, Africa’s First Woman Scouting Manager for the Toronto Raptors
The Toronto Raptors against all the odds became the 2019 NBA champions, and the first team outside the US to claim that fete. As fame and competitiveness would have it, this meant that the team would continue investing in the right breed of talented players across the globe.
But we look at the remarkable beginning of Sarah Chan, the 6-foot-3 towering Africa Scouting Manager of Toronto Raptors from South Sudan.
Right about two weeks before her graduation, Sarah took time off and volunteered at Giant of Africa (GOA) basketball camp in Kenya in 2017 with no idea that she was about to meet, Masai Ujiri, the Raptor’s President. Her personality and work ethics would then lead her to get hired as the first African woman to be the Manager of an NBA franchise.
On an Instagram live with Wowzi technologies Co-Founder, Mike Otieno, Chan, tells of how her life growing up was like — and how faith alongside basketball molded her to what she is today.
“My childhood was emotion paradox — it was great but with whole lots of challenges. I remember my father was arrested and detained like 9 times and was on the verge of being killed,” recalled Chan.
South Sudan tells the story of a country that has experienced one of the longest civil wars on record. It tells the story of how peace had remained elusive for quite some time, even after recently gaining their independence. Chan grew up during this period of civil war, and coming from a huge family (35 inhabitants), the joy of togetherness within that family set up, gave her solace.
In the eyes of her parents, education was integral. So, they would apply for academic scholarships, something that Chan wasn’t aware of at the time, before securing one to study at an evangelical university in Kenya.
And so, in 1998, Sarah’s family relocated to Kenya at a place known as Karinde (Karen-End) to start a new journey of life that saw her earn an opportunity to get an education.
Like any other child, Chan anchored her life to her mother, who was instrumental in shaping the way she viewed life as a whole.
“I remember my mum was my Sunday school teacher and was so engaged and deeply involved in the church,” Chan, said recently in an Instagram live with Mike Otieno, the Co-Founder of Wowzi technologies.
“My mother has been super instrumental in my life, until the age of 12, she was the one heading the Sunday school department,” said Chan. Her mother lived the bible practically and was a symbol of love for anyone that she came into contact with.
“The nights when there were noises at the door and lights projected at the house because of some guys in a pickup asking my father to come out, mum would step in and mediate the situation, and would say, he’s not here.”
From those many episodes, Chan came into contact with women empowerment at its best manifestation. Her mother showed strength, boldness, and selflessness just so to protect her family as any ordinary mother would do.
“Faith has been the focal point — faith to me has been therapy alongside basketball.”
— Sarah Chan
Sarah Chan didn’t realize she was talented in basketball until when she joins Laiser Hill High School. The Principal made it mandatory that every student should participate in sports. And she’d be amazed at how basketball from the rest of the sports was a perfect fit, molding her to what she is today.
“Basketball has taught me that you can love, even when you don’t feel like you wanna do that. It has taught me humility — that you should trust the process; nothing comes easy, but if you stick it through, you’re going to make it through. Again, it has taught me respect, not only to myself but also to my teammates, the coaches, and the fans.” she added.
Chan took part in a couple of Africa Women’s Club Championships. But the 2015 FIBA edition, while playing for United States International University-Africa Kenya (USIU-A), will remain etched in her memories forever.
“We kept losing games, but I kept doing the best that I could, whether we lost or we won. We ended up being number 10 of 12. But because of that resilience and that mindset to keep going regardless of what the situation was…that was the year I was able to set a record as the top scorer, top rebounder, and made it to the list of Africa’s all-star team,” Chan said.
As Toronto Raptor’s Africa Scouting Manager, Chan believes that Africa is a blessed continent. And if we dare to dream, there is the possibility that we might get the next ‘Michael Jordan’ from Africa. This is because Africans are physically gifted right from the land of giants — South Sudan to the energetic-young-men and women of West Africa.
“Africa is soon going to be a power to reckon with in the world of basketball.”
–Sarah Chan
As achievable as it may sound, remember it takes resilience, hard work, investment on time, and the free will to believe that we can do it. Among other things, Sarah runs a foundation known as Home at Home Foundation in partnership with Giant of Africa GOA) that helps the underprivileged in Kenya and South Sudan.
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