Clarisse Machanguana, a member of the ODU Sports Hall of Fame and an All American in women's basketball, has been appointed UNICEF Ambassador for her home country of Mozambique, as announced by UNICEF this week.
A member of the 1997 Lady Monarch team that advanced to the NCAA finals, Machanguana has been an activist for children's rights in Mozambique since her retirement from basketball. This spring she began a three-month trek across her country, walking 50 kilometers a day, to bring awareness to the HIV epidemic in Mozambique. That story can be found by clicking here.
"Clarisse Machanguana has been showing high commitment to child rights, with a particular focus on adolescents and girls empowerment. She has also developed her own awareness raising and life skills initiatives with young people mobilizing a range of stake holders partners from Government, donors to development partners, and proactively approached UNICEF for collaboration. She is a respected personality for her integrity, reputation and high networking skills among development partners, line ministries and key influencers in the Mozambique", reports the UNICEF website.
Machanguana's jersey was retired at Old Dominion University in 2000. She scored 1,813 points during her career, which is ninth on the Lady Monarch's all-time scoring list.