by Kelsey Bongiovanni for D3baseball.com

When you think of Africa, baseball isn't the first thing that comes to mind; maybe soccer or basketball does, but definitely not baseball. Park Smith plans on changing that. As the Program Director of The HITS Project, a Project Hope for Africa (PH4Africa) initiative, Smith plans on introducing this traditional American pastime to youth in Rwanda, as a venue to teach HIV education.

Baseball has always been a part of Smith's life. He started playing Little League when he was just five years old and eventually went on to be a four year starter at Denison. After graduating in 2010, Smith was prepared to say goodbye to the game that had provided so many memories and delve into another newly found passion in his life, Africa.

Smith fell in love with the people of Africa during a trip to Uganda in the fall of his senior year. "What I saw was some of the happiest people I've ever met, even when living in extreme poverty," Smith said of the people he met on this part-humanitarian, part self-discovery journey. "I had an idea that I might want to pursue a career path focused on Africa," Smith said, "but after my trip it became very evident."

When Smith began to work for Project Hope for Africa, a 501(c)(3) non-governmental organization focused on creating sustainable public health initiatives for youth infected or affected by the HIV/AID pandemic in Africa, he was tasked with creating a program to help raise awareness.

Smith saw this as a perfect opportunity to combine his two passions. "The HITS Project blends a unique mix of my own interests and goals- a love for baseball, an enthusiasm for youth and a passion for Africa, they all intertwine," he said.

Smith will look to many of the skills he learned while playing baseball at Denison to help make this project a success. "There have been a lot of leadership skills that I learned from being a captain my junior and senior year how to approach different kinds of players, recognize different learning styles, and facilitate overall team organization," Smith said. He hopes that his leadership skills will allow him to eventually expand his program throughout the continent and reach more youth.

"Baseball has taught me the importance of consistency, of responding from failure because in baseball you fail more often than you succeed. It's your response to that failure that determines how good a baseball player you will. These lessons learned on the baseball field directly transfer into life," he said.

The HITS Project will focus on five main principles of the game that can be translated into the life of youth in Africa: Communication, Discipline, Response to Failure, Decision-making and Teamwork. Smith is currently collecting equipment and recruiting volunteers for the first trip in mid-October. This trip will feature a four-week camp that will reach 100 teenage youth. The camp will not only serve as a way to teach baseball, but as a way to teach English and educate youth about HIV/AIDS.

As for whether or not baseball will take off in Africa, a place where it is relatively unknown, Smith thinks it has a good chance. "Africa provides a unique opportunity for baseball because it's such an untapped resource of athletes," Smith said, "there is a lack of resources for playing the game now, but with The HITS Project started there's a huge possibility for it to take hold and really expand."

To contact Park Smith about volunteer opportunities or ways to help The HITS Project, email him at parksmith@ph4africa.org