The Bahamas may be a five-hour flight from Northwest Arkansas, but that hasn't stopped one family from leading an effort to work for good in the chain of islands, located just east of the southern tip of Florida.
Simeon Hinsey has strong ties to the Bahamas, having grown up there before moving to Northwest Arkansas when he was 15 to go to high school in Fayetteville. He came to the United States because his basketball coach felt he had potential, and could take advantage of opportunities for scholarships not available to kids in the Bahamas.
Now, at the age of 37, Hinsey is returning to his home country to try to help kids like him get the chance that changed his life. Along with his wife, Stephanie, Hinsey founded the International Youth Education and Sports (iYES) Foundation, which works to build the infrastructure and education system in the Bahamas.
Hinsey has been to John Brown University for two separate stints, starting as a student-athlete in 1997. Both Hinsey and his wife, who he met at JBU, played basketball for the Golden Eagles; Simeon under coach John Sheehy, and Stephanie on coach Jeff Soderquist's squad.
After graduating from JBU, Hinsey worked in media, then went back to JBU as the Sports Information Director. Hinsey spent six years with Athletic Director Robyn Daugherty trying to establish a brand for JBU's athletics, which led to national attention for the university's famous Toilet Paper Game.
In 2012, Hinsey left JBU a second time to pursue his doctorate at the University of Arkansas, where he got a job with the women's basketball program as the Director of Student-Athlete Development. Hinsey would also spend one year as the assistant coach for the team.
"I loved working with students more off the court than on the court, even," Hinsey said. "That's what I was involved with; trying to get these kids to realize that there's more to life than sports."
Hinsey's dissertation aimed to shine a light on levels of competition that don't get a lot of attention, like the NAIA, where he had competed in his own time in college. He would use that research later as a tool to inform students in the Bahamas of their options for higher education.
"And that's when my life got really, really interesting, because I heard that tug again," Hinsey said. "And (God) said "yes, I have something else in store for you."
After obtaining his doctorate, and with a successful job on an SEC basketball team, Hinsey left it all to give back to his home country and help kids accomplish what he has been able to accomplish.
During the first trip iYES took last year, Hinsey gave a college student-athlete symposium on the different levels of competition in American higher education for basketball players.
"Just basically giving them information on the different levels of competition, and letting the kids down there know what's a NCAA school, what they need to do competition-wise to get recognized," Hinsey said.
But that symposium almost never happened. Just one day before hosting the event, Hinsey nearly left the Bahamas for good.
Hinsey said he wanted to give up on the whole project after getting robbed at gun point at a KFC in the Bahamas, the day before the symposium. Hinsey's mother's jeep was stolen, along with whatever cash Hinsey had on hand.
"People are struggling economically, so societal ills are very, very bad," Hinsey said.
After the robbery, Hinsey said he just wanted to go back home to his family. But when he called his wife to tell her, she convinced him to go through with the event.
"She said, 'Sim, you can't come back to Arkansas... what's going to happen to that next kid that feels like he doesn't have any hope,'" Hinsey said.
Stephanie Hinsey has played a major role in iYES's year of operation. Besides being listed on the foundation's website as a co-founder of the organization, she has been the reason Simeon has been able to build to this point. Simeon said he was impressed and thankful with his wife's sacrifices when he left a career at JBU to get his doctorate, and when he left the University of Arkansas a few years later to start a non-profit.
"I wouldn't have been able to do it without her support," Hinsey said.
In the Bahamas, basketball culture is dominant, Hinsey said. While the most successful international sport in the Bahamas is still Track and Field, Basketball is the most popular, with Bahamian stars like the Sacramento Kings' Buddy Hield inspiring a generation of young players.
While there is plenty of basketball talent and spirit in the Bahamas, the small island nation doesn't have the infrastructure to support it, or give kids the options available to players in the United States. And while leaving the country, as Hinsey did, is an option for some, Hinsey said he wants to see his home country grow to support itself and grow its own players without relying on its neighbor to the northwest.
Most basketball on the islands is not played on courts with basketball goals, but instead with posts that have a milk crate and some sort of backboard nailed to them, Hinsey said.
One of these makeshift basketball goals is what stopped Hinsey's mother's stolen Jeep. Hinsey was texted a picture the morning after being robbed, which showed the Jeep wrapped around a goal post, which Hinsey took as a sign that God wanted him to continue his work.
Between 400 and 500 kids showed up to the event. Hinsey expected under 50.
"They're yearning for this information, they're yearning to know, 'how can I help better myself,'" Hinsey said. "When you see that many of your people yearning so hard for something, you can't do anything but break down."
On subsequent trips, Hinsey's organization has donated shoes and basketball shoes and helped with support to communities in the wake of the damage caused by hurricane Matthew. In March, Hinsey took a group to compete in Bahamas against the Bahamian Junior National Basketball team. The kids were also introduced to the Bahamas and given the opportunity to complete some mission work.
During iYES's most recent trip, started earlier in June, Hinsey is looking for ways to help bolster the nation's infrastructure and repave a basketball court at a high school. iYES hasn't met their fundraising goal for the court yet, so Hinsey is also looking for sponsorships on the trip. Hinsey's family will also join him for this trip.
"I'm just trying to do my small part to help my country move to another level," Hinsey said.
"What we empower the kids of Siloam Springs, of Springdale, of Nassau in the Bahamas to do; that's what the future of our world is going to look like. We have to empower them to build a brighter future."
General News on 06/28/2017