Carmen Souza few times, once on a family trip when she was ten and again as an adult in 2010, she grew up speaking Creole and eating Cape Verdean cuisine. While still a child, she began singing gospel music in the church choir. Her parents maintained close ties with the diaspora, and Souza's childhood was filled with the music and culture of Cape Verde, along with that of the former Portuguese colonies of Angola, Brazil, Mozambique and São Tomé. Souza's father, Antonio, a merchant sailor, insisted she should learn English and German. After spending just one year at college, she left to
Angola women's national basketball team of the Congo once they had clinched advancement to the next round. In the round of single elimination, Angola beat Côte d'Ivoire 44–42, before losing to eventual champion Mali by 9. In the third place game, Angola beat Mozambique by 15 to clinch a spot in the qualifying tournament for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Angola won its first African title at the 2011 FIBA Africa Championship for Women in Bamako, Mali. It finished with a 7–1 record with Small forward Nacissela Maurício being named the tournament's MVP. Moreover, Power forward Sónia Guadalupe was named to the All-Tournament team. With this