Keeping Oceania happy and healthy through basketball

FIBA in Oceania’s Basketball ‘+’ strategy is changing people’s lives throughout the Pacific and Asia.

Oceania is filled with many small island countries.

The people who live in these areas sometimes experience a rough life, subject to natural disasters, poverty and many other community development issues.

Because of this, things such as a healthy diet or physical activity are often not a priority.

This is why Fiji, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Timor-Leste and soon Papua New Guinea are using basketball to help show their communities how to be active, happy and healthy.

From the outside Basketball Fiji’s (BF) community and school’s clinics just look like children having fun playing basketball.

In fact, these clinics use basketball to teach young Fijians about healthy foods and the benefits of exercise.

BF’s ‘Mum’s a Hero’ program brings women together for some fun basketball games while teaching them about proper nutrition and staying active.

The ‘Mum’s a Hero’ program is also helping change traditions about gender roles in Fiji.

BF’s Hoops for Health (H4H) Coach Leah Seru is a young strong women helping to change the stereotype of women just staying at home and looking after the food and families.

Basketball Fiji hopes that they can use basketball to help this and the next generation of Fijians be happy, healthy and safe through basketball.

Similar to Fiji, a high number of people in Vanuatu suffer from obesity and health issues due to unhealthy diets and lack of exercise.

This is why the Vanuatu Basketball Federation (VBF) use create fun basketball clinics for kids while teaching them about healthy food options.

These clinics have only just begun but are already become very popular in many local schools.

The H4H coaches love teaching these kids about basketball and staying healthy because the students have some much fun.

“Each school that our coaches have been to the children enjoy themselves so much that they always ask when we will be back again.” – Roslyn

Another small island country with issues like Fiji and Vanuatu is Kiribati.

The KBF run a similar H4H program to Fiji and Vanuatu in their community and schools.

Young children and teenagers in Kiribati love to play 3x3 basketball. The KBF run 3x3 tournaments throughout the local community.

The United Nations declared April 6th as International Day of Sport for Development and Peace to raise awareness of the vast reach, unparalleled popularity and foundation of positive values that sport possesses to contribute towards development and peace.

The programs being run in these countries are what the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace are all about.

The first Asian to join the Basketball ’+’ family is Timor-Leste.

Domestic violence is an issue for women in Timor-Leste.

The Federacao Nacional De Basquetebol Timor-Leste’s (FNBTL) ‘Mum’s a Hero’ program aims to help change this by bring women together through basketball.

 

There is a group of young coaches who saw the program as a chance to help the women of Timor with the sport they love.

 

Others in Timor are already seeing the great work these coaches are doing.

 

The Fokupers women’s group were very eager to join the ‘Mum’s a Hero’ program.

 

There is already a change happening in Timor with many of the ‘Mum’s a Hero’ coaches being women.

 

These young women are breaking the tradition of staying at home to cook and clean.

 

“It’s great to have so many women coaches. They will make the women participating feel welcome. They will all be role models for young people in the community. – Thilman

 

“FIBA is extremely proud that they are able to assist their national federations in improving the lives of people in their countries through basketball.” – FIBA in Oceania Executive Director David Crocker

 

The Basketball ‘+’ system manages the Hoops for Health (H4H) and ‘Mum’s a Hero’ programs. These programs are funded by the Australian Government as part of the Pacific Sports Partnerships (PSP) and Asian Sports Partnership (ASP) programs.

 

None of this remarkable work would be possible without the funding and support provided by the Australian Government