Sports have been used by many as an escape from violence and a tool for social good, says Semesa Qereqeretabua.
Qereqeretabua a resident of Nabua Topline PRB flats, is the co-ordinator and spearheaded and organised a sports day for the once classified as highly notorious neighbourhood in Suva.
He said from being a “red zone”, it had changed as they were working according to a five-year plan.
He said the populated community had now changed its stance and was working towards righting the wrongs that had tarnished their lives.
“We have at least children, youth, and the oldies participating in organsied sports as it appears to be a healthy and happy engagement for us,” Qereqeretabua said.
“This will be a yearly tradition as today saw higher levels of satisfaction.
He said the challenges faced by adults who were involved in trying to get youth out of society’s influence. It appears to be emphasised through fun in sports while establishing a balance between physical fitness and their community’s wellbeing.
He said sports programs such as this would be widely implemented as measures of crime prevention. In contrast to their popularity, he said they had agreed to fight it as a community group.
“We see sports programs seem to be an effective measure of crime prevention. However, at the same time, we want to design a pathway by promoting sports day such as this as an agent of change.”
He thanked PRB for the kind support.
