While most community sports are organised by community leaders to encourage sporting activities, some are acting locally by organising small competitions to help fight other rising issues like law and order problems.
Ugabena community for one at Taurama Valley here in Port Moresby has taken the initiative to start a netball and Touch competition last October in efforts to encourage discipline and bring youths together in friendly sports throughout the festive period.
With seasonal sports not only here in Port Moresby but outside centres yet to kick of their normal competitions, there are a few smaller competitions still grinding.
EMTV Sports came across Ugabena community sports in what happens to be their finals playoffs today.
It may not exactly be the standard sporting ground, but it served a greater purpose.
In the last four months, this grounds proved resourceful as the netball and touch competitions played here kept most of these youths out of trouble.
“Ugabena is a new settlement and the aim of the competition is to discourage violence, alcohol and drugs,” says competition Chairman, Rex Kaupa.
With some financial help from Kuima Security firm, this initiative not only benefitted the Ugabena community but the surrounding communities at Taurama as well.
Being a new settlement with most settlers coming from Morata, Gerehu and other parts of Port Moresby, community leaders saw the importance of maintaining discipline in order to keep peace.
Kaupa added, “ there are different ethnics group here and we all moved away from trouble zones to this new place so the games is a way of keeping the youths focused on sports”.
The Chairman appealed to other communities not only in Port Moresby but outside centres as well to continuously come up with initiatives that involve sports.
“For most settlement kids, they lack discipline at home, sports can help discipline them, and it is also for the greater good of communities,” he added.
The competition itself will see its finals next week and so far, it has been trouble free, which is exactly the desired outcome.
Sports have proven time and again to be effective to that can be used to instil healthy habits in society.
It is an avenue Papua New Guinea communities can use to keep young man and woman away from law and order problems.
