NT organisation recognised with national award

A community organisation working with indigenous youth in the Northern Territory has launched a new training centre in Darwin.

Transcript

00:00 On this basketball court it's less about points scored and more about goals achieved.

00:07 A place where younger youth can come in and feel free to learn about health and also be

00:14 able to play sports at the same time. It gets the younger kids out of the community and

00:21 especially youth crimes and that, and gets them out of those troubles and gets them to

00:27 learn how to live healthy and also be playing sports.

00:33 Sisters Yvonne and CJ have been a part of the Hoops for Health program for five years.

00:38 Teaching us about resilience and all of that. I like talking to the kids and just doing

00:45 activities with the kids.

00:48 Through a range of programs the organisation combines teachings around the brain, childhood

00:53 trauma and First Nations knowledge using basketball as a vehicle.

00:57 Through the patterns, through the rhythms, through the repetitions, but it has to be

01:02 a moderate activity.

01:04 It's a journey which began more than 20 years ago and for founder Timmy Duggan it's a program

01:09 close to the heart.

01:10 Some of our family's health issues and stuff like that and it really impacted me. At a

01:17 young age to see my grandfather pass away pretty early on in his life.

01:22 The program now has a dedicated centre to expand its reach providing mentoring and support.

01:27 Bringing our champions, our Hoops for Health champions in from those remote communities

01:32 in the Northern Territory in here to spend some time with us and get some really good

01:36 learning.

01:37 Former facilitator and participant Katisha Wodewillia was keen to branch out and chose

01:41 to bring the program to Groote Eilat, more than 600km from Darwin.

01:45 We've had some young school children who may not have been going to school but have come

01:51 to the program. It's good and impactful to have these programs out there because the

01:57 youth don't have too much to do out there.

02:00 Their service delivery in remote communities and work creating local champions saw Hoops

02:05 for Health recognised at this year's National Rural Remote Health Awards for dedication

02:10 to health in a remote area.

02:12 And while the award is welcome, the founder says it's all about creating meaningful change.

02:17 Getting out there with real impact, lifelong impact and changes that can impact over, not

02:24 just now but in the future generations.

02:27 Since Hoops for Health began, it's helped more than 10,000 kids and teenagers. And with

02:32 the opening of the new centre recently, even more young people will have a better shot

02:36 at healthy living.

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