Sport builds community connection

Sport builds community connection

Young people with a refugee background and now settled in the Hamilton area are experiencing several sports this week which Kiwi teens have grown up with.

Cricket, badminton and climbing are sports many young people enjoy, perhaps on a casual basis. But for teens with a refugee background, sports can play a central role in their settlement in New Zealand.

Up to 30 Colombian and Afghani teens, settled with their families in Hamilton within the last year, are participating in a sports-themed youth development programme this week.

Fusion aims to help connection with their new community through sport, life-skill workshops and introduction to the city’s recreation opportunities.

The programme is a partnership between Ignite Sport Trust and New Zealand Red Cross with funding from the Office of Ethnic Communities.

Lower-Hutt based Ignite Sport has been running the Fusion programme for young people from all over the world since 2013, in Porirua, Lower Hutt, Hamilton and Palmerston North.

Fusion coordinator Peter Stone says teens in this year’s three-day Hamilton Fusion programme will be playing floorball, cricket, badminton and rock climbing along with other energising games and sports.

One day will be spent walking in the Hakarimata Walkway, north of Hamilton. “The view across the Hamilton basin can give the young people a different perspective on their new home,” says Mr Stone.

Workshops will look at helping the teens recognise their talents and strengths and their unique identify within New Zealand culture.

“Fusion gives these young people a chance to develop their confidence and find sports they enjoy playing. The programme is a great starter to become more involved in school or community sports. It’s hard being a teenager anyway but in a new country it can be an extra struggle. Fusion can help these teens build a support network and become more involved in the community,” says Mr Stone.

He says local clubs are on board to help with the sports and to show the teens what recreational activities they can be involved in during their spare time. Fusion Hamilton is being run mainly at UniRec, 24-26 January.

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