PORT MORESBY (Papua New Guinea) - Basketball Federation of Papua New Guinea's (BFPNG) Hoops For Health is a program to introduce the sport to the youth but it can also help reignite the passion for others.

One of BFPNG's participants, Joanne Naime, who works for the National Airport Corporation rediscovered her love for basketball through BFPNG's Hoops For Health program.

"Basketball is a hobby of mine, I love playing it but there's not much of a chance for us to play because of availability and also time," shared Naime.

"I love playing the game so when I found out about this program I made it my business to seek it out and join the community in playing the game," she added.

Photo: Naime during one of the Hoops For Health programs

BFPNG Chief Executive Officer, Nick Daroa proudly shared that everyone is welcome to join their programs and mentioned that the inclusivity of their program is something he is proud of.

"Whenever we go out and run our programs, we target the youth so we can start them young but we won't turn out backs on people that want to learn the game or just play with us," Daroa said.

"Basketball is fun and we want everyone to feel the same way we feel when we run our programs," he added.

Naime, for her part also praised the health messaging component of the program and its effects on the youth.

"It's a great initiative by the Federation to include the importance of fitness especially teaching to the youth," Naime said. "It's also a plus that they have national team players that the kids look up to that teach them the game."

Daroa reiterated BFPNG's commitment to developing the game in the country.

"We want to cover all the bases form the grassroots level to the national team level and that also includes our community level. It's our mission to develop the game and we are happy to do everything we can despite the challenges we face," he ended.

BFPNG's Basketball For Good programs is supported by the Australian Government through the Pacific Sports Partnerships, and FIBA's Foundation, the International Basketball Foundation.

 FIBA