PORT VILA - Vanuatu is made up of 80 islands that stretch 1,300 kilometers. Known for its volcanic activity, deep sea fishing and scuba diving, but unlike most places in the world, there are no traffic lights on any of the Vanuatu Islands. This could help explain why so many kids in Vanuatu love the Traffic Light game.

Red means stop but green means go fast in the Traffic Light game. Photo courtesy of Aaron Kearney/ABC.

The Ni Vanuatu children get so excited when they see the Hoops for Health (H4H) uniforms. They know that Daisy, Kevin, Paul and Manoah have arrived with a bag of balls and lots of fun activities.

Like all H4H activities, the Traffic Light game is fun but also educational. Kevin yells "chocolate" and all of the Ecole Publique Centre Ville students stop in their tracks. In this game, chocolate represents bad food, bad food means a red light and a red light means stop. Next Kevin yells "apple" and apple is a good food so all of the students dribble as fast as they can to reach the finish line first.

This is one of the many games that the Vanuatu Basketball Federation (VBF)'s H4H coaches use to teach children the importance of a balanced diet and exercise.

The H4H program in Vanuatu is one of FIBA's 'Basketball +' initiatives. Like all Basketball + programs, VBF's H4H program seeks to use basketball as a tool for community development. In this case, it uses basketball as a means of educating Vanuatu's youth of the food the body does and doesn’t need plus the benefits of a healthy diet and regular exercise.

 
The Hoops for Health Vanuatu team at the Stade facility. Photo courtesy of Aaron Kearney/ABC.

"We are sixth in the world for NCDs (non-communicable diseases)," Hoops for Health administrator Annie Obed commented to ABC's Aaron Kearney.

Obed is extremely passionate about what she does. She even has a newspaper clipping on her desk with the headline "DIABETIC NATION". The article addresses a World Health Day message given by Health Minister, Toara Daniel. "Health reports reveal that 30,000 people have NCDs which includes sugar diabetes, and that figure represents 21 percent of the adult population," the report reads.

Obed is confronted with this reality every day.

"You see it around the hospitals and also in the schools," she told ABC. "We go there and kids come out with their snacks we can see they have some that are not so healthy. But then we try to encourage them by saying they should next time grab a banana.”

Student Marcellina Kalorib takes a well-earned water break. Photo courtesy of Aaron Kearney/ABC

Cyclone Pam ripped through Vanuatu in March of 2015, killing at least 15 people and tearing down homes and infrastructure.

One such affected was the basketball centre in Stade, where there is nothing left but rubble. Cyclone Pam ripped through one of the two courts and tore down any and all lighting, making night basketball a thing of the past.

But in the midst of all this destruction, one thing shines through as the H4H coaches walk around the courts, their uniforms. These coaches are determined to not dwell on the past but do what they can to shape the future.

Obed and the team never focus on the negatives, instead, they find solutions to any and all obstacles in their way. The coaches are able to use a set of multi-purpose courts and managed to find some basic courts in Mele Village and Second Lagoon.

The Hoops for Health school program regularly visits local French school Ecole Publique Centre Ville. Photo courtesy of Aaron Kearney/ABC.

“They might not have court lines marked but people still use it to play,” she told ABC.

The Vanuatu H4H program is showing that strength is born from struggle. They do not need expensive equipment; all these coaches need is a ball and their positive message to help the youth of Vanuatu build a stronger, healthier future.

The original source for this story was produced by ABC International Development as part of the Pacific Sports Partnerships funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

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