TRANSCRIPT
At an indoor sports stadium in Werribee, in Melbourne's outer west, some promising young talent is on full display.
Roughly 30 kids from the ages of 8 to 12 are attending a free school holiday clinic, aimed at giving the children, mostly from South Sudanese families, an opportunity to put on a clinic.
One of the most talented among the group is 11-year-old Philip Akot Majak.
'My dream is to become an NBA player or possible NBL player. When I'm older like the coaches, I'd also like to help the kids out in basketball.'
At this holiday clinic, Philip had an inspirational figure to show the way.
Dave Simmons, father of NBA star Ben Simmons and former NBL player himself, says he is passionate about working with disadvantaged communities.
'I was in New York just last year and we had an event, we were giving back, and I was looking at some of the kids and I was thinking, I'm from New York, I'm a kid from the Bronx, who now lives in Australia, and I just thought these kids have dreams, they have hopes and it's really important to have good programs and good mentors to help these kids, to help inspire them and push them on to greater things.'
Children and families were all welcome, regardless of background or ability.
Lanei Fononga told SBS her favourite thing was learning and being able to work on new skills.
'It's really fun. I like all the coaches, they're really nice. The activities were good too.'
REPORTER: 'Can you tell me what activities you've been doing?'
'There's shooting, ball handling, one on one stuff. I learned how to pass while I'm trying to dribble, and try to get away from the defender fast enough so you can get their score.'
Organisers, like Junubi Stars founder Akol Magok, say the motivation behind bringing these kids together for this free session, is to provide them with hope, and opportunities that older generations may have missed out on.
'Most of the time kids are left behind, but with the Junubi Stars, we want to start with the kids, we want to give them the value of basketball and support. That's what we didn't get when we were younger, but now we're at the stage where we can lead the next generation.'
Magok's Junubi Stars partnered with the Ben Simmons Family Foundation, as well as Helping Hoops Werribee, to support children and their families going through financial hardship.
Dhieu Nuun is a youth worker with the project.
'South Sudanese are seen as a threat, but as you can see right now, they're doing what they love, so they need a space that they can do anything they love on the inside, and also engage with the wider Australian community.'
Senior youth worker Anyieth Ngueny says she feels a sense of pride working with her community for better social outcomes.
'I feel like I'm bringing something to the community. I'm supporting young people who are disadvantaged. There are not many services out there for youth at the moment, especially people from the South Sudanese community, and also it makes me really happy to see that I'm supporting my own people, and I'm showing people out there that it's not only the negative side that they should be seeing. People tend to see the negative side of young people, especially from African backgrounds, but I want people to see the positive side of it. We have athletes, we have footballers, we have basketball players, and they all started just like that.'
Her colleague Merci Weiu agrees the day was aimed at breaking down negative stereotypes about the community.
'This is a really good opportunity for all the kids. And it's really good to keep them distracted with sports because there are many things happening, and if you a sport that you like, it keeps you focused on the good parts. So I think it's a really great thing, it's a good distraction, it's a good sport for them to be in, so I'm really happy and excited.'
For the local council, the program is a welcome addition for a community which deputy CEO at Wyndham Community and Education Centre, John Sheen, describes as 'large and growing'.
'They are a community that is new to Australia, and so opportunities to engage, promote social cohesion, understand Australian society, these are really great opportunities for our African community in Wyndham.'
Those opportunities aim to set these children up for future success.
