Vanuatu Island Cricket Project Launched
The Vanuatu Cricket Association has launched their 15 week Island Cricket Pilot Project on Ifira Island aimed at providing awareness on nutrition, non-communicable disease, sexual reproductive health and leadership.
The project titled the Fafine Tenuku Island Cricket Project will bring together 30 women from Ifira between the ages of 25-50 and teach them a traditional Pacific version of cricket played in full island dress.
"Island Cricket is very popular in New Caledonia and was previously very popular in the villages around Port Vila," said Vanuatu Cricket General Manager Pierre Chilia. "This project is just the beginning of getting women of Vanuatu back into this great sport as well as provide opportunities for their children to participate in the VCA's junior cricket program."
On top of the regular cricket training and matches the program will run both practical and theory sessions weekly to educate the participants in a number of areas that currently affect women in Vanuatu.
These sessions will be coordinated by several locally based organisations who have been heavily involved in the planning of this initiative.
"We are so lucky to have such tremendous expertise in the area of community development at our disposal via our partners in this project," said Chilia. "A huge thank you to Chief Mantoi Kalsakau, the Department of Women's Affairs, the Department of Health, UN Women, WHO, Save the Children, Wan Smol Bag, Lapita Café and the ICC."
Participants will be tested every two weeks in areas such as glucose and cholesterol, weight and physical measurement. Regular focus groups, surveys and interviews will also take place in an attempt to analyze changes in knowledge, habits and behaviors of the participants.
Vanuatu Cricket Development Manager Andrew Mansale will be taking control of the cricket training sessions and is excited by the challenge ahead.
"We have a great 15 week program planned that includes introduction to scoring, umpiring, fielding, batting and bowling," said Mansale. "Each week we will also provide exercise homework tasks to be done in groups which might include things like walking challenges with pedometers to try to improve fitness."
The project will be showcased to the Port Vila community in May when Vanuatu hosts national women's cricket teams from Samoa, Fiji, PNG, Cook Islands and Japan for the 2012 Pepsi ICC East Asia-Pacific Women's Championships.
Participants of the Fafine Tenuku Island Cricket Project will play a curtain raiser match before the final of the tournament at Kazaa Field at 12pm on 18 May.
The Fafine Island Cricket Project is funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Sports Commission's Pacific Sports Partnership Program.