Boxing to save young lives

BY ROJE ADAIMY

Some have been on the verge of committing suicide; others are struggling with drug addictions, family breakdowns and homelessness. But the twelve young kids from Sydney participating in Australia’s first professional Indigenous boxing program are on a mission to break free and move off the streets.
They all came together last Wednesday at the first training session of a new ‘Dreaming for the Future’ program at Woolloomooloo’s PCYC gym.
Headed by Ian Nichols from community organisation HopeStreet, the program is targeted at inner-city youth offenders and those at risk of offending, and aims to teach them life skills through exciting sports like boxing.
“Around 54 per cent of kids in boys homes or detention centres are Indigenous,” according to Mr Nichols. “We need this program in our community to make great people and teach them to make better choices in their lives at a young age.”
Every Wednesday, for the next twelve weeks, the group will learn how to hone their skills as a boxer and boost their fitness with one of Australia’s most successful professional Indigenous boxers, Alex Wymarra. They’ll also be taught the basics of goal setting, anger management, health and diet education, decision-making, as well as offered education and employment opportunities.
“We’re trying to get the guys out of the system, off the streets, into our program, to shape up and see the world a bit,” boxer Alex Wymarra told The City News. “They can set their sights on being a boxer, or through boxing we can help get them apprenticeships, work and TAFE.”
Having lived on the street as a child himself, Mr Wymarra said getting the kids to come to a PCYC and interact with police is a big step towards closing the gap between the two.
“I’ve come here to try and give confidence to these boys, turn the tide and hopefully to turn the kids into successful people,” Mr Wymarra said.
The program is a part of a bigger initiative proposed by Mr Wymarra, who has worked as an Aboriginal liaison officer at PCYC for the last 15 years. He aims to establish an Indigenous Boxing Academy in five different regions around Sydney – including Woolloomooloo, Redfern, La Perouse, Mount Druitt and Campbelltown.
Some of the young people at the training session told The City News that the program gave them something to do and motivated them to chase their dream of becoming a professional boxer or rugby league player.
“The kids will get a lot out of this program and teach them to dream for the future, because they’ve had no support from people around them no personal development,” Mr Nichols said.
The program has been partly funded by the NSW Department of Sport and Recreation, and receives some support from the Aboriginal Justice Advisory Council, Sydney Training and Employment and Punch Boxing who donated equipment.