Kikori show spirit

By ROBINSON LEKA
IN a year disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, it was quite hard for many local sporting competitions to get their games moving and to start a competition from scratch was probably not an ideal venture but not for the people along the Kikori Delta in Gulf.
With help from former Papua New Guinea basketball representative Dia Muri, the Kikori Basketball Association was started in October and earlier this month they managed to wrap up their competition with their finals.
Muri, who came into contact with the people of Kikori through the Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee’s Heroes Programme, told The National of his experience with how basketball had inspired a small group of people in a remote part of the country showing them that nothing was impossible with drive.
“I came here in October with the PNG Olympic Committee for the Team PNG Heroes programme for representative athletes,” he said.
“We had the chance to visit some of the remote places in the country and share our experiences with the people in the villages.
“Part of the programme saw us following the Kikori River and visiting schools along the river which has was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had.
“We try to inspire children and keep them motivated to stay in school and do awareness on a lot of issues outside of sports.”