Joshua Boys shoot for the stars

Over the past year, the bmobile Foundation in collaboration with specialist athletic club, Spartans TT, have been utilising the avenue of sport to rejuvenate the minds of kids at the Joshua Boys’ Home, located in East Trinidad.

Particularly through basketball, bmobile and Spartans TT have masterfully merged their ideas to facilitate the proper training of interested children at the Home for a period of one year. Since its inception in October 2016, the two organisations have hosted weekly basketball programmes (Saturdays 4-6pm) at the institution, in an effort to create an additional path of success for the young men who reside there. This initiative is the brainchild of both club and company and is aimed at nurturing the boys into a more positive mindset; preparing them to set out on a path leading to success, through sport.

Vice President of Marketing at TSTT, Camille Campbell, held this programme in high regard and applauded the commitment shown by both entities.

“At the bmobile Foundation, we pride ourselves in giving all youth an opportunity to excel, no matter what their circumstances,” stated Campbell. “Sponsoring the Joshua Boys’ Home with basketball training courtesy Spartans TT, is one way of giving back to those who face challenges at a tender age.

Sport plays an integral role in the achievement of one of the Foundation’s direct objectives, and we will continuously involve ourselves in initiatives such as these because it augurs well for our youth and the future of our country.”

In December of last year, Spartans TT and bmobile started a holistic basketball tutoring project with the Home. Before year’s end, they equipped the institution with a basketball ring to raise the enthusiasm among the youngsters. With the assistance of club president/technical director Garvin Warwick and coach ‘Axe’, two-hour training sessions jumped off on Saturday evenings with kids ranging from age five to 18 showing great interest. Since then, the number of participating children has grown immensely within the Home and several promising talents have emerged.

“We have seen tremendous progress with the kids and they have something to look forward to in terms of playing sport. Five or six students coming out of that academy can possibly make it at any level of basketball across Trinidad and Tobago. And that’s the opportunity we want to create for these kids who have already had to deal with a lot,” explained Warwick.

“The intention is to take some of the kids and get them to qualify for the National Under-14 and Under-15 teams. Once they have those opportunities and motivators such as these, they will focus on their school work more and you will see them doing a lot better. There are a couple kids who love the programme and we have to work with them. They also see this as an avenue to progress,” he added.

Caregiver at the Joshua Boys’ Home, Anthony Maloney, shared similar sentiments and admitted that he has directly witnessed a positive change in the attitude and aura of several members of the programme. He also credited the creative actions of both bmobile and Spartans TT for paving a new way forward in the lives of these young men.

“Since Spartans set up a basketball ring for us at the Home, it has brought out many inspirational traits from some of the boys. About eight kids of the 14 have already learnt the fundamental skills such as dribbling, pivoting and movement. We look forward to the continued support from bmobile because they help us influence a brighter outlook on the kids for them to be rewarded in the future,” revealed Maloney.

With the annual training programme scheduled to be completed this month, Maloney remains hopeful that both bmobile and Spartans TT extend their partnership.