LUSAKA, May 8 (Xinhua) -- For many young people in Zambia's low-income communities, the environment they live in provides enough chances for them to engage in a range of undesirable behavior.

This is particularly true for those in slums located in the country's urban areas. Many of these places are unplanned settlements, which aside from being densely populated have little to non-functional recreational facilities except bars and nightclubs.

It is for this reason that Kingston Matama, 25, a handball player based in Zambia's capital Lusaka decided to establish a handball club that sought to encourage young people to participate in sports and stay away from trouble.

"We realized that most youngsters had nothing to do after writing their elementary exams and during non-school days. Most of them engaged in illicit activities that landed them in trouble. Some would even get into trouble with the law," Matama explained.

According to Matama, young people that participate in sporting activities such as football, volleyball, handball, and other popular sports in Zambia are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol and take other health risks because they become disciplined individuals as a result of the training they undergo.

Matama's initiative called Bluehood handball club has had, since its establishment in March 2018, more than 500 young people benefit from it. The club currently has 60 regular participants with the youngest members being seven years old and the oldest around 23.

Seventeen-year-old Victoria Nayame, a member of the club, said the sport has helped her stay out of trouble as she now has less time to mingle with unruly peers from her desperate community. It has also helped her build her confidence and other life skills.

"I literally have no time to be with people I used to hang out with before I started participating in handball training. I have to go for training at least four times a week," Nayame said.

She added that before venturing into sports, she had a lot of reckless friends who often got her into trouble with her guardian and other members of her community.

"Our job was just to aimlessly roam the compound and cause trouble. But all that changed when I joined the Bluehood handball club two years ago. My guardian also noticed the big change in my behavior and encouraged me to go for training," said Nayame who now looks forward to becoming a renowned handball player.

Moses Banda is also with the club. The 18-year-old said that beyond helping youngsters to stay away from bad company, individuals can also use sports to better their lives financially.

"There are professional athletes that earn a living just from sports. Many of them are financially independent," Banda said.

Albert Musona, 52, is a coach with Kabangwe Happy Hearts Football club for youths in the Shifwankula area in Chibombo district, central Zambia. As he put it, sporting programs are increasingly being used to deter bad behavior among youngsters in Zambia.

Musona, who once played professional football for a renowned soccer club in Zambia, observed that many organizations working with adolescents are incorporating sports in their programs because of the effectiveness of sporting activities in attracting youngsters as well encouraging them to stay focused.

For him, however, coaching young people is a way of giving back to society, and seeing the youth getting out of the doldrums of poverty through sport is his greatest reward. Enditem

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