Club do odd jobs to help fund trip
DESPITE the daily struggles and turmoil of the village lifestyle, youths from a handful of villages in the interior of Nadroga have not let their difficulties deter them from their love of boxing.
Every month or so, members of the Corunna Boxing Club in Draiba, Nadroga, have taken it upon themselves to raise funds to be able to attend boxing competitions in Suva.
With an upcoming Fiji Amateur Boxing competition to held in Suva this weekend, members of the club were spotted cleaning a farm in Korolevu in Nadroga to help raise funds for their trip down.
Head coach Abhay Chand said club members had been carrying out jobs around Draiba to help fund their transportation to Suva.
“We got a few jobs around the village and one of them was clearing some bush land,” he said.
“We also did some paint jobs where we were able to earn some money for our trip.”
“We have always been doing odd jobs like this to help us go to places where we compete.”
Chand said the main objective of creating the club was to help keep away youths from being involved in illegal activities.
“That’s the main goal, but it has always been a struggle for us because of financial issues.
“However, the boys here have shown a lot of passion in the sport and that is why we want to continue to train them and get them involved in boxing competitions.
“Many of them just live here in their villages and are not exposed to the outside world.
“Coming to competitions like these helps expose them to the big world that’s out there.
“It also makes them see that there is so much more to life in achieving things instead of staying in the village.” On a single occasion in travelling to Suva to compete at various amateur boxing competitions over the year, the club would need to raise around $2000 just to be able to attend these types of events.
“People usually ask us why we want to go through the hustle of attending these events, and I tell them it’s because of the love of the sport.
“Sometimes they go sell their produce and other root crops when we prepare for tournaments like these.
“We had just returned from selling wild turmeric.”
Chand is calling out to sponsors who would like to help the club.
“We are just looking and calling out to sponsors who can help in whatever way they can and help support the dreams of our youths in pursuing boxing.
“To anyone in our area, if you have any odd jobs that need to be done, please let us know.”