Just Play

The competition launched in April, running in parallel to the delivery of Just Play’s Health & WASH curriculum in the local communities and schools, and aimed at putting the learnings of the week into practice.

Thirty-two teams signed up to participate in the eight-week event which was held at Vava’u High School, with Holeva just one of the communities joining in the Just Play Programme for the first time.

Humble, strong, generous and wise, Emmie has been a crucial cog in the success of the OFC Just Play Programme as the technical coordinator, but her work in football and this region extends much further, OFC said in a press release.

"As our colleague, we were privileged to work alongside Emmie. Her passion for football development, for gender equality, for the rights of women and children and the development of the communities she visited was unrivalled."

Using a beach soccer court to implement sessions, the village has participated in Just Play for over four years, educating the local children about healthy lifestyle choices, gender equality, inclusion, and keeping safe through active football-based activities.

Fangaleóunga village Just Play volunteer Litiani Tupou was more than happy to increase the number of sessions to six days a week after seeing such a positive response to physical exercise from children in the community.

     One year on from the devastation of Tropical Cyclone Pam and six months on from Tropical Cyclone Winston, the Just Play Emergency Programme has been shortlisted for the Beyond Sport Innovation award in recognition of the work in both Vanuatu and Fiji.