by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Mon. Oct. 2, 2023

The Yabra Football Club, in collaboration with Drums Not Guns, hosted a fun day that featured sports and other fun activities on Saturday, September 30, for the children and youths within the community.

The Drums Not Guns group has been a longtime supporter and partner of the Yabra Football Club headed by coordinator Jerome “Peeloff” Maheia, as its pioneer members are from the football club and are similarly committed to directing young ones away from violence.

“We came together and let the youth have a little fun. On the field, we’ll have a football game with two Under-10 teams, and they are from Yabra [Football Club]. It’s not for no medal or trophy; it’s just a fun day for the kids today,” Maheia told Amandala.

“… The football game [the players] are from my club and divided in two and let the kids have fun. We have U-13 and U-10 mixed up. Later in the day, we will have some older guys playing the U-17. But right now, we’re starting with the U-10 and U-13 mixed up,” Maheia added.
Maheia mentioned that the children always look forward to participating in these little gatherings. While no prizes will be awarded to the winners, every child will be given a plate of food.

“All these kids in the neighborhood will get something to eat; but not all of them will participate. Everyone will get something, no matter how small it is. Someone will get something to eat before they leave from here today,” he said.

“… the same kids that are cleaning the fish will be playing the football game. A couple of them stayed in the house to fry fish; so we are getting them involved in these things that we do. We show them how to light a stove, [and] how to season. They need to know that in this time to survive,” Maheia added.