In Bangkok, where gang crime, petty theft and drug abuse are all on the rise, football is being used to help tackle the problem.
Twenty-year-old student, Jenjira, is part of a team of Young Leaders at the Not Just For Kicks project who are rehabilitating play spaces so they can teach football as a means to provide the life skills that can help children stay away from gang culture.
She believes the project can be a great success, not only addressing the issue of crime, but also improving the physical and and mental well-being of young people across Thailand.
She told mancity.com why Not Just For Kicks is so important...
“My aim is to help young people develop because I want to them grow up to be good citizens of Thailand and to be physically and mentally healthy.
“I truly believe this will be a very successful project. It can help support children to get involved in sport in order to avoid crime and drugs.
“Some young people in our community have been deceived have got caught up in crime without meaning to be, because they were innocent, taken advantage of and had no guidance.
“I’m certain sport will be the key to help them develop their character and behaviour.
“It will teach them discipline and prevent them from taking the wrong path in life and they will grow as a person and an athlete.
“This project is vital to our community.
“Currently, in the area where I live, there is only a small outdoor space for us to play sport, but if we can have more space and better guidance for young people it will help the community a lot.”
