?Blacktown is a better place now?: how a former refugee and coach built pride in his community

Boys are running in rows of three down the court. Legs, shouts, the smack of bouncing balls. As one boy passes to another, the third fans out to take the next pass, then he leaps and dunks. Some boys are already in flight and soaring towards the basket when they take the ball, almost delicately, then slam it through the hoop.

On the side a man in a blue tracksuit watches intently, but not so much that he fails to see a boy trying to slip unnoticed into the gym, a hard thing to do when you are 200cm tall.

"Akuei!" Mayor Chagai calls out. "Why are you late?"

The boy, hands in the pockets of his black tracksuit pants, looks uneasy. He missed a train connection at Granville, he mumbles.

"You're coming from Campbelltown? What time did you leave?"

"Ten-thirty," says the boy. That is four-and-a-half hours ago. To be fair, Campbelltown is almost 50km from here, but Chagai is not satisfied: "Why didn't you leave at 8?"

Akuei shrugs, looks down, and says quietly: "Mum was at work."