The Doggies

In a slum in Papua New Guinea, notorious for its poverty and high crime rate, the locals have decided to turn young criminals into heroes. They aim to do so with the help of their national sport, rugby. For many, this place that Western tourists think of as an exotic paradise is a trap lacking fresh water and teeming with homemade weapons. Public murders are a daily reality for the local community, and financial poverty drives children to commit more crimes. Nobody takes the police seriously, and so the only authority left in the country is rugby players. When a match is on, the whole village gathers around a small television to comment on the sporting event. It's not surprising that rugby players have become moral role models, demonstrating the values of cohesion and fair play. Will the locals succeed in establishing new patterns of behaviour through their love of sport? (One World)