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

In a sparse gym in one Sydney's most disadvantaged areas, Mayor Chagai is not only teaching basketball but also transforming Australia

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.

The boys training at the Police Citizens Youth Club in the Blacktown suburb of Shalvey