IN 2011, Adam Desmond supported a team of six Indigenous boys to form and play in a basketball team in Kalamunda, and from that team has grown Binar Futures, a grassroots youth organisation bringing Indigenous culture, health support and sporting opportunities to young people across Perth and WA.

Recently, Mr Desmond was nominated for sports father of the year, an annual award presented and supported by the Fathering Project.

Mr Desmond said Binar Futures grew very organically from helping one group of boys play basketball to recognising a need for support in the community.

“It started as one team, but it’s definitely a lot more than basketball now,” he said.

“Sport is great for everyone, it brings communities together and teaches kids life lessons and also provides a bit of a safe space where kids can let go of everything else happening in their lives and just focus on what they’re doing on the basketball court.

“It also opens doors to meeting people who the kids might be able to keep in contact with and might lead to scholarships or jobs down the line.”

Binar runs regional sport tournaments, which partner with health organisations to deliver checkups and preventative healthcare to kids who register to play, completely free of charge.

“With our regional tournaments, we partner with local health organisations to deliver preventative health measures and checkups for kids playing in the tournaments. The idea is that while we have a big number of Indigenous kids in one place, we ask what other positive measures we can put in place for them,” Mr Desmond said.

January’s southwest tournament, played in Bunbury, had a turnout of 73 teams. Binar has hosted tournaments in other towns across the southwest and the Goldfields, and is currently looking to expand into the Kimberley.

“Everything with a good impact we see that we can do, we want to do more of,” Mr Desmond said of the project’s expansion.

Mr Desmond said nomination for the Fathering Project’s sports father of the year award came as a surprise and the recognition was a humbling experience he was still getting used to.

“I’ve worked behind the scenes lately, but I’m a lot more comfortable being in the spotlight if it’s to talk about the kids and the benefits of the programs, because it’s important work. And some of the kids we see get older and become confident leaders in their own rights, so being in the public eye a bit more helps to set an example for them,” he said.

“People doing the hard work behind the scenes are so important to acknowledge, and this spotlight can help get them more support.

“Being a father is my highest calling, and being acknowledged like this is definitely humbling but it’s an honour. I’m proud to be a dad and it’s super important for young people to have that role model, and I’m proud I can be that for other kids who need it as well.”