Fiji born Olympian Adriu Durutalo is currently in Papua New Guinea conducting instructional rugby clinics with the aim of building self-confidence and fostering youth leadership and promoting conflict resolution skills amongst participants.
Durutalo currently works for the US Olympic Committee in business innovation.
He says their main focus is using sport as a safe space for kids and youth that come from all over the country and this week they are working on women empowerment which is lead by Cheta Emba the USA Olympian and current US XV’s member.
He says PNG is a country full of cultures and background and communication is one of the most important frameworks with PNG having over 800 languages.
When questioned by fijivillage News on the response from the people and children on the ground he said the people are the most naturally gifted athletes from physic which they gain from the abundance of organic food they eat and the terrain some of these athletes grow up in makes their skill set very impressive.
Durutalo says with those factors to their advantage he will add some mental skill training and making sure their pathways are clear moving towards professional set ups.
He adds with the help of his team member Emba they will be working on developing mental skills for young girls and women this week.
Duratalo will be in the country next month to discuss and promote similar workshops.
The former Suva Grammar School student who hails from Bukuya in Ba moved to Japan in 2011 to study Business Administration at Hakuoh University and later played for the Japanese Super Rugby franchise the Sunwolves and the Worcester Warriors in England.
He also represented the USA Eagles at the 2013 Rugby 7s World Cup, the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England, and the 2016 Rio Olympics, earning 22 test caps.
Durutalo has an MBA from Oxford University and has led high-performance rugby programs in Japan, England, and the United States.
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