A large-scale social project to help difficult teenagers called "Good wins" has started in Odessa. The organizers of the project told about how eSports can change the fate of juvenile prisoners in the press center "Odessit".
Oleh Etnarovych, deputy of the Odessa city council, head of the commission on education and sports, said that the project was created thanks to the cooperation of the city government, public organizations, state structures and the Odessa diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
"For a long time, the city council together with the Cybersport Federation has been developing such interesting ideas. For example, we have been organizing cyber tournaments among schoolchildren for three years. Since this was very relevant during quarantine and isolation, the idea came to implement this initiative among teenagers who are in the second isolation - in prison. So that they can socialize, not lose contact with society, and after release it is easier to return to a normal life," he said.
He added that this project was also supported in the penitentiary system - the Odessa Pre-trial Detention Center.
As the deputy head of the department of social, educational and psychological work of the Odessa pre-trial detention center Alena Bylous told, children who have not yet become complete criminals can be returned to a normal life.
"We are talking about a new method of educating and influencing the personality of juvenile prisoners. We think that the team game will allow children to develop their needs for communication, solve some conflict situations and fill their free time," she said.
Juveniles will be allowed to keep game consoles for training in their cells. And once a week, a coach will come to them and help them master e-sports.
"We want to show the guys that this is not just a game, but a rather serious activity. In the future, the guys will have the opportunity to participate in tournaments. This in itself is innovative - there is no such thing anywhere in the CIS. And even these guys have a good chance to win, because they have enough free time," added Konstantin Matyashov, head of the Federation of eSports of the South of Ukraine.
The positive influence of e-sports is noted in the Odesa Diocese of the UOC MP.
"With the help of good deeds, we can change someone's fate, someone's thoughts, especially teenagers who are in prison, as if at a crossroads. They decide which path to choose - crime or return to normal life. And someone's help, caring, love will help them choose the right side," said Dmitry Chebotarev, head of the youth department of the Odessa diocese.
"Implementation of this project can be fateful for these difficult children, because many of them are serving sentences for serious and especially serious crimes, including murder, grievous bodily harm, and robbery. Any sport distracts children from unnecessary actions and wrong actions," concluded another one of the organizers of the project, deputy of the city council Andrey Kyslovsky.
