HUMBERT Davis, first vice-president of the National Association of Domino Bodies (NADB), says teaching the game at the grass roots level will help to improve the social and emotional well-being of young school children.

The aim is to guide them in developing other skills that can play a part in their future endeavours.

Davis said his association’s main objective is to focus on areas centred on using three verbs: conduct, contract, and construct. With this, the NADB will introduce their Play Programme to different age demographics and emphasise social integration at all levels.

Davis, who was speaking at a press conference held at the Jamaica China Goodwill Infant School in Kingston recently, said once the students become a part of a programme there should be significant improvement, both academically and in their general conduct.

“I can say everything in one word, and that word is container. A container is what cares for everyone as it carries every single thing that container takes in, and so what we do is realise that it takes a container to care. Now for us to care we have to start from dot to line, from line to shape, and from shape to pattern,” Davis told the Jamaica Observer.

“That is standard measurement but for human beings we are non-standard and so for us to care, our container has to be at angles and so you have to use your body language to show that you care. It is about putting things together, and for us to put things together we have to show that we care.

“And that is what domino is. It contains a dot, line, shape, and pattern, as well as saying who, how, where, when, and why. How do you play like that? When do you play like that? Why do you play like that? And where do you play like that? And so that is how life is, and if we model that for children it would protect them and also prepare them,” the domino boss added.

Police Constable Leesha McPherson-Cameron, from the Area 4 Community Safety and Security Branch, said that the gaame of dominoes plays a very important role in nation-building.

“Domino is a mental game, and with these children being part of the domino association and getting involved in playing domino, their minds are occupied — and when your minds are occupied with positivity you will deviate from negativity and crime will go down. And when we impact them at a tender age — because when they are smaller they are easier to mould and easier to build — so if we can get them at this age, at this stage, it is better for us as crime fighters and it is better for building our society, our Jamaica,” she said.

Terrence Richards, senior programme coordinator at the Social Development Commission (SDC), shared the same sentiment.

“That is what we use sports at SDC to do: ease tension in the communities and let people participate actively in meaningful activities that will keep them out of harm’s way. And if we are teaching this at the grass roots level, at the young stage, then these youth can grow up and be part of the wider society. They keep this kind of thing to make them better,” he said.