As part of our GG playground project in South Africa, we plan to build a mini netball court for kindergarten girls. This region suffers from gender-based violence, and we believe that introducing females to netball, a go-to sport for South African girls, will help them develop confidence, self-worth, and the power to stand up for themselves when needed. Sports inspire mental, emotional, and physical strength, and USA's Title IX showed everyone the power of opportunity. Just give them a chance.
This project will solve the absolute absence of a play area designed with girls in mind. In a rural region affected by chronic gender-based violence, a miniature netball court will give little girls a place to play amongst their peers, unaffected by the competitive habits of some older children and/or males. In a male-focused Xhosa culture, little girls will call this miniature netball court their own: a place to find themselves in the magic of athletics.
A miniature netball court will offer kindergarten girls a place to learn, to grow, and to showcase their burgeoning emotional, mental, and physical strength. Through netball, girls will learn to work together to solve problems, find strength in numbers, develop the physicality to continue to play netball as they age, and show the world that they are capable of anything, if given a fair chance. Sports change lives, and that chance should be extended to the entire population, not half of it.
All children need to view school as something positive. Yes, school is clearly a place to learn, a place to lay the building blocks for meaningful careers. That's some serious stuff, so let's remember that school is also a place for laughter, belonging, camaraderie, social development, and confidence-building. When schools are simply unable to provide a respite from the challenges of poverty, the impact lingers, but we can help change that by building a proper playground for deserving children.
