Developing Vulnerable Kids Thru Sport South Africa

United Through Sport hosted a four-day holiday camp at Pellsrus Primary School from 29 April to 2 May 2025, designed to provide 256 local children with safe, structured, and enriching activities during the school break. The programme included daily sports coaching, life skills sessions focused on local risks like alcohol abuse, and free breakfast and lunch. With many children walking long distances to attend, the camp showed the demand and need for meaningful holiday support in an area with very limited sporting infrastructure and social services.

This intervention was designed precisely because school holidays are a high-risk period for these children. Surveys showed over 85% of participants had seen drug use in their community, more than 90% had witnessed drinking, and two-thirds had heard gunshots or violence. Many children are left unsupervised, caring for siblings or wandering the streets, hungry, lonely, and exposed to danger. Without structured programmes, the holidays become not only a time of boredom but of real physical and emotional risk.

The camp tackled these challenges head-on. Children received daily meals, ensuring no one went hungry, and participated in sports that taught teamwork, leadership, and emotional regulation. Life skills workshops created safe spaces to talk about alcohol, safety, and personal choices. Even those who had been excluded from school sports for behavioural reasons were included through a dedicated boxing programme, transforming conflict into discipline and belonging. Staff and coaches reported extraordinary engagement, with children showing real talent, joy, and growth over just four days.

Most importantly, the camp created a sense of safety, community, and hope. Caregivers expressed relief knowing their children were fed and looked after, while children spoke about feeling happy, making friends, and wanting the camp to last longer. For many, it wasn’t just a holiday activity but a lifeline, a rare chance to be safe, nurtured, and inspired. The success of this camp powerfully demonstrates the urgent need and incredible potential of well-run holiday programmes to protect, empower, and uplift children in high-risk communities.