Empower 30 Young South African Leaders

2021 was a hallmark year for training4changeS. Despite the challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we enjoyed incredible moments on and off the pitch. Thanks to your generous support, we had the privilege of journeying with 30 boys from 12 different schools, and 5 different Stellenbosch communities. In the midst of a world that is becoming increasingly fractured and polarized, the boys reported learning important lessons about building cross-cultural relationships. An endline survey showed that participants value each other as family despite cultural differences. The lessons they learned about helping, appreciating, loving, and supporting each other are instrumental in helping them grow as leaders in life outside of training4changeS. As we cultivated these deep transformational relationships, we also enjoyed the opportunity to engage the boys’ families in new ways. An African proverb says, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and we take our role seriously in helping these young boys flourish.

We wrapped up our year together with an immersive cross-cultural learning experience, taking the boys on a 3-day leadership development camp. During the camp the boys had an education outside the classroom session during which they developed a set of core values that will guide their participation in the Futsal Academy in this New Year. The 2022 school year starts next week, and we will get our activities underway again. Our aim is to welcome an additional 15 boys into the Futsal Academy this year, bringing the total number to 45. We have 7 more boys starting high school, and we are looking forward to providing diverse learning opportunities for these boys as they prepare themselves for the jobs they would like to have in years to come. Thank you for your support in walking this road with us; because of you training4changeS was able to exceed our fundraising goal during the GlobalGiving Accelerator, and we are now part of the GlobalGiving Community. We are excited about what the future holds.