Sports Facilities for 32 Children in Care in SA!

Of course as project leaders we have a responsibility to update our supporters of our current situation in dealing with the global pandemic that is impacting on NPOs worldwide!

Our residential child & youth care centre has of course been continuing as an essential service which has meant a busy time for myself and our staff looking after the children,

When it comes to sports, it has been inspiring to see athletes in South Africa rally together to provide relief aid to communities in desperate need. This includes Springbok captain Siya Kolisi – who led South Africa to Rugby World Cup success – in launching the Kolisi Foundation to provide food parcels to hungry families in poor communities,

As a charity we have also had to take measures to ensure that the nutritional needs of our beneficiaries are met. Whilst helping with material needs such as baking supplies and toiletries at our youth centre we have also contributed towards our rural community project where 150 food parcels were needed for families in dire need,

At our residential youth centre having to adapt to being on 'lockdown' in South Africa, which dare I say has been much stricter than many countries, has been a challenge in that keeping children occupied, stimulated AND educated 24/7 at our facility whilst taking all necessary precautions to prevent any possible risk has needed a lot of commitment and dedication,

Yet we are pleased to report that our kids are still happy and healthy but with us having the further incentive to “keep calm and carry on” the necessity for us to move forward with this campaign to raise funds for key recreational and sporting resources remains as pertinent as ever…because we know that it remains crucial to have these activities available on our doorstep! However we have been able to tune in to some “Joe Wicks Physical Education” during this phase – importing some fitness training in from the UK!

Sending our best wishes to all reading this - please follow all the guidance given, we know there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Stay healthy and thank you so much for supporting us!

Links:

• Official Charity Website

You know it has been a long time since I have updated our supporters on this project but we still have dreams to achieve the goals we set out when we first initiated this campaign!

In this report you will see a photo of the beautiful peddle Go Karts we managed to obtain much to the excitement of the children we care for. But of course we are still wanting to set up our track that can be used by our children to ensure they are safe and can maximize their own enjoyment from this project!

Further to this we can all be inspired by the recent emphasis on many women in sports who are making real waves in the industry:

Caster Semenya - two-time olympic gold medalist fighting for gender equality in sport

Gerda Steyn - first woman to run the Comrades Marathon in under 6 hours

Bongiwe Msomi - South Africa's netball captain who led them to World Cup semi-finals 

Thembi Kgatlane - football star who scored the first goal for South Africa in the Women's World Cup and help them qualify

Natalie Du Toit - first disabled athlete to swim in the Olympics and Commonwealth champion who remains a respected public speaker

So this of course reminds me of why it remains so important to invest in the sports development of the children that come into our care. We have seen girls achieve medals even at national events; the true excitement in their faces when they get to participate (alongside our boys) in representing their schools at a variety of sports,

Yet what more amazing talent could we see developed if we had these facilities right here at the youth centre itself. We could really seem Olympics medalists be made!

So give what you can because 2020 can be the year we get this off the ground...!