This project focuses on creating sporting ecosystems and healthy alternatives for township communities by providing quality infrastructure that is safe and accessible, and quality coaching that produces sporting excellence. The programme supports more than 350 children and eight community coaches in the poverty stricken community of Khayelitsha near Cape Town, South Africa.
Sporting facilities and coaching programmes are near non-existent in South African townships, where poverty, crime and social issues are prevalent. Without safe and accessible facilities, structures and coaching, children never get to experience the physical and emotional benefits that team sport brings. These areas are a hotbed of talent, but without an opportunity to express them, this talent goes to waste and young people don't get to use them to move beyond their difficult circumstances.
Providing infrastructure and facilities at schools between 2014 and 2019 set this vision in motion. The love and passion for cricket in Makhaza, Khayelitsha -- much of it fostered and stimulated by the GKF's activities over the years -- is evident, and the development of talent is clear, with a pipeline of players already feeding into Club and Provincial cricket.
Our Township cricket programme is aimed at giving aspiring players an opportunity to harness their cricketing ability but most importantly, to develop their leadership and social development skills to make sure they not only become brilliant cricketers and coaches but aspirational leaders within the poverty stricken community. Our coaches will be a key focus as we look to empower the coaches within the community to address South Africa's high unemployment crisis.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
