by Denis Creighton
Director
of
KDR Sports and Adventure Travel
Dr. Jane Goodall visits
Soweto
All
those involved with Roots & Shoots in Soweto have been
re-energised by Jane’s recent visit which left
them even more determined to increase the impact
their projects are having in their communities.
Jane’s
trip to Soweto, on July 7 2009,
was arranged by JGI SA and KDR Sports and
Adventure Travel to familiarise Jane with Roots
& Shoots projects there and to meet the young
people involved.
First stop was the Ekukhanyeni crèche in the
Diepkloof Hostel complex where the visiting
party was entertained by the children and their
teachers. This is one of the crèches initiated
by KDR and supported by JGI SA.
It is attended by about 66 children from
the hostel, most of whose parents are
unemployed.
Next
stop was the Kliptown Youth Programme (KYP) in
Kliptown squatter camp, one of the oldest
informal settlements in Soweto.
KYP is a Not for Profit organisation run
by a group of vibrant young leaders from the
community in the interests of developing young,
dynamic individuals prepared to contribute
effectively to the betterment of their
community.
After a short tour of the community by KYP
Director, Thulani Madondo, where Jane witnessed
the squalour prevalent in the neighbourhood, the
party was entertained by the arts and culture
members of KYP who performed a number of
traditional and modern dances including the
famous gum-boot dance.
The highly talented groups displayed
fantastic energy and enthusiasm.
Members of the Roots & Shoots clubs from KYP,
Lehae and Diepkloof then performed a puppet show
for Jane, bringing a message of care and
compassion for wild animals based on a story
they had developed about a chimp orphaned as a
result of the bush meat trade.
The story ended on a happy note with the
little chimp relocated to Chimp Eden in
Mpumalanga
where it will see out its days in a happy and
safe environment.
Jane
then inspired the youth by encouraging them to
go for their dreams without being discouraged by
obstacles and negativism.
She shared her own story of how, as a
young girl, she was able to fulfill her ambition
of working in Africa
and the impact that she has been able to make on
conservation and development throughout the
world.
JGI SA and KDR entered into partnership in 2007
to get Roots & Shoots clubs in Soweto off the ground
again. The KYP structures and existing
initiatives proved to be the perfect vehicle to
relaunch.
Two clubs have been initiated since July
2007, one in Kliptown and the other in Lehae,
with additional members from Diepkloof
being drawn into the KYP club.
Projects to date have included food
gardens, clean up campaigns, tree planting, game
reserve trips to Suikerbosrand and Pilanesberg,
mammal training at the Johannesburg Zoo and the
Life’s a Ball programme to develop youth through
sport.
High spirits and enthusiasm at Street Soccer
Tournament
Six
primary school teams from Diepkloof, Kliptown
and Lehae battled it out in a Street Soccer
tournament at Sandown High School
while the Confederation Cup tournament was in
full swing in South Africa.
The
winning KYP team, pictured with Bloomberg’s
Amanda Tillman (front right), JGI’s Sue Slotar
(front left), KDR’s Denis Creighton and the
team’s two coaches.
The
tournament, the first in Johannesburg, was
sponsored by Bloomberg and the Jane Goodall
Institute SA, and organised by KDR Sports and
Adventure Travel.
Street Soccer is a mini form of the game, played
on a 25 x 15 metre field with 3m x 1m goalposts.
It is part of the ‘Life’s a Ball’
programme, recently introduced into
Soweto
and surrounding areas by KDR Sports and
Adventure Travel and its partners, JGI SA, Altus
Sports and the Kliptown Youth Programme (KYP).
The
teams were coached by volunteers in the weeks
leading up to the tournament on June 20, 2009.
On the day, enthusiasm was at the highest level.
The teams all played each other and the
top four
progressed to the semi-finals. These
pitted the Lehae Green Mambas against the KYP
Tuks and the Diepkloof Dolphins against Spain, also from
KYP.
The games were fiercely contested, but played in
the best of spirits!
The two KYP teams won and faced each
other in the final.
Approximately 22 unemployed young people from
Kliptown, Lehae and Diepkloof have been trained
in the Life’s a Ball programme by
Altus
sports.
The programme covers a number of sports
including soccer, athletics, netball, volley
ball and cricket.
The emphasis is on ‘developing the youth
through sport’ with an emphasis on good sporting
attitude and fair play.
The programme also takes account of the
environment and broad life skills and morality.
The trainees volunteer at a number of
primary schools and sports fields.
For
additional information, please contact Denis
Creighton,
denis@soweto.co.za
or +27 82 900 0105.
