Education South Africa Project #2405

Developing Vulnerable Kids Thru Sport South Africa

by United Through Sport SA

Project Report | Jun 22, 2026
A Safe Space to Play

By Morgan Harlin | Chief Operating Officer

In Bethelsdorp, many children grow up with limited access to safe, structured spaces where they can play, learn, and simply enjoy being children. Open spaces are often unsafe, unsuitable, or unavailable, and young people can miss out on the confidence, discipline, and joy that comes from regular sport.

With your support, through our environmental education and sport project at Astra Primary School, United Through Sport helped open a new Eco Turf. This is not just a football pitch. It is part of a wider community development project combining sport, environmental education, water awareness, gardening, and youth leadership.

The Eco Turf has created a safe, high-quality space where children from Bethelsdorp and surrounding Northern Areas communities can come together through football. It gives young people a place where they are welcomed, supported, and able to play with pride.

One of the biggest developments has been the launch of a weekly six-a-side football league, bringing together children from six local primary schools. For many of the players, this was their first opportunity to take part in a structured league, represent their school, and experience regular fixtures in a proper football environment.

The league quickly became more than just sport. It gave children routine, teamwork, motivation, and something positive to look forward to each week. Coaches saw players grow in confidence, support one another, and take real pride in being part of their team.

The finals day brought the whole project to life. Children, coaches, schools, and supporters came together to celebrate the league, creating a powerful community moment around the new Eco Turf. It showed what can happen when young people are given the right space, structure, and encouragement.

The Eco Turf is not just a place to play. It is a place where children feel safe, valued, and part of something bigger.

Alongside the football, the project continues to support environmental learning through school-based education, the garden, water awareness, and practical activities that help children understand how to care for their surroundings. The result is a project that connects play, learning, health, and community pride.

Thanks to donor support, children in Bethelsdorp now have access to a safe and inspiring space where they can play football, build confidence, learn important life skills, and take pride in their school and community.

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Feb 23, 2026
Lelethu: From Zwide to the National Stage

By Morgan Harlin | Chief Operating Officer

At just 16 years old, Lelethu Nono, South Africa’s U16 national captain, began his journey in one of the most overlooked communities in the country.

Lelethu grew up in Zwide Township and was introduced to structured sport through United Through Sport at Emsengeni Primary School, a school with limited facilities and almost no access to organised sporting pathways. It was here, on local fields and within a consistent, supportive environment, that his potential first emerged. Like so many children in Zwide, Lelethu’s future depended not only on his talent, but on whether opportunity would reach him.

Through daily coaching, mentorship, and academic support, Lelethu developed not just as an athlete, but as a young person with discipline, confidence, and belief in what was possible. Recognising his promise, we supported him in securing a bursary to Grey High School, one of South Africa’s most prestigious schools. The transition required immense resilience. He entered a new academic, cultural, and linguistic environment, far removed from the community he had always known. He met these challenges with humility and determination, attending academic support sessions, maintaining strong performance in the classroom, and continuing to train with relentless focus.

His progress was immediate. In his first year, Lelethu was named Best Forward of the Season, an extraordinary achievement that reflected both his talent and work ethic. In 2025, he was selected to represent Eastern Province at the elite U16 Khomo Grant Week, competing alongside the top young players in the country.

Today, Lelethu stands as the captain of South Africa’s U16 national team. His leadership on the national stage is not the result of a single moment, but of years of consistent support, local investment, and a pathway that began in his own community.

Lelethu’s story is a powerful reminder that talent exists everywhere. What changes lives is access, belief, and the presence of opportunities that would not otherwise exist. His journey from Zwide Township to national captain reflects what becomes possible when young people are supported early, consistently, and close to home.

He is not only leading his country, he is showing what can happen when a child from is given the chance to rise.

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Oct 30, 2025
Playing for the Planet

By Morgan Harlin | Chief Operating Officer

At United Through Sport, we’re proud to show you exactly how your support is changing lives, not just through sport, but through the power of education, employment, and sustainability.

Recently, we launched a new environmental initiative in Bethelsdorp, Gqeberha, one of South Africa’s most underserved communities. The project uses the universal language of sport to teach children about the environment, food security, and the small actions that can make a big difference.

Thanks to your support, we’ve been able to employ 15 passionate young people from the local community. Once unemployed and searching for opportunity, they are now delivering daily sport and life skills sessions in local primary schools, using fun, creative games to teach lessons about clean water, food security, recycling, and protecting our planet.

Together with the schools, we’ve created a thriving vegetable garden, a living classroom where children learn how food grows, what sustainability means, and how their hands can help feed their community. The garden is directly linked to the school’s feeding scheme, making it not only educational but essential. It’s already helping to provide fresh, nutritious produce for the meals served every day.

In a country where food insecurity affects millions, this initiative is a step toward resilience, giving both children and young adults the tools, knowledge, and confidence to build a healthier future. Soon, we’ll be expanding the project even further, introducing recycling and clean water activities to strengthen environmental awareness and action at every level for the wider community.

This is the power of sport in action: bringing people together, inspiring change, and planting hope.

From all of us at United Through Sport, and especially from the young coaches and children in Bethelsdorp, thank you for making this possible.

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