Developing Vulnerable Kids Thru Sport South Africa

“Wow....what a two weeks it has been. I don’t even know where to start! We have just returned from what feels like a dream” – Athapelele, United Through Sport South Africa Scholar.

These were the words of one of our 8 children returning from Brazil having participated in the Street Football World Cup alongside the FIFA event. United Through Sport was the representative team for South Africa and took 8 young people from our Senior School of Excellence Programme (4 boys and 4 girls) to take part in the tournament which had 24 teams from around the world participating. The tournament was not just about Football but placed a big emphasis on the cultural exchange; promoting fair-play, respect and cooperation.  At the end of each game, teams were awarded a potential extra three points depending on how well the opposition and mediators felt they complied with the aspects promoted. The trip was to take part in a Football competition but what the group got from it was a whole lot more.

From visiting local Favelas and interacting with the local community to learning Capoeira (a Brazilian form of dance fighting), playing in front of crowds of 100’s in the bustling city centre of Sao Paulo (the largest city in South America) to learning Spanish and making life-long friends with their Argentinean house mates; the trip was filled with such a richness of experiences and learning opportunities that it will take many more weeks to fully digest what they have done and achieved.

On the field the team did extremely well considering their age and background.  We cruised through the group stages of the competition with big wins over USA and Costa Rica and a nail biting victory over the Philippines, only to set-up an extremely tough encounter with Ghana in the round of 16. From here we moved into a ‘Fair-play’ group which we topped by beating Philippines and Panama and drawing with Sierra Leone, who boasted a full time professional player. Proudly we finished the competition as one of the few teams to finish with maximum fair-play points for Respect, Cooperation and Solidarity. Off the field the kids made us even more proud. We proved to be one of the most popular and well supported teams in the competition, especially amongst the locals. This was in no doubt due to the open nature in which our kids engaged with the many other teams and cultures they came across.

It was a truly wonderful trip for the United Through Sport kids that participated which created experiences and memories that will last for a life time. Most important is the lasting impact that the trip has had on their interpersonal skills, their cultural awareness and their aspirations for the future.

“I learned about so many different countries and cultures, I learned Spanish, Portuguese, German and Filipino. We took part in so many discussions and debates and we saw and experienced so many new things. I really feel like our brains were bombarded with new information to learn. It’s left me with a desire to travel more, see more and learn more...I will never forget this experience” – Lindiwe – United Through Sport South Africa Scholar.