Global Gathering on River Thames Boat

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Last night saw the coming together of nations as United Through Sport threw its annual reunion party. Past volunteers and members of the United Through Sport family flew in from all corners of the world to mark almost 12 years of work. The evenings format took shape on board the Jewel of London, a cruise boat that rocked out some pumping tunes and took us on a four hour journey up the River Thames. Timed nicely with bonfire night, guests were additionally provided with a spectacular fireworks display near Hammersmith bridge.

The evening was an important opportunity to recognise all the work that is going on in the various countries where United Through Sport operate and the many people that have contributed to the charity in the form of volunteering abroad or through generous financial giving. Many of our volunteers had the opportunity to hook up with old friends who they have shared overseas coaching work with, reminding them that they are important ambassadors for the organisation to take our message back to their communities at work or university.

Thanks to all that came and made it a great night. We look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Graduates thank United Through Sport for transforming their lives

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This year see’s more of our young people finishing off their top level schooling in South Africa, something that United Through Sport has facilitated for them over the years. One particular man, Zolisa Faba, decided to get in touch this week and tell us a few things about the opportunity he was given:

“This week was my official last week at Jeppe as a school boy, now I am old.

It has been a wonderful five years and if I could, I would do it all over again. I have never really taken a moment to just thank you for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to be chosen to attend an amazing school like Jeppe. I understand very well that if it was not for your kind heart, I would not have got the privilege to attend Jeppe.

I thank you for creating a smooth path for me to get out of poverty. When I go home to my grandmother, she always says that she wishes to thank you again because your kindness is incredible. Through you, I got the opportunity to travel to two continents. I often ask God to help me not forget where I came from no matter how good or bad things turn out for me in life. I want to make you really proud one day and also be able to give back to United Through Sport in the way you have given me so much.”

Zolisa’s history and link with United Through Sport
Zolisa Faba; an 18 year old boy who came from our Mass Participation Programme. Zolisa progressed into our Senior School of Excellence Program with a scholarship to Jeppe High School for Boys in Johannesburg in 2011. He is now in his fifth and final year at Jeppe, and what a change we have seen in him!

For any young boy, growing up without a father always has difficult implications, but for Zolisa the situation worsened when his mother fell terminally ill four years ago. His mother had to be moved to a specialist hospital in Cape Town for the demanding care she needed. It felt as if his, and his brother’s world was falling apart and he had no option but to leave home.

Living with their Great Aunt, and seven other people in a small house, things were not quite the same for these two boys. The whole household was dependent upon the pension of their great Aunt (R880 per month / £45) as it is the sole source of income for the household.

Zolisa felt he and his brother were a burden to his Aunt, not surprising when her pension equated to less than R5 (25p) per person per day.

As a result there were many periods when Zolisa was only eating a meal once every three days.

When the opportunity came along to send one of our talented sports men to one of the top schools in the country, it was not difficult for us to choose Zolisa – not because of his circumstances but in spite of them. He was one of our most dedicated learners, his enthusiasm and determination within our program stood out. He was dedicated and committed, regardless of the family situation back home, and clearly wanted more from his life.

Zolisa now eats regular meals, has grown hugely both physically and mentally and after almost years at his new school, stands out as a fine, well mannered young man. Most importantly he is receiving a top level education which will allow him to progress onto almost any career path he chooses and ultimately completely change his own future and that of his family. Zolisa has been accepted at the University of Johannesburg to study Law, next year.

Zolisa is a great example of the opportunities we strive to create for our children. We are so proud of how far Zolisa has come and so excited about where he is going!

If you would like to support the work we do to provide more opportunities for young people like Zolisa then check out our page ‘How You Can Help‘.

For more information on our work in South Africa click here.

10 of our kids visit UK Rugby Festival

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Over the last week United Through Sport have been involved with bringing 10 of our under 13s children from South Africa to play against another 9 Rugby Teams from around the world. The Festival of Rugby, organised by partner charity Touraid has given our kids an amazing opportunity to travel out of South Africa for the first time and experience a totally different culture to their own.

The tour comprised of two tournament days, hosted at Henley RFC and Esher RFC, buddy days with supporting schools (ours being Ripley Court in Surrey) and cultural days in London, visiting all the great sights.

Our 10 kids stayed with a great bunch of parents and children from Ripley Court who were also competing in the tournament, providing an ideal platform to build international relationships that will hopefully continue long after the tour is over.

The tour coincided nicely with the Rugby World Cup 2015 in England and the children enjoyed a surprise visit from former South Africa Rugby International, Chester Williams and John Inverdale, who has presented coverage of many major sporting events including the Olympic Games, Wimbledon, the Grand National and the FIFA World Cup.

Thanks to all those involved for making this a tour worth remembering given the huge amount of effort put in to make it happen.

Enjoy some of the photos from the tour, mainly taken at the Henley RFC tournament.

Marathon completed in 35 degree hit

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There are a few things on this planet that most sensible people would never contemplate doing. However, for a minute group of others, the challenge of pushing yourself mentally and physically to the limit, seems well worth the effort.

Take the Petra Desert Marathon, a challenging adventure marathon set in the beautiful desert region of Jordan. Starting in the ancient city of Petra, the route takes runners on a remarkable journey through the area surrounding Petra. From the lunar-like mountain landscape to the arid desert, runners navigate challenging terrain in the dry, desert heat… 35 degree plus!

Mark Swaine, along with his brother, put themselves through this crueling challenge recently and also decided to support United Through Sport in the process. In Mark’s own words:

“After a groggy start at the hotel, the group met in the Petra Visitor Centre for a wondrous walk down through the narrow Siq gorge, before it cleared to reveal one of the seven wonders of the world, resplendent in the empty morning mist.

There was only a few minutes to take it all in before a controlled start through the archaeological sight then hitting some steep hills to wake up our legs. Bedouin tribes littered the desert and looked on in mild confusion at these maniacs running through their desert on sandy tracks that wove up and around the red rocks and sand. The scenery was spectacular, and due to only 50 or so runners, was also tranquil enough to really enjoy.

The enjoyment ceased at 31km where the biggest hill I’ve ever been up by my own steam, beckoned in the 35 degree heat; 450m up over about 3 kilometres. My legs couldn’t even run initially when I got to the top. I scrambled down the loose rock path before getting to a village, and hobbling my way through to the finish. A joint 7th place with my brother, and an end to an astonishing and once-in-a-lifetime experience!”

A huge thanks goes out to Mark for his mighty effort in getting to the finish line and showing us he is one tough mudder with a compassion to help others less fortunate.

If the Petra Desert Marathon interests you for next year (3rd Sep 2016) then check out their website here.

Alternatively, check out our fundraising page if you would like to take on another charity challenge in aid of United Through Sport by clicking here

Our work reaches 1600 extra people in the community

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In partnership with the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM), United Through Sport (UTS) implemented a series of community-based projects in the period of June-July 2015 to increase physical activity in the communities of Nelson Mandela Bay. These events were to encourage the residents of the Bay to lead a healthier lifestyle as well as to bring activities to the idle youth during the long school break. Over the winter school holiday, UTS conducted these projects in the form of three Community Walks and two Holiday Programmes in and around the Bay, where a total of 1589 participants took part in the various events.

This physical activity plan formed part of the Designed to Move campaign which highlights the importance of being physically active. As there are a lot of risks, conditions and diseases associated with physical inactivity, such as depression, heart disease and strokes, it was important to raise awareness around this. It is also important to inform the young children that they could pro long and improve the quality of their lives and brain power by taking part in physical activities.

The Community Walks were 2km routes in the townships and catered for everyone in the community; the young and the old. Each walk started off with a brief aerobics warm up session, especially considering how cold it was in the early mornings.  At the end of the walks and after the cooling down exercises, there were challenges and competitions done to showcase ways of doing fun and free physical activities. These included a skipping rope and hoola-hoop challenges and dance competitions. Prizes were awarded to the challenge participants and competition winners, as well as our oldest and youngest walkers.

All the communities warmly appreciated having such events in their township, as they rarely have the chance to participate in these kinds of opportunities in their remote area. The youngest participants were still learning how to walk and the eldest walkers were in their 70s.

The different elements incorporated in the Holiday Programmes were life-skills, role plays, sport, general knowledge quizzes, indigenous games as well as arts & crafts. UTS also included some of their own beneficiaries from the Senior School of Excellence to work as volunteers at the holiday camps. The older and more mature beneficiaries assisted as peer leaders to the participants. At the end of the camps, these youngsters felt really good about being involved in such an initiative, and being able to be of service to other children. It was a good opportunity to develop their leadership skills and to take responsibility for developing younger children from their communities.

The older children participated in life-skills which focused on HIV and AIDS awareness. The different fun and interactive games in these sessions taught the children about the importance of decisions they make and the consequences which follow, the myths and truths on identifying someone who is HIV positive, how to minimize the risks of being infected and how HIV is spread. The younger children spent a lot of time in the arts & crafts sessions, where they did face painting, paper masks, storytelling and such age appropriate activities.

On the sport aspects, the girls and boys took part in netball and soccer where they were coached by the UTS international volunteers. On the last day of the holiday programme, they played against each other, as well as an indigenous games tournament.

The winter holiday programme was a great success in enabling us to take key aspects of our ongoing programmes to communities that wouldn’t otherwise benefit. Being a development through sport organization; it is great to be working in partnership with the municipality to encourage healthier lifestyles in our communities.

“It feels great that I can give back to other children and pay forward what United Through Sport has done for me in my life.” Lorenda , UTS Beneficiary, 17 years old

“We never really think about the dangers of living an inactive life, yet there is so much we can do every day to avoid many diseases; we just need to move a little more every day.” Sonwabo Jacobs, Colchester Community Member, 45 years old.

10 Years of Progress

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We are celebrating a decade of work in South Africa. Our first operation began ten years ago in Port Elizabeth. In that time we have established a great network of schools in which to use sport as a tool for development. We have permanently changed lives for the better in the impoverished areas in which we work.

Through our Mass Participation Programme (MPP) we have used sport as way to effectively tackle critical issues such as HIV and Aids, a major threat to kids growing up in townships. The MPP has also shown us which children show the correct attitude and level of promise in order to attend our Junior and Senior Schools of Excellence, where we have had great success. So much so, that our first year of grade 12’s all graduated to University.

With a solid infrastructure and a dedicated team in charge of operations, we aren’t letting up any time soon. Congratulations to all involved.

Watch our video and hear from Nick Mould, one of the United Through Sport founders, explain more.

Our Coaches Save the Day in St Lucia

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Our Volunteer coaches gave up their weekend to aid an inter-church tournament on their local playing field and ended up competing and eventually winning it!

When the inaugural St. Lucia inter-church 7 a-side tournament hit a few major snags, minutes before its scheduled start, the United Through Sport house was their first point of call. Our team of football coaches came down on a moments notice; marking pitches, organising schedules, providing equipment, filling in as match officials and even creating a team with the rest of the UTS coaches.

Competing against teams from Anse la Raye, Gros Islet and Castries, The United Through Sport Team comprising of volunteer coaches Joël Martin, Joe Page, Patrick Kasaga, Josh Lawrence, Simon Watters, Adam Butler and Alex Hardy were able to win the tournament on behalf of one the Castries churches that were unable to make the event.

Volunteer Teacher Jen talks to the Coaches in South Africa

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Jeanette Morelan is a United Through Sport volunteer who has been teaching on our project in South Africa. She also keeps a blog, “The Blessed Life”, in which she has recently written about a day in the life of a UTS coach. Here’s what happened.

J: Why did you decide to volunteer with United Through Sport?

I decided to volunteer at UTS because I fully believe in their goals and wanted them to help reach them at 100%. By placing children in the townships in the center of the attention, United Through Sport is taking care of the future of South Africa. —Julian S.

I’ve always wanted to do sport-related volunteering, and United Through Sport really stood out to me. After seeing a video and some photos of the kids that UTS was working with, it sounded incredible and described everything I wanted to do as a volunteer. —Jess T.

J: Describe a typical day of coaching.

Coaches go to 3 schools a day and do 14 schools in a week. When we arrive the children are already waiting to grab the equipment and take it to the different sports areas. Every school is different, so even though we plan our sessions beforehand we have to be able to adapt to circumstances such as playing conditions and ability and their capacity to speak English. Every coaching session is really different! Traveling from different schools can be tiring, but we always give 110% as the kids want to learn and enjoy the sessions. As coaches we discuss afterwards what can be improved and our experiences so we can be more prepared for the next week. It’s a busy day, but we really enjoy it and love getting to have different experiences and meeting different kids. —Jess T.

Shower, eat, coach, eat, sleep, eat, sleep, repeat. —Robbie M.

I wake up around 8:30am to have a shower. At 8:45 I’ll have a simple breakfast, just a simple toast with cheddar cheese. After the breakfast we usually have about a hour left to relax/chill and I use this time to contact my family and friends in Holland. During a coaching day, we coach 3 primary schools. Normally it depends on the school which results you’ll reach. At some schools you are able to really improve the skills of the kids, sometimes it’s just a victory keeping them all in one place! After finishing the coaching sessions we go back to the UTS accommodation where we can fill in the rest of the day after dinner at 5:30pm. We have a lot of fun visiting different places in Port Elizabeth or playing pool or table tennis back at the house. At the end of the day I feel really happy that I can sleep and repeat this for five times in the week. —Julian S.

J: What’s your favorite part about being a coach?

I love the excitement on the kids faces as the UTS bus pulls into each of the schools. They all love the coaching sessions, and are so excited to see you each week. I’ve been surprised at how quickly I’ve become so attached to all the kids we coach, and was genuinely gutted to have to say goodbye at the end of 10 weeks. The amount some of them have improved week on week is unbelievable which is so great to see. —Jo B.

The enormous satisfaction that the kids show by smiling, hugging you as a coach before, during and after a coaching session just because you took the time to be with them. Also when kids make really big improvements. When you can spot some great results it makes it one of the best jobs in the world! —Julian S.

Sports Coaching South Africa

What are some of the challenges associated with coaching?

Coaching different numbers of kids on sometimes bad pitches (fields) with little equipment. —Lukas S.

I would say that the most difficult, and challenging, part of being a coach was keeping the kids under control and listening to my instructions. Whilst it was very frustrating, I found that this provided a good learning experience for myself as an individual. —Felix M.

The biggest challenge is to realize that some kids are already too much influenced by their environment to realize how important education and sports are. Sport creates on its own a great opportunity for people to develop themselves and to create a better future. Sometimes this is hard to communicate for kids that have never been taught the value of sports or education. It’s hard sometimes to try and convince them to leave their current ideas and way of living. —Julian S.

How do you think that United Through Sport is making an impact?

We can see the positive difference that it makes first hand on both kids’ ability to play sports and also their confidence and attitudes toward each other. When we recommend children to the Junior School of Excellence, we know that it could effect the course of their entire lives and we can see that they take the opportunity very seriously. —Imi P.

United Through Sport makes a difference by brightening the days of hundreds of kids each week by bringing them together for some time of sports and fun. When they’re with us, they can leave all of their problems and issues that they might have at home and spend some time receiving mentoring and coaching that they would have never had before as well as enjoying time with their friends. —Chris B.

What are some things that you have learned as a coach with United Through Sport?

To not judge a person before you know their story. Sometimes you get really surprised about what these kids have to deal with. I expect that if we as people from first world countries had to deal with their circumstances we would probably behave the same. —Julian S.

I have learned more things about myself whilst here in South Africa than I have about the place and its inhabitants. I know now more about my personal limits and strengths, and that people will listen to me if I just use the right words. This experience has been the most valuable of my life so far and I will always treasure it. —Felix M.

 

Park Pereyra Hockey Project a Success

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March marked the beginning of the United Through Sport Girls Community Hockey Project in Park Pereyra, Buenos Aires. Since the project began, the number of participants has increased almost by the session.

After the first couple of weeks, we were a little nervous about the low numbers of girls participating, but we needn’t have worried. Those girls who began attending at the outset told the others in the neighbourhood how much fun they were having and how worthwhile the sessions were. Before long, numbers started to increase.

Having been running this project for over two months, we are happy to report that this project now reaches over thirty girls aged between seven and fourteen . A huge thank you must go out to all the volunteers who made this possible and we hope to have many more who want to participle in this project that continues to grow every week.

 

Spar Women’s Challenge 5k “Most Beautiful Race in the World”

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37 of our Junior School of Excellence Girls ran the Spar Women’s 5k this year in Port Elizabeth. This is the second year in a row in which our Junior School of Excellence Girls have run in this event and was a small treat for our girls who have been performing so well both on the sports field and in the classroom.

An added bonus was seeing our South Africa Teaching Coordinator Romain getting his best frock on to join the ladies, as all men who wish to participate must do so in drag. Well done Romain!

One beneficiary of the day was the Association for Persons with Physical Disabilities in Nelson Mandela Bay who were presented with a cheque for R250,000.