Youth Development Programme launched

The City of Cape Town has signed an agreement with the Principality of Monaco and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to develop a youth development programme in Gugulethu.

The programme involves training unemployed youths to mentor and train younger children, using sport as a conduit.

It will be based at the upgraded NY49 sports complex in Gugulethu, and will be managed by the Sport and Recreation Department.

A delegation from Monaco and the UNDP visited Cape Town in early May to sign the agreement, which has now been finalised and signed by the Executive Director of Community Services, Ms Lokiwe Mtwazi.

Gert Bam, the City’s Director: Sport, Recreation and Amenities said: “The City is honoured to have been chosen by these international partners for this project. As a result, the NY49 sports field complex has been restored and will once again be the hub of sporting activities for our youth in Gugulethu. Through this project there will be constant activities throughout the week introducing the local youth to various forms of sport and recreation.”

According to Luzuko Mdunyelwa of the Directorate: External Relations, the delegates visited the sports complex and were happy with the improvements that have been carried out so far by the City.

Mdunyelwa says the idea for the project came about in 2005, when Prince Albert of Monaco wanted to launch a youth development project in Cape Town, using sport as a platform.

A non-governmental organisation based in Rome, called GLOCAL, has helped the UNDP and Monaco set up similar programmes in other African countries, and was brought in to facilitate the programme.

The NY49 sports facility in Gugulethu was chosen as the site for the project, as it has a large catchment area.

The complex had been vandalised, but the City was able to make an insurance claim and restore the complex, as well as install new infrastructure. It is already in use, and is now ready for the programme to start.

In terms of the programme, unemployed youths will be brought into the project and trained as sport development co-ordinators. They will in turn train younger children, aged between 6 and 12, in sport and recreation.

 “The idea is that sport is the conduit for other training,” Mdunyelwa said. “All this is similar to the Sport & Recreation department’s Come and Play programme.”

The trainers will be paid a stipend, but not full salaries, as it is a community development programme.

“It is also a kick-start programme for them, they can use the skills they have learned and develop themselves too,” he said.

The Principality of Monaco is funding the project to the tune of approximately R300,000 over three years, which will be spent on capacity building, sports equipment, overhead costs and other expenses.

“It is a wonderful programme, and I am really excited about it, even though my role –as the initiator of the process, motivating for the investment to come to the city and facilitating discussions between the funders and the city – is near to completion,” said Mdunyelwa.

A workshop was held on 16 May 2009, with City officials, the donor representative, sporting federations and codes, and the Gugulethu community, sporting and cultural associations, represented.

Donny Jurgens, Manager of the Specialised Operations Unit of the Department of Sport, Recreation and Amenities of the City of Cape Town facilitated the workshop.

Expectations, future development, challenges, and action steps were discussed.

At the end of the workshop, it was decided to break the stakeholders into two groups - a core group representing the beneficiaries or children of Gugulethu, and a second group of stakeholders offering activities or services to the beneficiaries on the NY49 site.

More workshops will be held in the next month to finalise a Work Plan and Project Charter.
 
 
Martin Pollack  
  
2009/05/20