After School Programme
"Beyond the Game!" – Youth Development through Sport (YDS) is a new wing of our mass participation programme. This new concept of Youth Development through Sport (YDS) is street outreach-based, focusing on out-of-school youth and young adults in high-risk sites such as informal or semi-formal settlements, and adolescents at their most vulnerable ages as they face social and health challenges. The YDS Project is based on and inspired by a 1-year curriculum composed of 15 different modules, which aim at using innovative and creative techniques and activities to address various social and health topics, focusing on the development of positive attitudes, which will contribute to the building of a responsible youth.
The "Beyond the Game" project is delivered to – and most importantly with - the youth and includes clear impact measurables. Though for most of the project participants, the project will benefit them for 1 year (the duration of the curriculum), we have put in place systems to ensure sustainability beyond our direct involvement. Moreover, our strategy includes a "Project Pyramid", aimed at opening and offering as many opportunities as possible for children to reach their full potential. The pyramid's various levels are as follows:
Mass participation, grass root after-school youth outreach sports and education activities, based on an annual curriculum with social / health related modules. Participants who get 80% or more on the curriculum evaluation get their school fee paid (max. R300.-) for the following year.
Youth with the most academic and sports potential are subsequently eligible for a scholarship at Umzingisi’s School of Sporting Excellence at Ithembelihle High School in New Brighton township.
The pyramid may take those who show most dedication and potential even higher, through scholarships to attend Pearson High School, one of the best academic and sports schools in Port Elizabeth and active partner to the project.
The last step of the pyramid is potential bursaries to attend tertiary education institutions; this phase of the project is managed by Pearson High School.
Umzingisi’s approach is to create sustainable social change by motivating the participants to become opinion leaders in their social network of peers and siblings. Research supports the strong influence of positive peer relations, with peer-led groups resulting in significant improvement in knowledge compared to teacher-led groups. The impact of our Project hence goes beyond its immediate beneficiaries and positively influences peers and siblings not directly involved. The initiative is yet a prototype, which will inspire further growth points and replications of such after-school activities focusing on similar outcome measures. Our project aligns itself with government and corporate interest in strengthening leadership capacities and in strengthening the capacity of communities through sustainable social change. It is also in line with the efforts aimed at attaining the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.
Finally, Umzingisi's established international volunteer programme also enables a tremendous cross-cultural learning experience for the children, backed by sports skills of qualified local coaches and expert social / health knowledge which we are developing both internally and through partnerships with expert organisations and individuals.