Iconic former state president Nelson Mandela once wrote that “education is a weapon which you can use to change the world”.
While this might ring true, there are young people, especially in the Eastern Cape hinterland, that fail to reach their matric year and end up eking out an existence or opting for a life of crime.
Until recently, this has been the case in rural Mxambule, a sprawling village located more than 20km outside Mqanduli near Mthatha.
While most in the village manage to enter their school gates and leave armed with an education, a few find the going tough and end up quitting school altogether.
But young people from this remote area have come up with a plan that encourages everyone to see their education through.
Instead of preaching about the ills of a life of crime, the youngsters are using sport to spread Mandela’s message about the importance of education.
By staying in school, youngsters in this area get to enjoy a number of team sports and the camaraderie that flows from this and they benefit from extra school tuition, while learning of the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
For a long time, it had been a norm in Mxambule for young boys to play for the village’s soccer club called Pikinini.
Their grandfathers had played for the team and so had their fathers and their older brothers. So it was natural they would take up the baton from them one day.
However, youngsters decided to establish the Happy Brothers Academy which operates under the banner of what they refer to as Mxambule Village Youth Development. This academy has introduced several sporting codes and promote the game of soccer.
Rugby, boxing, netball and other art forms like traditional dancing, modelling and rapping are also organised through the centre.
They have also drawn up a constitution that guides the running of the academy as well as a business plan, which they hope will assist them in sourcing funding to grow the academy.
The academy’s public relations officer Thule Gwazela says the reason for the academy was very simple – almost every young person is born with creative talent and the desire to explore it.
“We knew it was the easiest way to get through to them,” Gwazela said.
“To continue until matric in this area is no easy task. For example if you manage to get to high school, you either go to Holomisa Senior Secondary School in town or to Qokolweni.
“Both areas are far and not everyone can afford taxi money. So some end up dropping out of school altogether,” he said.
Gwazela, a 23-year-old third-year human resource management student at Walter Sisulu University, said some of those that had found a way to continue with their schooling ruined their opportunity by doing drugs, which affected their performance in class.
“Before they know it, they find themselves having to attend class with very young children. But rather than subject themselves to this embarrassment, they opt to leave school.”
Through the Happy Brothers Academy, established last year, the youths of Mxambule encourage each other to focus on their schoolwork, find out about possible future careers by holding exhibitions and help villagers who have completed their matric find tertiary education. Others are also helped with applying for bursaries.
“We discovered there were a lot of young people with nothing to do.
“The result was a rise in the crime rate, especially housebreaking.
“Others spent the better part of their lives loitering around taverns.
“We tell the youngsters about the importance of getting an education. We help preach the message of getting an education,” Gwazela said.
Qaqambile Zenzile, a former soccer player and qualified teacher, has been appointed as head coach of the academy.
The 24-year-old said the academy was all about instiling a positive mind-set among young people of Mxambule.
During funerals in the village, academy members are required to help out with fetching water from streams, setting up tents and also collecting firewood from nearby forests.
This year, they plan to collect as many blankets as they can to be distributed to elderly villagers of Mxambule.
They also are in the process of raising enough money to buy school uniforms for members who come from very poor households.
“We have also organised people from the health department to come and address young people about things like HIV/Aids,” Zenzile said.
“So far it seems the academy is producing positive results as there are fewer crime incidents being reported here. We are also trying to curb teenage pregnancy – we also have a ladies soccer team.”
He said the academy was also big on discipline and members who bunk training or are found to have been in shebeens and taverns are fined about R50.
This fine also applies to those who use vulgar language.
Training sessions take place between 4.30pm and 6.30pm every Monday to Friday, depending on the weather, while weekends are reserved for games against teams from other areas.
Players are forced to sign an attendance register. The idea is to inculcate a sense of respect among young people.
As funds are sparse, the academy uses Mxambule Junior Secondary School as their base for matches and for holding their meetings.
Zenzile says, despite their limited resources, he is astounded by the level of commitment shown by the members.
He said some of their members had reported a huge improvement in their school results, while the general attitude towards schooling had also improved drastically among Mxambule youths.
“We are trying to close the gap between the educated and the uneducated.”
Zenzile said if government would invest in sport, half the battle against the social ills plaguing the young people could be won.
Twenty-one-year-old soccer team captain Zukisani Ngqanya, a Grade 12 pupil, admitted that a lot of youngsters in the village used to hang around the shops with nothing to do after school.
This was until the intervention by academy’s executive committee members like Gwazela and Zenzile.
Elderly villager Mziseni Volo, a father of eight, who worked in Johannesburg until recently enjoys watching the youngsters in action whenever he is not in church.
“These children are so responsible and very respectful. Whatever we’re doing in the village you will find them heavily involved.”
One of the academy beneficiaries is Luleka Siyunguma, 17, said: “I definitely want to be a model now because I have seen that I have the talent.” — sikhon@dispatch.
Great sporting chance
While this might ring true, there are young people, especially in the Eastern Cape hinterland, that fail to reach their matric year and end up eking out an existence or opting for a life of crime.
Until recently, this has been the case in rural Mxambule, a sprawling village located more than 20km outside Mqanduli near Mthatha.
While most in the village manage to enter their school gates and leave armed with an education, a few find the going tough and end up quitting school altogether.
But young people from this remote area have come up with a plan that encourages everyone to see their education through.
Instead of preaching about the ills of a life of crime, the youngsters are using sport to spread Mandela’s message about the importance of education.
By staying in school, youngsters in this area get to enjoy a number of team sports and the camaraderie that flows from this and they benefit from extra school tuition, while learning of the dangers of drugs and alcohol.
For a long time, it had been a norm in Mxambule for young boys to play for the village’s soccer club called Pikinini.
Their grandfathers had played for the team and so had their fathers and their older brothers. So it was natural they would take up the baton from them one day.
However, youngsters decided to establish the Happy Brothers Academy which operates under the banner of what they refer to as Mxambule Village Youth Development. This academy has introduced several sporting codes and promote the game of soccer.
Rugby, boxing, netball and other art forms like traditional dancing, modelling and rapping are also organised through the centre.
They have also drawn up a constitution that guides the running of the academy as well as a business plan, which they hope will assist them in sourcing funding to grow the academy.
The academy’s public relations officer Thule Gwazela says the reason for the academy was very simple – almost every young person is born with creative talent and the desire to explore it.
“We knew it was the easiest way to get through to them,” Gwazela said.
“To continue until matric in this area is no easy task. For example if you manage to get to high school, you either go to Holomisa Senior Secondary School in town or to Qokolweni.
“Both areas are far and not everyone can afford taxi money. So some end up dropping out of school altogether,” he said.
Gwazela, a 23-year-old third-year human resource management student at Walter Sisulu University, said some of those that had found a way to continue with their schooling ruined their opportunity by doing drugs, which affected their performance in class.
“Before they know it, they find themselves having to attend class with very young children. But rather than subject themselves to this embarrassment, they opt to leave school.”
Through the Happy Brothers Academy, established last year, the youths of Mxambule encourage each other to focus on their schoolwork, find out about possible future careers by holding exhibitions and help villagers who have completed their matric find tertiary education. Others are also helped with applying for bursaries.
“We discovered there were a lot of young people with nothing to do.
“The result was a rise in the crime rate, especially housebreaking.
“Others spent the better part of their lives loitering around taverns.
“We tell the youngsters about the importance of getting an education. We help preach the message of getting an education,” Gwazela said.
Qaqambile Zenzile, a former soccer player and qualified teacher, has been appointed as head coach of the academy.
The 24-year-old said the academy was all about instiling a positive mind-set among young people of Mxambule.
During funerals in the village, academy members are required to help out with fetching water from streams, setting up tents and also collecting firewood from nearby forests.
This year, they plan to collect as many blankets as they can to be distributed to elderly villagers of Mxambule.
They also are in the process of raising enough money to buy school uniforms for members who come from very poor households.
“We have also organised people from the health department to come and address young people about things like HIV/Aids,” Zenzile said.
“So far it seems the academy is producing positive results as there are fewer crime incidents being reported here. We are also trying to curb teenage pregnancy – we also have a ladies soccer team.”
He said the academy was also big on discipline and members who bunk training or are found to have been in shebeens and taverns are fined about R50.
This fine also applies to those who use vulgar language.
Training sessions take place between 4.30pm and 6.30pm every Monday to Friday, depending on the weather, while weekends are reserved for games against teams from other areas.
Players are forced to sign an attendance register. The idea is to inculcate a sense of respect among young people.
As funds are sparse, the academy uses Mxambule Junior Secondary School as their base for matches and for holding their meetings.
Zenzile says, despite their limited resources, he is astounded by the level of commitment shown by the members.
He said some of their members had reported a huge improvement in their school results, while the general attitude towards schooling had also improved drastically among Mxambule youths.
“We are trying to close the gap between the educated and the uneducated.”
Zenzile said if government would invest in sport, half the battle against the social ills plaguing the young people could be won.
Twenty-one-year-old soccer team captain Zukisani Ngqanya, a Grade 12 pupil, admitted that a lot of youngsters in the village used to hang around the shops with nothing to do after school.
This was until the intervention by academy’s executive committee members like Gwazela and Zenzile.
Elderly villager Mziseni Volo, a father of eight, who worked in Johannesburg until recently enjoys watching the youngsters in action whenever he is not in church.
“These children are so responsible and very respectful. Whatever we’re doing in the village you will find them heavily involved.”
One of the academy beneficiaries is Luleka Siyunguma, 17, said: “I definitely want to be a model now because I have seen that I have the talent.” — sikhon@dispatch.
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