Keeping the youth away from crime through sport

The Brakpan SAPS Youth Prevention Crime Desk organised a day of sport for local youth at the soccer field in Mkhankwa Village on Saturday.

Over 100 people attended the event to play soccer alongside their teammates or simply to spectate and enjoy the exciting vibe of the day.

The event was organised in conjunction with the EMPD Social Crime Prevention Unit, whose members also attended the event.

Though the event was focused on giving children a chance to play their favourite sports together, a meaningful message was the key motivation for the day.

Chairperson of the Brakpan SAPS Youth Prevention Crime Desk Prudence Mabasa (27) explained that the event slogan is “Sishay’ibola, asishay’umuntu” which means “we hit the ball, we don’t hit anybody”, and this important message was given to all participants and spectators at the start of the tournament.

Also read: South Africa’s shocking gender based violence statistics

Prudence, who works alongside secretary treasurer Naomi Ntuli and Sesi Chauke, believes that when children are busy on the sports field they can’t be getting into trouble.

“This is our way of preventing crime against children in our community,” she said.

Aside from sports events, the youth desk also works on creating educational programmes for children to help them develop useful skills.

“We are working on programmes, such as art and libraries, to give children access to skills they may otherwise never get a chance to develop,” said Prudence.

The youth desk believes the best way to combat crime in the community is to take preventative measures rather than deal with the issues after the crimes have been committed.

These programmes are designed to teach children there is more out there than a life of crime.

As an example, Prudence told the Herald one of the best poets she ever heard was a homeless boy “who could spit the most incredible bars”.

“If only we had the chance to help him develop his skills before his circumstances became so dire,” she said.

In pursuit of this goal, the Department for Community Safety and the youth desk have been working in four different sectors around Brakpan and Springs to expose children to all their favourite sports.

Netball, cricket and rugby are also favourites for the children, but the youth desk does not currently have the resources to add these to their events.

“We have been fighting for practice spaces and sponsors,” said Prudence.

Also read: Get your game on against crime

Fortunately, the event medals were donated by Automagic, so children could be rewarded for their participation in this crucial programme.

This event was simply a warm-up round for the main event, a netball and soccer tournament, which kicks off at Charl Baard Stadium in Brakpan this Saturday.

The event will be held from 7am to 4pm.

Entrance is free and there will be plenty of entertainment, and great food on sale.

To add to the fun, the youth desk is calling on the Brakpan community to take part in their #SISHAYIBOLA_ASISHAYUMUNTU viral challenge.

It’s easy to participate, simply take a video of yourself doing a sports trick.

Send the video to 061 441 8628 with your name and surname, and then look our for it on the Brakpan Herald’s Facebook page.

The video with the most likes by noon tomorrow will receive an awesome prize.

The closing date is Friday, November 29, at noon.

For more information visit the Brakpan SAPS Youth Prevention Crime Desk social media pages: Instagram (_youth_desk) or Facebook (Brakpan Youth Crime Prevention Desk).

You can also send a WhatsApp to 072 519 5692.

More photos: Using sport to tackle youth crime

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Contact the newsroom by emailing: Thelma Koorts  (editor) brakpanherald@caxton.co.za

or Stacy Slatter (news editor) stacys@caxton.co.za

 or Miné Fourie (journalist) minev@caxton.co.za

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