Sthombe steps up to the plate

STHOMBE Sithole’s dream to create a healthier Molweni community is coming to fruition as her free yoga and aerobics classes continue to gain momentum.

The 25-year-old said the idea for her get-fit classes was sparked after she noticed the growing number of young women involve themselves in drugs and the rate of teenage pregnancy that appeared to be on a steady increase. “The situation of their lifestyle was not good at all. The young women had nothing to do, there is a high rate of HIV/AIDS and a large portion of this is due to boredom,” said Sthombe.

She launched the classes to create a healthy lifestyle and give them something to do. Her first thought was to involve as many children as possible as they were at the greatest risk. “When they are finished with school in the afternoon they would go home, get bored, visit their friends, boyfriends and that is where this whole problem begins, with the children,” said Sthombe.

“I thought of what worked for me when I was young. I was a soccer player and that helped keep me busy and away from being sexually active. Most women don’t enjoy playing soccer and I wanted to do something that would keep them entertained and excited,” she said.

The classes started in February and Sthombe posted an invite on Facebook. This later evolved into a group on WhatsApp. She also visited a few schools. The first class saw 15 people attend and only a few months later there are now more than 60 people who participate in the tri-weekly exercise programme. Each of the sessions are one hour and thirty minutes long and on Monday and Tuesday the group does aerobics classes and yoga is reserved for Wednesday afternoon.

“We don’t just do aerobics. We do steps, catbox (boxing), as well as aerobics,” said an up-beat Sthombe. With the growing numbers, she found the need to train two other people, Sne Khanyeza and Nhlanhla Mathebula, to help host the classes.

“The reason I made the classes free of charge is that in my community there is not a lot of money to pay for gym and exercise and it is seen as a waste of money,” said Sthombe. “This way we can reach a much larger audience and get as many people involved as possible.”

To help with sponsorships, Sthombe said she has written many application letters to different businesses and has knocked on many doors to ensure the classes continue and there is enough equipment to go around. She does this outside of her normal day job as a field worker in the children’s programme at the Hillcrest Aids Centre Trust.

“I am hoping to create a healthier community, especially among women. My hopes with this programme are to see a drop the rate of teenage pregnancy, introduce as many people to the sport as possible and to get them to lead healthier lifestyles,” she said. “I think it is going great and I want to not only train more women to lead the classes, but hope the event spreads into the other communities in the Valley of 1 000 Hills, and to possibly introduce Zumba as well,” she said.

To see the classes in action, visit the Facebook page, Fundafuthi Training and Development.