Children of Zandspruit revel in sports tournament

A football and netball tournament gets children of Zandspruit off the streets and on the field for a day of community upliftment.

John-Mark Kilian, director of Impophomo , a non-profit organisation focused on the upliftment of Zandspruit, said this sports tournament was in aid of youth development within the community. The tournament, which is now in its 10th year, was held at Emthonjeni Community Centre on 10 June.

Kilian said they had been working with community leaders to keep children off the streets and away from drugs and joining gangs. “In-between events we work with the youth where we do sports clinics like football and netball and we hoping to introduce cricket, rugby and even golf,” added Kilian.

Impophomo is an organsiation started by Northpoint City Church and Umsizi , a company focused on the implementation of socio-economic development programmes primarily in rural communities.

The day brought out the best in these young sports enthusiasts who were joined by 57 Americans from Texas who had come to the country hold various outreach programmes around the city, but more specifically for Zandspruit.

Kilian added that people tended to forget about the residents from Zandspruit, “On the other side of the valley there are all the people who have something, but on this side of the valley, are those caught on the poverty side.”

He said for the past nine years Impophomo had been in the community to try and help the close to 80 000 people who called Zandspruit home. He also explained the meaning of the word Zandspruit, which means land with no water, while Impophomo translates to rushing waters.

Details: Umsizi info@umsizi.co.za or 011 791 2157.