Mamkhulu

Soccer and Psychosocial Support Camps

Psychosocial Support Camps 2011

 

July 2011

 

 

A series of soccer camps was held at 12 schools in the area around Daantjie and Msogwaba, Mpumalanga Province during the 2010 FIFA World Soccer Championships in July 2010.  Another series of camps were held in December 2010 with the emphasis on psychosocial support for OVC.

 

These camps were registered as part of the Department of Social Development safety net to provide for orphans and vulnerable children this year. The camps were geared to cater for children nominated by their schools as in need of care and support during the games and Christmas break when there are no school feeding schemes. All school principals and teachers were on board to give support and make these camps a success.

Many orphans and vulnerable children were at risk during the soccer games.  Nelspruit was a venue for 4 of the games, and many foreigners and adults attended them.  With schools closed for an extended period of time, the children who normally received food at school were without support. The goal of the soccer clinics was to provide 2 meals a day for these children as well as activities to keep them occupied and safe at their schools. It also provided some income for 48 youth from the community who were hired to run the camps and some training for them beforehand. The camps were for both boys and girls and they gave all those involved new skills and an opportunity to be part of the soccer fever.

The December camps were part of an on-going programme to provide these children with food and care during their Christmas school break.  Many of the children only eat at school through the feeding programmes and without this support they have major problems.  The camps also provided psychosocial support for the children and training for the youth involved in the counseling.

---

 

Read our latest news item about our Soccer Camp Success

 

 

Soccer and Psychosocial Support Camps

December 2010

Camps were held at the Litsemba Centre for the first weeks of December 2010.  The first camp was a training programme for 48 youth from the surrounding communities to assist them with their own psychosocial issues and to give them skills to assist the children in the schools where the camps were held.

 

The second camps were held at 6 community schools in Daantjie and Msogwaba townships.  These included soccer skills development as well providing psychosocial support to the more than 200 orphans and vulnerable children that participated. A more detailed report will be included soon.