First annual social cohesion games a success
After the Geluksdal fights, DoE Gauteng East came with social games
Tsakani – The Department of Education Gauteng East District in partnership with Upward Spiral 1417 hosted the Geluksdal/Tsakane Social Cohesion Games on Friday at the Tsakani Stadium.
“The games came after the racial tension which led to fights in Geluksdal, which is what led to the department coming up with the programme,” said Mfaniseni Kunene of Gauteng East Schools Football.
He said it was discovered that learners in secondary schools no longer play and end up having tension, leading to them fighting amongst themselves.
The games started with eight schools at the beginning of the second school term and five schools managed to get to the finals of the soccer and netball sporting codes.
In netball, Tholulwazi Secondary and JE Malepe Secondary met each other in the battle for position three. Tholulwazi beat JE 23-11.
Tholulwazi coach Smangele Dlamini said she was proud of how her girls played and that she was happy that they reached the stage of playing for position three.
Buhlebemfundo Secondary met Reshogofaditswe Secondary in the finals. The game was intense and full of passion.
It saw Reshogofaditswe coming back from being behind 5-1 to win the game and the first annual social cohesion games by 17-10. Reshogofaditswe coach Michael Seku was very excited when his girls won the tournament.
“We trained a lot and the result shows. There was a lot of pressure when we started the game but I’m glad the girls managed to grow their confidence back,” he said.
There was a lot of cheering and singing by Reshogofaditswe’s fans which helped boost the girls’ confidence as they started playing better and scoring more goals as the singing got louder.
The school won R10 000 in sporting equipment they might need.
Reshogofaditswe’s school principal Michael Phala said he was happy that the girls won and as part of the list they’ll be submitting they’ll be including volleyball and netball kits, poles and chairs.
In soccer, Buhlebemfundo Secondary knocked out Geluksdal Secondary by 2-0 while JE Malepe eliminated Reshogofaditswe 4-3.
Buhlebemfundo then lost to JE Malepe in the finals by 1-3. JE also won R10 000 in sporting equipment for the school.
The tournament director, Whitey Ntsikelelo Tshowa said after all that happened in Geluksdal which led to a learner’s death, he is happy that Geluksdal managed to reach the semis in soccer and that hopefully the netball team will do just as well next year.
“Companies who would like to fund the social cohesion games next year or the primary school games which will be in August are welcome to come on board,” Tshowa concluded.
