Uniting people through horses

Horses became the common goal that linked children from different backgrounds at the South African Riding for the Disabled Durban’s community outreach project day.

Tracey Cummings from SARDA Durban in Assagay was made aware of young children from the underprivileged area of Cliffdale Valley who were scavenging through bins for food rather than attending school. With the school holidays she realised these children would be bored and have even more reason to scavenge for food.

So she came up with a solution – arrange a day where these children could spend time engaging with the horses and being entertained with the help of local high school children who had offered their time to do community service.

The 20 Cliffdale Valley children were transported to the Assagay venue by pre-arranged taxis where they got to spend the day brushing the ponies, learning about horse care, playing ball games with the high school children and enjoying a much needed hot meal at lunch time.

Grooms, Ben and Enoch Cele had the task of translating for the children and showing them how to look after the horses. A sense of pride emanated from the grooms as they got to show the children from their area the important work they do in ensuring that the horses are well cared for.

Although some of the children were a little apprehensive to start off with, their fear soon turned to joy as they got to experience the joys of interacting with the beautifully docile and loving ponies.