THE Ugu Department of Sports and Recreation recently made a contribution to Genesis Youth, Marburg, and its efforts to develop a football programme on the South Coast.
Samke Shezi, who has been with the department since 2008, saw the donation as an investment into the community at large.
“As a department it is good to work with Genesis because we are both fighting against drug and alcohol use, teenage pregnancy, HIV/Aids, and other social issues. We are working toward the same thing in the communities. Our mission is the same,” Samke said.
She has been heavily involved in several sports since she was young, and sees sport as an opportunity to empower and teach young people.
She believes in using sport to teach local youth about living clean and healthy lifestyles. Samke would like to see the Genesis football players use this donation as a platform to build on their programme, and use the sport as means to learn motivation for all facets of life.
“Sport is one of the most important things you can bring into any community. You never know but this small drop in the ocean could make a huge difference,” Samke said.
The donation from the Department of Sports and Recreation included soccer balls, full kits, training bibs, cones, whistles, and field markers.
Genesis Youth Centre Manager, Richard Harrell also expressed his gratitude to Samke and the Department of Sports and Recreation.
He noted that the Genesis programme had not been able to grow because of a lack of funding.
“We are incredibly thankful to the department for seeing the importance of our efforts in the community and to come alongside like-minded people who are interested in developing a sporting community among youth. A simple donation like this can have a huge impact on what we do,” he said.
