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To encourage young people to stay away from crime and gang violence, the Sarah Baartman District Community Policing Forum (CPF), in collaboration with Employee Health and Wellness (EHW), and the Spiritual Crime Prevention Forum, will host a Sports against Crime Tournament at Humansdorp Sport Field on February 24.
Chairperson of Sarah Baartman District CPF, Mieta Williams-Jan, said that with the increase in gang violence in Humansdorp they have noticed that many young people often join gangs, from the age of 19.
She said that since young people are often recruited by gang members, they began walking door-to-door to speak to children in the area to encourage them to stay away from gangsterism.
Despite their efforts, Williams-Jan said that during their many home visits, the young people were not home.
“Children are rarely at home when we visit their homes. We therefore had to think of a new plan to speak to these young people,” said Williams-Jan.
She said that since the Kouga region is well-known for its love for soccer, especially in the KwaNomzamo area, they decided to host a soccer tournament titled Sports against Crime Tournament with support from the Local Football Association.
Williams-Jan said that the tournament will be the first of its kind in the Sarah Baartman District.
She said that at many soccer tournaments they have seen the players become violent when tensions rise; however, they will be placing a high emphasis on peaceful matches.
Williams-Jan further said they will use the event as an opportunity to speak positivity into the children’s lives, and show them a better way of living.
“Many of the kids have lost hope, but we want to encourage them and show them that there are various options in life. We want to empower them to set new goals and focus on new career opportunities,” said Williams-Jan.
“We want to show these young people that they can have a life free from crime and gangsterism.”
She said that they initially considered visiting the local schools to speak to the children, but found that through sport they are able to “get to their level”.
Williams-Jan said they will have four soccer teams from Humansdorp, two from Jeffreys Bay, one from Sea Vista, and a team from Hankey participating in the tournament.
She further said that before the final match, there will be a match between the South African Police Service and soccer legends.
Williams-Jan said they will be handing out medals and prizes to the top three winning teams.
She is, however, requesting donations of water for the young people.
To encourage children from the community to join the event, Williams-Jan said that the new SAPS constables will march from the SAPS Sarah Baartman District Office in Bureau Street in Humansdorp to the sports field.
“By seeing the new constables marching through the streets of Humansdorp we hope that the children will feel inspired to follow the sound, and join us at the sports field,” said Williams-Jan.
She further said that the day’s programme will begin with a prayer by SAPS Chaplain Sivuyile Maqinyana, and a motivational speech by a parolee from South African Correctional Services.
