Youth Justice: Sport programme starts in S Africa
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
A crime reduction project based on Positive Futures, which uses sport to engage with disadvantaged young people, has been launched in South Africa.
Positive Futures was approached by UK Sports to use it as a model for a youth inclusion project, launched on Saturday (15 September) in the South African township of Eerste River, near Cape Town.
The area has a problem with high levels of deprivation with a large number of young people addicted to "TIC", a drug similar to crystal meth.
Gary Stannett, director of Positive Futures, said it was the first time the model had been taken abroad and added it would change the lives of young people in the township. "We're linking personal and social development with sport, rather than the project just being about reducing crime rates," he said.
Positive Futures worked with the Community Cricket Association and South African charity Lifeline to produce the inclusion project and received £20,000 funding from UK Sport and support agencies in Cape Town.
- Email errstriver@lifelinewc.co.za for more information.
