It
is through my community participation as a soccer player that I have learnt how
community is shaped to become better or worst. It all started at Tigers
football club end season event that happen at Tshitereke outside Thohoyandou.
Mr Makoale, Tigers football deputy chair has on that day explain how our rural
community are becoming worst while urban community are becoming batter more
specifically on the youth side. He outline two cycles that greatly impact us in
a way. He believe that that school through
sports could be the biggest solution that could prevent pupils from doing drugs
and alcohol. However he strongly share a sentiment that our school in rural are
not doing their part.
As he explained his idea, he said that pupils from rural
attend school every day, at two o’clock after school they go home (SCHOOL AT 6
TILL 2 AND THEN FREE SPACE TILL AROUND 6). The space between two o’clock until
six is where the problem starts at the first place. Doing nothing at home is
obviously frustrating to them hence they become actively involve themselves to
drug and alcohol abuse. On his words, Mr Makoale said this cycle instead differ
to school from whites community where pupils goes to school in the morning and
at two o’clock when the school is out, they are forced to actively participate
in sports based on these pupils interest (SCHOOL TILL 2 AND SPORTS AFTER).
Those in football they go for it and those for cricket will do the cricket. A scenario of finding them doing drugs isn’t
valid or simple does not exist to them.
Their social engagement happens on the
field rather than outside home where no one can really forecast what they could
be doing. Having been a student also I have realised that sports in rural
schools isn’t considered important thus few school does sports. When I was in
grade 12 in 2012, we had soccer leagues and I happened to be part of a team. My
team has had to play final, instead we were denied because the principal of the
school had order the teacher responsible of soccer to stop the finals as he
claimed he was told we would get injured. It was few weeks before writing final
examinations. I was so down that we did not play the final for the reason that
we could be injured.
Lack of participation in sports is the biggest problem
that fuels these social issues such as drugs and alcohol abuse. On the 29 of
September 2017 Citizen reported about a grade two pupil in Gauteng who brought
a loaded gun at school. According to report he had brought the weapon to harm a
fellow learner. This year September a 24 year old teacher was stabbed to death
by a 17 year old at school in North West. All these behaviours are rooted from
lack of activities to occupy these young minds. They need to be fully occupied
in a more secured space being monitored to avoid thinking, watching and leaning
adult’s activities. Sports could solve this deficiency and our basic education
needs to take notice of this and begin to initiate a compulsory sporting
activity at the basic level.
It
is now time to become actively involved to the formulation of our children’s
curriculum at school and sports should also be prioritised upon as a compulsory
activity for our young people. Not only could sports address the issue to
avoiding bad behaviours but also could play part towards healthy, and active
lifestyle. The will help bridge the void that exist between after school and
early evening.