Nicolette Dirk
TWO hundred young men have been trained as coaches by Grassroot Soccer South Africa as a way to deal with high levels of unemployment.
The two-year course taught the young people, aged between 18 to 24, to be soccer coaches. The course also included computer skills, financial literacy training and facilitator training.
Grassroot director James Donald said the courses were run in Khayelitsha, Alexandra and Soweto, where unemployment among youth is between 59.3 and 60 percent. The NGO was started 10 years ago by soccer players to fight HIV.
Grassroot spokesperson Jenn Warren said 77 percent of their graduates had gone on to find jobs, some to study and others to start their own businesses.
“Over the past few years, we have found that youth unemployment has become a huge challenge. Soccer is such an amazing way to link the people in the community. This is one of the reasons we used unemployed youth as coaches,” said Donald.
Besides youth unemployment, the organisation also tackles issues such as gender-based violence and substance abuse. Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation health promoter Xolisa Mondliwa graduated from the programme in 2013.
When the 26-year-old matriculated from Sizimisele High School in Khayelitsha, he was not sure what he wanted to do with his life.
“I didn’t have any plans, and was going to take a gap year. Grassroot had a pilot project in Khayelitsha when I became involved in 2010, and I graduated in 2013.
“I was taught how to be a facilitator in their programme-leadership skills and training on public speaking. The course really gave me a lot of confidence,” said Mondliwa.
After finishing the course, he applied to be an HIV councillor at the HIV foundation. Although he did not have the skills for the job, the foundation employed him as a health promoter encouraging people to get tested for HIV/Aids, and sexually transmitted diseases.
“The skills I learnt at Grassroot helped me get the job I have today. Five years from now, I want to be a co-ordinator involved in HIV/Aids research at the foundation,” he said.