A pre-season youth basketball tournament hosted by the Sunnyside Basketball Club was held in April.
The tournament was held under the auspices of the Tshwane Basketball Association with teams drawn from across the city for a day of intense, community-driven sporting action.
Mncedisi Khoza is the head of the Sunnyside Basketball club. He was also the heart and soul of the event, recognizing its potential to attract children off the streets and away from crime and drugs.
"Ours is a community club. We engage with various organisations in the area and partner with them. Sport, in combination with the social issues they work with, can be a powerful tonic to solve issues in our community. Our end goal is to give kids another option through sports," he said.
The basketball tournament highlighted an anti-bullying message. Khoza felt it was imperative to convey this message after the unfortunate suicide of a girl in December – herself a victim of severe bullying.
"We are talking to the kids and counselling them. Kids are being educated about the negative impacts of bullying. There needs to be a layout for the kids to follow. We are making kids aware that they do not need to be quiet if they are being bullied," he said.
Issues such as drug abuse, crime and xenophobia have been touched on through other programs.
The Crime and Drugs Free Foundation partnered with the club for the basketball event. Lwando, a representative for the organization, said they supported the event to support the development of children.
"Mncendisi Khoza knows our organization. He got in touch with us and asked for our help to sponsor the event. We helped with basketball jerseys. As we get more funding and sponsors I am confident we can do a lot more for the kids," he said.
Khoza took the opportunity to highlight the number of girls who participated in the competition.
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