Sports & After School Programs
Soccer – Our dedicated soccer coach – Mr Sam Mtambo – is passionate about soccer and teaching the game to our youth. In this programme we have 4 soccer divisions practicing daily and competing in a soccer league weekly. We have a U12, U14, U16 and an adult division ( made up of young adults). Some of our players have progressed beyond our DYP soccer team and are now on bursaries at different institutions. The facilitators of the programme have a passion for assisting others, through sports, to become more aware and able in their environments and so lead happier lives.
Netball – Our wonderful netball coach – Ms Mpho Pasmin – loves to see her players grow as they become competent in their sport and daily lives. Our DYP netball teams are U12, U14, U16 and adult division ( made up of young adults). The under 19 DYP netball team practices daily and plays in weekly games in the Diepsloot League as well as the Tshwane League. So far 6 of our players have been selected to receive full sponsorship for Sports Management courses. (see picture of Mpho)
Arts and Culture Programme – Headed up by Mr Papi Sathekge, who has extensive experience in the field of Arts and Culture and is himself a poet, this programme has brought many hours of joy and learnings for those children involved. Our water topic was highlighted recently with water being a scarce commodity in Diepsloot the children choreographed and rehearsed a drama based on conserving water and performed it in the streets of Diepsloot to great applaud! Art, singing and dancing can provide alternative ways for troubled youth to deal with disputes and improve their attitude towards school and life. The Arts allow individuals to explore new worlds and to view life from a creative perspective. The future is created by dreamers and artists represent this. Without dreams there is no future to aspire to. The Arts encourages individuals to strengthen their skills and abilities and to nurture their imagination and intellect to appreciate inter-cultural understanding, social justice, democracy and good governance. The arts develops different sectors and supports socio-economic development. As part of this programme, our students get to participate in the City of Johannesburg Annual Carnival.
Sports against Crime – The DYP has been running the Sports against Crime event every year since 2012, with over 72 games played in Soccer and Netball in each tournament. Different soccer and netball teams come head to head to be crowned as the number one team in their respective Divisions. This programme is attended by many children year on year who would otherwise be left to play on the streets in their school holidays.
Choir Festival – The Annual Choir competition was a huge success with more participating schools than ever before. The standard was very high thanks to the new programme of choirmasters assisting each school in preparations as well as the ongoing knockout rounds leading to the finale hosted at the Riversands Incubation Hub. Huge congratulations to our winners in the Primary School category: Akani Matmar and Diepsloot Secondary 1 in the high school category. The Choir Festival was a Diepsloot school-based competition, it has now been expanded to accommodate schools from the surrounding and nearby areas of Cosmos City, Olievenhoutbosch and Thembisa. The sound of children singing in unison is certainly awe-inspiring and brings the judges to tears each year!
Mandela Days – (Different activities from planting trees, helping at an old age home, cleaning up and establishing vegetable gardens, donating blankets). For DYP, every day is Mandela day, but on this day specifically, we team up with different companies to give back to the community.
Opportunity Days – The DYP facilitates Opportunity Days for school leavers in Diepsloot once a month. This creates an exploratory platform for the following topics: bursaries, learnerships, internships, business 0pportunities, entry-level job seeking. A highlight is always about how to use the resources you have to create a future. We have also teamed up with City Of Joburg’s Dieplsoot Tlhabologo Opportunity Centre to close the gap between school leavers and the workaday world. Opportunity week/day has proven to be a place for corporates, businesses and institutions to showcase what they have on offer and what candidates they require for different programmes.
Learning Festival – This festival is held in the October Holidays and is always a huge success. Children play traditional games under supervision, we have storytelling, painting, art and even a workshop where children get to plant seeds and learn to care for them. This festival is made a success by our many volunteers who year after year give of their time and energy to host different workshops and activities. We have even had a visit from the Joburg Zoo and the Department of Water. A highlight was when the CEO of Riversands Incubation Hub took time out to do art classes with the children – they had a blast! In this programme, we bring in different speakers and volunteers and participants get to learn different things in life, from healthy living, nutrition, arts and crafts, career choices, presenting themselves, animals, water preservation, children safety, and all sorts. A great deal of learning and fun happens at this festival.
