United Through Sport (UTS)
Project Overview
What? United Through Sport is a South African registered non profit organisation focussed on using sport as a tool to develop children and youth from disadvantaged communities across Nelson Mandela Bay. We are committed to using sport as a tool to develop disadvantaged and vulnerable youth in three main ways:
- Using direct sports coaching (in Football, Rugby, Cricket, Netball, Hockey, Tennis, Basketball and Swimming) – for its health benefits, improved emotional well being and increased life skills (teamwork, leadership, decision making, communication).
- Using sport to discuss critical issues – by delivering curriculums on topics such as HIV and AIDS awareness and gender issues in a fun and interactive manner on the sports field, as a more effective way to access children and to allow them to retain the key messages.
- Using sport for improved education – by providing pathways to success for talented and dedicated individuals through scholarships to top local schools and tertiary education.
Where? Currently, United Through Sport programmes are focussed in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro of the Eastern Cape. We visit all of the disadvantaged communities within Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage and Despatch. Our focus is on children and youth from these communities between the ages of 10 and 21 years old.
Outcomes? Currently the programme is reaching over 18000 disadvantaged and vulnerable youth with direct sports coaching and life-skills programmes, each of these children completing the 18 hour United Through Sport curriculum. Within the HIV and AIDS awareness programme we find an average 32% improvement in knowledge and attitude towards HIV and AIDS, which we believe translates into a significant reduction in future transmissions through healthier behaviour. Our educational programmes are currently yielding 87% average improvements in English scores and 83% average improvements in maths scores. We now have 63 children on scholarship at top level schools around Nelson Mandela Bay for a full 5 years of high school and so far we have a 100% University placement rate for our Senior School of Excellence Programme. The Laureus Sport for Good funding is helping us reach more children with our programmes and to consolidate and improve on our academic results using sport as the tool.
Contact United Through Sport South Africa (UTS SA)
Nick Mould or Nosipho ‘Spakes’ Xapile
(Director) (General Manager)
Address & Postal Address: 57 King Edward Street, Newton Park, Port Elizabeth, 6045
Tel: +27 41 364 0572
Website: www.unitedthroughsport.org.za