An Inherent Part of the Social Fabric
Volunteers in African Sport for All
Prof Dr Anneliese Goslin, South Africa |
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The planet earth has six continents rising from restless oceans.
Of these, Africa holds a prominent position, separating the Indian
and Atlantic oceans and spreading its landmass into both the northern
and southern hemispheres. Africa’s surface area, of more than
30 million square kilometres, represents a diversity of cultures,
traditions, languages, geography, political and social-economic systems.
Africa forms part of the “Third World” of modern history,
as it stands, with one foot in restful antiquity and the other in
the dynamic 21st century.
The concept of volunteerism is an inherent part of
Africa’s social fabric. One might even describe Africa as the “cradle
of volunteerism” because of the ever-present manifestation of communal
responsibility to sustain life in a harsh continent. The principle of
caring for each other’s well being, a spirit of mutual support and
human helpfulness, characterise Africa’s development. Everyday millions
of Africans spontaneously devote substantial amounts of time and energy
to help fellow Africans. Volunteerism as planned helping
is a phenomenon visible in different social contexts in Africa. Sport
and recreation (Sport for All) as social phenomena also rely heavily on
volunteerism to supplement and support government initiatives in sometimes
poverty-stricken communities and countries.
Volunteerism has been described as the “invisible
resource” and “a resource below the waterline
of public visibility”. These perceptions are undoubtedly
reinforced by the given results.
Sport for All in Africa relies heavily on volunteers for the continued
success of programmes, campaigns and activities. Given this reliance
upon volunteers it is vitally important for African countries to assess
the economic value of Sport for All volunteers. Obtaining reliable
information about the scope and value of volunteers is essential if
this valuable resource is to be developed and made visible to the
public and government eye.
People volunteer out of a desire for social change and social justice.
This desire is combined with Sport for All activities and campaigns.
Voluntary involvement in this category is usually on behalf of marginalised
groups, such as women and street kids, in the African society. All
respondent countries have recorded Sport for All volunteer actions
in this category but I would like to highlight three campaigns driven
by volunteers.
The Youth Education Through Sport (YES)
campaign is a national volunteer-run program operating in all provinces
of Zimbabwe. The YES campaign was developed to bring
Zimbabwean youth together through sport to address life skills and educate
them about HIV/AIDS related issues. One thousand voluntary youth leaders
have been trained to provide leadership and 375 teams (211 boys and 164
girl teams) have registered to participate in the football for all league,
including 29 teams belonging to a special category drawn from street kids,
probation centres and squatter camps.
Although Kenya is not included in the respondents,
I have to emphasise the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA).
This grassroots voluntary project takes place in Mathare, Kenya, in one
of Africa’s most sprawling slums. Girls and boys are provided opportunities
to play a sport in exchange for community health and education services
such as cleaning up the environment or educating their peers about the
dangers of AIDS. MYSA is organised and run primarily
by youth volunteers under the age of 16 years and has 15 000 members making
it the biggest youth sport and community service organisation in Africa
– truly a Sport for All organisation.
SCORE (Sport Coaches’ OutReach)
in South Africa recruits volunteers from Africa, Europe, North America,
Australia and India and deploys them in South African rural villages and
urban townships. Volunteers provide new sport opportunities, Sport for
All Activities, voluntary leadership and facilities to communities and
integrate pressing social issues in the South African society with physical
and cultural activities. Qualified volunteers assist in the implementation
of Physical Education in primary school, provide follow-up support, conduct
workshops and share innovative ideas and materials for large classes with
little equipment. Interplay is a successful SCORE programme
that builds bridges between people on a community level by using play
and sport. With Special Sport, SCORE volunteers involve
physically and mentally challenged persons in physical activity. Through
the U-GO-GIRL programme, volunteers introduce women and
girls to historically male-dominated sports and aim to empower girls through
assertiveness workshops and leadership training. The Kicking AIDS
out! programme combines HIV/AIDS awareness, life and sport skills
in fun and participatory activities.
Organizing events and festivals
All respondents indicated strong volunteer leadership in the organisation
of Sport for All events and festivals. The Sea Festivals, Festivals
of popular sports and Recreation days of Tunisia have to be emphasised.
Egypt also relies heavily on volunteers for organising festivals celebrating
environmental issues, such as the Route Races and sport camps. Sport
for All Nigeria, the Nigeria Association of Traditional Sport, and
Hope Worldwide Nigeria are but a few examples of organisations relying
on volunteers to facilitate Sport for All events.
Governance
Zimbabwe, Nigeria, South Africa, Rwanda and Egypt have all indicated
that volunteers become involved as committee members and elected representatives
in the governance of Sport for All. It is suspected that volunteers
in Cameroon and Tunisia also provide the capacity to run Sport for
All clubs and activities. This type of involvement reiterates the
worldwide tendency that volunteers are the true driving force and
foundation of sport and recreation. It is clear that volunteers contribute
to and extend the social capital reservoirs of their respective communities
through involvement in Sport for All.
Future Directions of volunteers in sport for
all in Africa
Respondents have identified the following future directions
Sport for All organisations would have to work on:
- Shift from unmanaged volunteerism in Sport for All to managed volunteerism
as a national asset
- Partnerships between public and non-governmental organisations (NGO’s)
- Skills training and capacity building
Conclusion
Africa is a continent of harsh conditions but rich in innovative human
resources. Sport for All is alive and well in Africa. Numerous examples
of groundbreaking programmes are delivered by enthusiastic and competent
Sport for All organisations on a daily basis. It is abundantly clear that
volunteers constitute the powerhouse of sport and recreation programmes,
actions and campaigns in Africa even though at this stage it can be labelled
as a resource “beyond the waterline of public visibility”.

http://www.icsspe.org/portal/bulletin-january2004.htm
An Inherent Part of the Social Fabric
Volunteers in African Sport for All
Prof Dr Anneliese Goslin, South Africa
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