An Inherent Part of the Social Fabric
Volunteers in African Sport for All
Prof Dr Anneliese Goslin, South Africa


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