Empower 30 Young South African Leaders

Thank you for the important role that you’ve played in helping training4changeS reach an important milestone! March 2023 marked 10 years of training4changeS empowering changemakers in Stellenbosch, South Africa! We couldn't have made it this far without you, so we want to say a special thank you for the supportive role you play, and for the impact you are helping make in the lives of at-risk young people.

Since 2013 we've educated 900+ children, equipped 770+ coaches, & created 30 jobs, but more important than the numbers are the names & experiences behind them. training4changeS has become a diverse family united around a love for education, sport, & transformation; these first 10 years have exceeded our wildest dreams!

We invite you to take a look back through our Instagram posts from March to see some of the moments we highlighted from the last 10 years.

As we look forward to the next the next decade of changemaking we have launched a new fundraising campaign here on GlobalGiving. We will be wrapping up “Empower 30 Young South African Leaders” on the platform, but we invite you to continue supporting our young changemakers through “10 Years of Equipping Changemakers in Stellenbosch” by heading over to this link: https://goto.gg/58758 We also invite you to take up the challenge of inviting 10 of your friends to contribute towards a new decade of change by sharing the link with them.

"training4changeS really is one big family," someone piped up during our end of year camp with the Futsal Academy boys last weekend. "We have literal family members like JP & Tyler (cousins on the U16 & U14 teams), Earl & Eagon (brothers on the U16 & U12 teams), Leathan & Logan (brothers on the U16 & U14 teams), Sihle & Lithemba (cousins on the U16 & U12 teams); plus we have Coach Keke & Oni (brothers, Oni is on the U12 team), as well as Coach Lorenzo & JP (father & son)."Besides that we have people from many different backgrounds & communities who have grown to love each other like brothers."

It really is beautiful to see how the bonds continue to deepen within our group. As we've expanded towards 45 children in the Futsal Academy this year, it is fantastic to see how the new boys have been welcomed into the fold. As we all spent time away together during the camp it was incredible to see how the culture is being passed from one age group to another.

One of the most important things we do at training4changeS is provide safe healing centered spaces where young people feel welcomed and are able to build positive connections with people from different backgrounds. Dr. Bruce Perry points out that, "for children and youth experiencing trauma, the best predictor of their current mental health functioning is their current relational health, or connectedness." It is beautiful and encouraging to see the impact of the relationship-based approach we've pioneered over the last 9 years. As Dr. Perry adds, "Relationships are the agents of change, and the most powerful therapy is human love." We are so grateful for the time we were able to spend together as family on camp, and also for the long road we are able to walk with these boys.

We are so grateful for the role you are playing in helping empower young leaders in Stellenbosch with quality education inside and outside the classroom! It really is a team effort, so we want to share with our about a few other organizations who are joining us in our efforts to provide the boys with a robust web of support.

In this constantly changing world it is imperative that we help young people build resilience. This year we have collaborated with the Center For Healing and Justice Through Sport to learn more about creating healing centered environments and incorporating healthy doses of stress into our work with the boys so that can overcome the adversity they face in their daily lives and be better prepared to succeed on and off the field as they grow older.

Virtual Soccer Schools (VSS) has been helping us empower, inspire and educate our boys with a special focus on the mental health and wellbeing. Through our collaboration with VSS, some of the Futsal Academy boys recently had an exciting opportunity to meet Fulham FC captain Tim Ream who shared stories from his career as well as insight about setting goals, facing challenges, and overcoming setbacks in life.

We are pleased to share that the FIFA Foundation is also supporting our Futsal Academy as part of their 2022 Community Programme. Being a Community Programme-supported organization helps us improve the work we are doing to deliver high quality individualized education inside and outside the classroom in Stellenbosch. We're excited for this milestone opportunity, and we look forward to continue growing in how we are able to support the boys and their families.

It really does take a village to raise a child, so we thank you for continuing to play an important role in the process!

Sometimes you just get captivated by a pulsating soccer match, enthralled with a new movie, or caught up in a good book. Before you know it, time has flown by. That’s how life at training4changeS has been this year. 2022 got off to a whirlwind start. Building on the solid foundation of years past, we entered the new year with ambitious plans to scale our impact. We set off by doubling the size of the Futsal Academy coaching staff. We needed 2 new coaches to help Quinton and Keke, and we’re overjoyed that we were able to bring in Lorenzo and Azola (familiar faces who have worked with training4changeS in the past, and who are fully invested in the vision). From there our team of coaches set off on course to increase Futsal Academy participation 150%. This year we added in a new age group, and we’ve been pushing towards our goal of having 45 boys in the Futsal Academy. With the pieces of the puzzle fitting into place, we’ve also welcomed 1 driver for our van + 4 new volunteers to help with our Education Inside the Classroom sessions. Things are running full tilt on the field and in the classroom. It’s a joy to see the training4changeS family growing, and while there are customary growing pains, we are excited about helping everyone fulfill their full potential. This wouldn’t be possible without your support, so we’re extremely grateful for the role you are playing in making things happen. The old cliché says teamwork makes the dream work. This really is true, and we appreciate you helping turn dreams into reality for the Futsal Academy boys!

2021 was a hallmark year for training4changeS. Despite the challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we enjoyed incredible moments on and off the pitch. Thanks to your generous support, we had the privilege of journeying with 30 boys from 12 different schools, and 5 different Stellenbosch communities. In the midst of a world that is becoming increasingly fractured and polarized, the boys reported learning important lessons about building cross-cultural relationships. An endline survey showed that participants value each other as family despite cultural differences. The lessons they learned about helping, appreciating, loving, and supporting each other are instrumental in helping them grow as leaders in life outside of training4changeS. As we cultivated these deep transformational relationships, we also enjoyed the opportunity to engage the boys’ families in new ways. An African proverb says, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and we take our role seriously in helping these young boys flourish.

We wrapped up our year together with an immersive cross-cultural learning experience, taking the boys on a 3-day leadership development camp. During the camp the boys had an education outside the classroom session during which they developed a set of core values that will guide their participation in the Futsal Academy in this New Year. The 2022 school year starts next week, and we will get our activities underway again. Our aim is to welcome an additional 15 boys into the Futsal Academy this year, bringing the total number to 45. We have 7 more boys starting high school, and we are looking forward to providing diverse learning opportunities for these boys as they prepare themselves for the jobs they would like to have in years to come. Thank you for your support in walking this road with us; because of you training4changeS was able to exceed our fundraising goal during the GlobalGiving Accelerator, and we are now part of the GlobalGiving Community. We are excited about what the future holds.