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South African Culture: Foreign Fields

Youth Work For Disadvantaged Children in South Africa

Foreign Fields is an organization in Cape Town, South Africa, that aims to assist young South Africans from the townships in the city.

Foreign Fields recruits volunteers from Europe and the USA to assist teachers and coaches in the deprived African township schools. Volunteers come out for anything between 2 weeks and 3 months to teach a certified IT course (the International Computer Driving Licence) which has been set up to help English Literacy projects (mainly for young kids who have just arrived from the tribal areas and who have little knowledge of English, which is the language used for teaching all subjects. Volunteers also coach sport (soccer, netball, and cricket and swimming in summer).

Successes include one 11-year-old who has signed with the South African Premier league side Ajax Cape Town and who has already visited Amsterdam, one 15-year-old girl, called Happy, who has signed for the best women's side in Cape Town, one swimmer who is going to the National Surf Lifesaving Champs in Durban, one girl, Nandipha, who has been sponsored by one ex-volunteer to attend a good high school - Camps Bay, and a couple of boys who are turning out to be good sailors at the local Yacht Club. 20 youngsters from the township have learnt to swim on the programme.

One of the scheme's volunteers has bought a wooden structure where the teenagers can have a "youth centre" which will enable them to do their homework, play chess, read play pool and have discussion groups in a safe environment, without fear of child abuse, rape, and unwanted pregnancies in the township.

A Dutch volunteer teacher's home school has raised funds for a library at the school, which gives Oranjekloof a great boost, because less than a third of South African schools have a library. This project should start at the beginning of 2009 and the scheme hopes to welcome more Dutch teachers in the future.

At the Home for Girls the volunteers help with homework in the afternoons and it really broadens the girls' horizons and gives them inspiration to have female role models who are working in such diverse professions as sport, retail, or going on to university to study anything from dance to literature or medicine.

In the morning during the school term the organization will use the place where unmarried mothers with no income can make embroidery and African beadwork.

The plan is to make wrist bands and necklaces in World Cup team colours: white with a red band or vice versa for England, orange for Holland, yellow and blue for Brazil etc.

If World Cup supporters do come to Cape Town, Foreign Fields can arrange township tours and maybe some soccer coaching/ challenge matches against the township kids under 15.

Most of the kids play barefoot, so visitors are encouraged to bring a pair of secondhand children's soccer boots with them for distributing to the boys and girls.

A joint initiative between Foreign Fields and Liverpool-based Angels and Starfish creche, saw a Liverpool FC youth development team of coaches visit Hout Bay in Cape Town to host two soccer clinics as well as pass on life skills concerning drug use, violence and racism. Former Liverpool player Howard Gayle said of the courses: "Football is a great sport for fighting against anti-social behaviour and that is the message we have been passing on to the clubs. It's been fantastic - since we arrived, we've been welcomed by the kids."

Foreign Fields

7 Camden Street, Tamboers Kloof
Cape Town (just below Table Mountain)
Tel: 021 4232752

Please contact us if you wish to help

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