School of Hard Knocks (SoHK), a non-profit South African sport-for-development organisation that aims to address trauma and improve emotional wellbeing, and international bank and wealth manager, Investec, have announced a two-year partnership, furthering the reach of the programmeâs services to some of our nationâs most vulnerable children.
According to the latest UNICEF South Africa U-Report poll, the global average for negative childhood events is five in a lifetime, compared to South African youth who experience an average of five to eight a year. Some 60% of children and youth felt they needed mental health support over the past year, with 48% of young respondents most anxious about the need to build their skills for future employment.
Considering this, and the knowledge that not being able to deal with trauma in a healthy way leads to high-risk behaviours, the SoHK programme has been specifically developed to use touch rugby to teach valuable skills while, at the same time, tackling mental healthcare access and awareness. Over the course of the programme, SoHKâs coaches form trusted relationships with these learners and use that trust to teach a range of behavioural and coping skills.
97% of participants in the SoHK programme report having improved relationships, 83% use the tools they learn to calm themselves down when feeling overwhelmed, and 80% report being able to make better decisions, whilst 79% report improvement in recognising gender equity.
Speaking to his own experience, student X, a grade 10 pupil, commented; âNot only has the SoHK programme helped me to deal with some of the problems I was experiencing last year, but it also helped me grow as a person. The coaches are 100% relatable because they recognise your circumstance and make it a point to understand your perspective – they donât break you down but rather focus on building you up. For the first time, I feel heard as a person and this has really helped to build trust and allowed me to open up more and more about my struggles.â
Investec has supported many rugby properties over the years, with the most recent being the title sponsor of the Investec Champions Cup. The bank has also been a strong supporter of driving mental health awareness through Investec Life. Investec and SoHK is a global partnership, that is designed to address the needs of the specific communities in which it operates. The UK programme, which launched earlier this year, is geared towards providing young people with personal growth and mentorship, including emotional resilience and career planning. âHere in SA, Investec will provide the necessary funding to allow SoHK to not only retain the current coaches, but also the capacity to scale and upskill new coaches to reach more learners,â says Peta Dixon, Head of Sponsorships at Investec. She adds that over and above financial support, the organisation is also providing mentorship, coaching and financial literacy training to SoHK coaches.
âWe are firmly rooted in our purpose to create enduring worth and recognise the potential of sports-based programmes to deliver long-term and tangible benefits to our youth. We also acknowledge the need for mental health support in South Africa, particularly among our youth,â Dixon continues.
âTrauma on a macro and micro level is endemic in South Africa, and that this is particularly true for our youth, for a number of reasons,â says Dr Jon Hunter-Parsonage, Chief Executive Officer at SoHK. âWhile trauma impacts different individuals and communities in different ways, one thing is clear â failure to address the damage can cause intergenerational transmission of trauma and cyclical poverty.â
The impact of the SoHK programme is also being felt across teachers, principals and coaches. Currently the SoHK programme is integrated across five under-resourced schools in Cape Town, impacting 600 learners between the ages of 11 and 16. This results in 15,600 hours of contact time, 4,000 pitch side therapy sessions as well as 10 teacher trauma awareness workshops, reaching a minimum of 80 educators. The aim is to continue to grow the programme sustainably to reach 900 learners next year.
