Leadership award winners of Helderberg Academy’s prize-giving at the end of last year were treated to a boat trip from Gordon’s Bay to Simons Town this past Saturday (12 February).
The Helderberg Academy is a non-profit organisation based in Somerset West that works with the young girls and boys from the communities of Lwandle, Macassar and Sir Lowry’s Pass. They teach them life skills through sport, including rugby, netball and soccer, and host the youths for holiday clubs and beach trips over school holidays.
“This expedition is a reward for kids who have stepped up to leadership in the academy, assisting with younger children and sports coaching, care and oversight of equipment,” explained Rozanne Gordon of the Academy.
“The three communities come together to celebrate their achievement and recognise the similarities in their abilities as future leaders. We encourage the other kids to strive for leadership and hope these kinds of experiences will incentivise them to do so. Our hope is to develop a leadership programme within the academy, which will further nurture these amazing youngsters and allow them to believe in great futures for themselves. These youths have great leadership abilities, are always helpful during lessons and diligent with tasks given to the group. The group also tends to seek guidance from them.”
Seven teenagers were selected and all made their way to the departure point at Gordon’s Bay Yacht Club on the morning.
“This was a first ‘on board a boat’ for many of these youngsters, and also the first time they got to visit a place like Simon’s Town and experience the greater False Bay,” added skipper of the yacht Viking, Brad Roe, who also sits on the board of the transformation committee at Helderberg Academy. The trip focused on marine wildlife, conservation, a visit to the naval port and a tour to the National Sea Rescue Institute’s Station 10 (Simon’s Town), as well as provided insight to mariner support and infrastructure.
Soon after a safety briefing, the excited boat crew was off, much to the delight of 16-year-old Oscar Fena from Lwandle – one of the award winners.
“It’s so amazing that we’re on this trip because I’ve never experienced being out on the ocean,” said Fena, a keen rugby and soccer player. “I’m just expecting to have lots of fun and I’ll remember this forever.”
Roe expressed his gratitude to NSRI Simons Town for its hospitality and great effort in inspiring the Helderberg Academy’s leadership group during the visit.
“We are especially grateful to our hosts, who were extremely accommodating and excellent at sharing their knowledge and experience with these youngsters,” he said. “Our hope is this will form the foundation to a future in sailing, boating or mariner activities among the group. Now the challenge is to build on it going forward”.
Gordon added the experience was “absolutely amazing”. “Notwithstanding the two youngsters that couldn’t quite catch their sea legs on the boat trip, we were privilege to see dolphins on the way, which was my personal highlight. The tour of the NSRI station’s facilities was impressive as well as the incredible brand-new rescue vessel; what a privilege to stand inside and receive detailed descriptions and insight as to how it all works and what goes into rescue efforts.”
Asked how the community can get involved with Helderberg Academy, Gordon replied: “We are always in need of sports equipment for soccer, rugby and netball. The community is welcome to donate unwanted items, while we are also always looking for funding for the day-to-day running of the programme and upcoming holiday clubs, as we are not a governmental funded organisation and rely mainly on private donors.
“We generally have an intern who stays for a year and forms part of our skills development programme. We also have volunteer coaches who assist with the programmes and lesson plans. In the communities were serve, we have children between the ages of eight and 16 who join the activities. Once our registers fill up, these children attend faithfully for the remainder of the year.”
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For more information on Helderberg Academy check out the website www.helderbergacademy.co.za/
