LUVO Nkwenkwe, who is one of the founders of Cegcwane Sports Tournament and Utshontsho Loluntu, has been nominated for the South African Heroes Awards for the work that they are doing in assisting young people.
Nkwenkwe is nominated under the Youth Development category.
Nkwenkwe told Mthatha Express that they started the initiatives in 2019 as the youth of Cegcwane, trying to assist their fellow brothers and sisters in alleviating social ills which they were confronted with.
“The social ills that we saw included school dropout, deteriorating social behaviour, teenage pregnancy, excessive use of alcohol and substance abuse, as well as unemployment.
“We then formed a group called Utshintsho Loluntu and the aim was to assist these young people in the first instance to unite them under one programme where we would then seek assistance and help for them, having been in a place where they are easily accessible.
“We decided on hosting a sports programme, and the first edition was held in 2019, called the Cegcwane Sports Tournament, and this year we are looking at adding a career exhibition.
“These sporting events have helped the youth of this area to an extent that since sport was abandoned, Utshintsho Loluntu has resuscitated sport and now everyone plays sport. The crime rate has significantly declined in our areas, and we attribute that to the young people being busy and not sitting idly doing nothing; in addition, the school dropout has declined. “We have players who come from the villages participating in this event who are now being scouted and selected to play for other teams in the region,” said Nkwenkwe.
“The tournament comes with economic opportunities as well, because we encourage young people who do not play sport to come and have stalls and sell fast food, and they do very well in terms of profits on the days of the tournament.
“We’re honoured by the nomination. We feel motivated and encouraged to do more. It means we’re on the right track.
“We are humbled by the nomination. It tells us that there is something good that we are doing at Utshintsho Loluntu,” he added.
In 2023, the Cegcwane Sports Tournament organisers were recognised by Sunday World as unsung heroes for the work that they do in trying to assist the community through the youth programme.
“This year, in 2024, we have been nominated by the South African Heroes Awards in the category of Youth Development for the work that we do for our community.”
Nkwenkwe said that this year they will host their fifth edition of the Cegcwane Sports Tournament and are working on piloting a skills training programme that will leave a sustainable legacy for the youth of Cegcwane.
To vote for him, send an SMS: SAHA LUVUKO to 47439. Each SMS costs R3. Voting closes on September 15.
