The City’s Recreation and Parks Department resumed its annual Camp Cape Town for youth identified as leaders at various community centres. The Department held a camp throughout last week to recognise and assess these young leaders, then shortlisted the best candidates to kick-start the next three-year Recreational Leadership Development Programme.

Throughout the year, hundreds of youth participate in sport and recreation at City programmes.

Some extraordinary participants stand out for their willingness to going the extra mile by helping to organise events, motivating others to join and being role models by leading healthy lifestyles.

Since its inception in 2014, Camp Cape Town has mentored 180 teenagers into informed and active citizens, who care about their environment and are aware of the opportunities that the City offers to develop their interests in positive recreation. The purpose of the initiative is to motivate the youth (from 11 – 16 years old) to use their free time responsibly and to be creative about creating safe spaces or projects that others in their local community can opt for instead of becoming vulnerable to antisocial behaviour.

‘The socio-economic challenges are real in our communities. Our dynamic Recreation and Parks staff take care to design a camp which can impart the skills needed by a youngster to lead projects, as part of a toolkit that they can take away to create recreational opportunities for their peers within the broader community. There is ongoing support available at community centres close to where they live, making it easy to accommodate a multitude of creative programmes that the youth may initiate or promote. We want them to feel that they can hang out and make choices together that lead to living healthy, activity-based lifestyles,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia van der Ross.

Various monitoring and evaluation tools enabled staff to consider the capabilities of each participant to work in a team, solve problems, and lead. Those rated the highest secured their place in the three-year Recreational Leadership Development Programme.

This week marks the beginning of the programme, which requires dedication as participants begin the journey in attending weekend training workshops, volunteering at City programmes and events and becoming part of the teams who organise afterschool/holiday programmes at community centres.

Some 36 new recruits have been selected and will complete a different module each year:

• Year one: Personal Growth and Development

• Year two: Recreational Programme Development and Implementation

• Year three: Community Engagement

‘The Voortrekker resort was an ideal location. Seeing how well the facility was maintained and how every activity could be accommodated in a safe environment, was inspiring. There is so much on offer throughout Recreation and Parks, from resorts to beaches, swimming pools, community parks and even nature conservation areas.

‘We would like to thank the staff and volunteers who infused their passion for the outdoors into the youth, working late nights and staying all week long to keep the camp fire burning,’ added Councillor van der Ross.

Source: City Of Cape Town