This Youth Day, We are Durban hosted 160 children from the Key of Hope organisation at Suncoast Pirates Beach for an amazing morning of games and treats. The blessing of perfect weather, ideal beach conditions and a fantastic turnout of volunteers all contributed to this event being a huge success!
The children were divided into 10 teams and led through 5 game stations across the beach, supervised by volunteers who did an amazing job of setting up fun and safe games for the kids. Beach soccer, tug of war, lifesaving training and body boarding were some of the favourites of the day.
We had over 100 volunteers join us from many different walks of life, including from Olive Tree Church, Key of Hope, Volunteer YOU, ITEN TV and Buyisithemba. Lifeguards from the Siyasindisa Lifesaving Project and Suncoast Pirates Surf Lifesaving Club also spent the day with us. Charles and his team delivered a fun and interactive water safety talk, and went onto play games with the kids and keeping a lookout for safety during the swimming and body boarding sessions.
We were very fortunate to have a number of sponsors come on board, such as ITEN TV who donated T-shirts for the volunteers, peak caps for the children, delicious hotdogs, ice-creams and a snack hamper for each child (including juice, chips, a lollipop, apple, orange and sweets). ITEN TV also kindly sponsored the cost of our Beach Permit, and provided sunscreen for the children. Holomatrix supplied coloured wristbands for each child’s safety and team marking, and Aquelle donated flavoured waters for the children to drink during the games. The Venture Group kindly loaned us a gazebo and two tug of war ropes, and Busyballers loaned us their soccer goals for the day. Illovo lent us two of their gazebos to keep the food in shade, and Sir Juice sponsored fresh fruit juices for our volunteers. Besides facilitating the use of their beach and lawn, Suncoast Pirates Surf Lifesaving Club also offered us the use of their club facilities, which was of great value on the day.
Key of Hope has been in existence since 2008 and strives to make a difference in the lives of the orphans and vulnerable children in more than a dozen informal settlements and township communities in Durban. Their mission of “Unlocking the Future of South Africa” is accomplished by providing the long term mentoring relationships these children need not only to survive, but to thrive as citizens and leaders. The 160 children who joined us for the day are aged 8 – 12 years, and are orphaned or vulnerable, from the following areas of Durban: Effingham, Quarry Heights, Kabazela, KwaMashu, Duffs Road, Boxwood, Johanna Rd, Siyathuthuka, Sea Cow Lake, Briardene, Jamaica, Gum Tree, Smithfield, Temple and My Hill.
The incredible generosity of our sponsors, hard work and fun attitude of our volunteers, and selflessness of all involved contributed to the fantastic success of our 4th Youth Beach Day. For the children it was a day to remember. Thank you to everyone who gave of their time, resources and energy to make it happen!