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E100K FOR REFUGEES’ PROJECT

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MBABANE – The Next Generation Taekwondo Academy will be the first in the country to benefit from the Commonwealth Sports, Game Changers Grant.

The academy will be awarded about E100 000 (US$6 000) by the Commonwealth Sports through the Eswatini Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (EOCGA) to make strides in their initiative of social responsibility. 

The academy is engaged in gardening and technical capacity building for the taekwondo and Umoja Youth Club at the Malindza Refugee Camp. EOCGA President Peter Shongwe and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Sydney Simelane signed the agreement with the academy Founder and Director, Sizwe Mabuza, yesterday.

Mabuza said the participants would be trained in small scale vegetable production and agribusiness. They will be capacitated on planning, cultivation, planting and vegetable management as well as marketing of produce. 

They will also be trained in making of handcraft products mainly beads based products. He said they would be linked with active individuals and companies in the two disciplines to enable their produce to reach the markets and also to build their network. 

“Our chosen game changers initiatives are gardening, small agribusiness and handcraft. These were chosen in consultation with the refugee Taekwondo team and youth club at the camp. They were identified as activities that would better the life of camp residents in the long run. We chose something that would impact lives forever as opposed to hangouts aid that would leave them hungry once finished. We chose to teach them to fish rather than giving them ready to eat fish,” he said.

Camp

Mabuza said the main aim was to give the camp residents something fun to do, give them hope and to impart the values of Taekwondo that inspire one to rise above adversity. 

Mabuza said when the CGA invited us to apply for the Game Changers project support, they were very grateful for the opportunity. Being chosen to implement the project meant we can do something positive while waiting to resume full Taekwondo training. “I am before you today representing the biggest initiative by our federation at the instruction of President Master Zakhele Dlamini and our World Taekwondo under Dr Choue. 

“We express our profound gratitude to our hardworking EOCGA and its board. As head of the Next Generation Taekwondo Academy I am pleased to say we have been given a chance at achieving one of our biggest goals that of impacting lives through taekwondo” he said.

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