A football and education oasis for children

Michelline Nawatises

The Riverheights Football Academy is a football and education project located at the Goreangab informal settlement area in Windhoek. The idea of the Riverheights Football Academy started as a result of an impromptu request by the children living in the area to form a football team. It is rapidly growing into an exciting and promising project, where the children are provided with a safe place to play and nurture their talent.

The academy provides a protected environment to children between the ages of seven and 18 years where they can play, learn and grow into responsible and autonomous adults.

The academy is a voluntary association established in September 2020. At present, it operates under the financial management of the Centre for People’s Resistance (CPR), which is a legal trust funded by the Nixon Marcus Public Law Office.

One of the founders, Nixon Marcus, says the dream is to develop the Riverheights Football Academy (FA) into an oasis of hope, where children can dream, hope and learn in a protected environment to realise their full potential.

Ronald Chari is the football coach employed by the football academy. He is responsible for coordinating the practice sessions and the matches played by the teams of the academy.

“I am proud of the progress made so far by the boys as for most of them, it's their first time to play the MTC Hopsol League and I am already impressed with what I’m seeing and excited to see what they can still offer,” he says.

Development of football pitch

“The development of the football field is a top priority for the Academy for our teams to play our desired brand of attacking football, characterised by ball possession and skilful passing of the ball a quality football field is a necessity.

“With the financial help of the Centre for People’s Resistance and the generous assistance of a local company, Ilonga Civil & Mechanical Contractors, the Academy succeeded in clearing the bushes and levelling the ground. The contractors are busy with grading and compacting the field. The intention is to make it grass field but for that we need funding,” Marcus says.

Future Projects

Once the football academy is fully developed, the aim is to supplement the football activities with educational, cultural and social activities off the pitch, to help with the children’s personal development.

· Talent support programme: Talented players will be linked with local football clubs to further enhance their skills.

· Academic support programme: The children are assisted with homework and tutored in science and language subjects. The aim is to turn the school support programme into a full-fledged school. eventually

· Art, cultural and musical activities: The children have the possibility of participating in extramural art, cultural and music classes.

· Library: The children will have access to books and reading classes offered in the reading rooms of the library.

· Nutrition and gardening: Children will be provided with meals from food produced in the local garden, which is cultivated with the assistance of the children and their parents.

· Adult education programme: Parents of the children will be able to participate in adult education programmes to improve their education.

· Multimedia and social media: Children will be able to watch educational films and be tutored in social media use.

· Clinic: A local clinic will provide primary healthcare and ensure that the children are healthy. Local doctors will be approached to provide community service at the clinic.

For more information about the academy, contact +264 62 220 160 or +264 81 246 5866 or E-mail: [email protected]