The University of Johannesburg (UJ) Sport Division together with the Faculty of Education presented the University’s Funda UJabule Primary School situated on the UJ Soweto Campus with sporting equipment and gear on Friday, 3 June 2016. The school was presented with various sporting kits for football, cricket, netball and other necessities to encourage the learners to be active and improve their educational performances.
“Learners in this country deserve excellent teachers. We believed that by starting a training school for teachers, we would be able to deliver excellent teachers for the country. Six years ago we started Funda UJabule with just two pink classrooms, two teachers, Grade R learners and very limited staff. Next year we will have a fully-fledged primary school!” said Prof Sarah Gravett, Executive Dean: Faculty of Education, UJ. She was speaking at the launch of the sports event at the UJ Soweto Campus Sports Centre.
“When we started the school it was my dream that we would have soccer players and sport teams here. I would like to thank Ms Nomsa Mahlangu (Senior Director: UJ Sport) for making things happen to accomplish this,” said Prof Gravett.
Said Ms Tumi Mketi, Senior Executive Director: Office of the UJ Vice-Chancellor: “One day we will be reading newspapers and we will say ‘that sportsman or sportswoman was the learner at Funda UJabule School and we will all be proud to have such people in our society,” “UJ Sport, together with the Faculty of Education and the partners present here, are helping these kids to identify talent and nurture them to develop their sporting career very early in their lives. We are celebrating this occasion in the year that we will be watching the Rio Olympics – we hope that these children will be some of the athletes participating in the Olympics in the future.”
SAFA and FIFA instructors in the Grassroots Football Development Programme interacted with the learners and gave them the opportunity to play with the sports equipment at the UJ Soweto Campus soccer fields.
The Gauteng Cricket Board donated eight mini bats, eight sets of stumps and 12 cricket balls. SAFA 2010 Legacy Unit donated 10 soccer balls, 16 cones, 30 markers, agility markers, 10 hurdles, 20 bibs, five ball pumps and 400 t-shirts. Netball South Africa also donated balls for the learners. The learners will use UJ sporting facilities and the University personnel will train the kids.
Watch Introducing Sport at Funda uJabule School: Ms Tumi Mketi https://youtu.be/rqoY3QSgbzI
Introducing Sport at Funda uJabule School: Prof Saartjie Gravett https://youtu.be/iJPMWIlNRk0
