The Use of Sport to Community Conflict

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The use of sport by a Health Promoting

School to address community conflictPatricia Struthers

a

a School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Bellville(Cape Town), South Africa

Version of record first published: 07 Dec 2011.

To cite this article: Patricia Struthers (2011): The use of sport by a Health Promoting School to

address community conflict, Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics, 14:9, 1251-1264

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The use of sport by a Health Promoting School to address community

conflict

Patricia Struthers*

School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Bellville (Cape Town), South Africa

Sport has been utilized as a tool to address situations of conflict globally. This articledescribes one South African primary school that has identified itself as a HealthPromoting School and its use of sport to strengthen the role of the school as a safe placein the community and thus facilitate the learning taking place in the school. The schoolis situated in a socio-economically deprived community, with a culture of gangsterismand drug abuse, in a densely populated area in Cape Town. Within the school there are

very few students with physical disabilities, however, intellectual disability is commonand emotional instability, closely associated with violence in the community, is a majordisabling factor. The concept of who is considered ‘other’ in this community isexplored. A netball tournament organized by the school enabled all students, boys andgirls, regardless of ability or gang alliance, to participate, and brought different factionsof the community together.

Sport has been utilized as a tool to address situations of conflict globally. This article

describes one South African primary school that has identified itself as a Health Promoting

School and its use of sport to strengthen the role of the school as a safe place in the

community and thus facilitate the learning taking place in the school. The school issituated in a socio-economically deprived community, with a culture of gangsterism and

drug abuse, in a densely populated area in Cape Town.

The Western Cape Province, one of nine provinces in the Republic of South Africa,

had a population 5.3 million in 2007, 10.9% of the total population of South Africa (48.5

million).1 It occupies 10.6% of the land surface area. In some respects, the Western Cape

Province is different from the other provinces. Although black Africans form the majority

of the population (73.8–97.2%) in most provinces,2 the Western Cape is one of two

provinces where, for historical reasons which did not allow for urban migration of black

Africans, the majority of the population (50.2%) identify themselves as coloured3

although this group only comprises 9% of the national population. Despite having 11official languages in South Africa, the three languages most commonly spoken in the

Western Cape are Afrikaans, a language derived from Dutch (55.3%), isiXhosa (23.7%)

and English (19.3%). Amongst the coloured population 79.5% speak Afrikaans.

The educational colour level in the Western Cape is higher than the national average,

with 5.7% of adults aged over 20 years having no education compared with 17.9%

nationally. The Western Cape has the lowest unemployment figure of all the provinces

(18% of persons aged 15–65, compared with 29% nationally). Although considered a

lesser problem in the Western Cape than in other provinces, poverty has a major impact on

ISSN 1743-0437 print/ISSN 1743-0445 online

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*Email: [email protected]

Sport in Society

Vol. 14, No. 9, November 2011, 1251–1264

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education. Poorer communities have a shortage of housing, with amenities such as toilets

and water taps shared among families. Child hunger, substance abuse including alcohol and

other drug abuse, and HIV are major problems affecting the health of students. School drop-

out is very high and youth unemployment as high as 50%. In 2004, the under-five mortality

rate was 58.09 per 1000 in the Western Cape – a long way off the Millennium DevelopmentGoal target of reducing child mortality to 20 deaths per 1000 live births by 2015.

Definitions of disability

In any community, the World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that

approximately 10% of the population has a disability. The 2001 South African Census

estimated that 5% of the population has a disability with the Western Cape having a

disability prevalence of 4.1%.4 The percentage of disabled people with a sight disability

was the highest (32%) followed by physical disability (30%), hearing disability (20%),

emotional disability (16%), intellectual disability (12%) and communication disability

(7%).5 Gathering this information in developing countries is difficult, not least because

there first needs to be recognition that there is impairment, followed by a professional

diagnosis. This understanding of disability stems from a medical or individual model

where disability is understood as being the consequence of the impairment. The World

Health Organization definition does not necessarily correlate with local understandings as

to what constitutes disability at either the personal or medical level. Disability activists

internationally, and in South Africa, criticize this model and argue that disability needs to

be viewed within a social model that reflects the social and political aspects of disability.6

Within this model there is an interaction between personal factors, including the

impairment, and the context in which the person lives, including the external environment

and the attitudinal or social factors. This interaction will lead to either disability orfunctioning, depending on whether the other factors act as barriers or facilitators. Thus

changing the environment, and providing appropriate support, can act as the facilitation

needed to change the impact of the personal health condition and enable functioning.7

The school environment

With the international trend towards inclusive education,8 students with disabilities are

encouraged by governments to attend mainstream schools or ordinary schools.9 In South

Africa, education policy changes have been based on a human rights perspective, in line

with the South African Constitution. The rights of persons with disabilities have beenaffirmed by South Africa signing and ratifying the 2006 UN Convention on the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities.10 The key policy document on the establishment of an inclusive

education system, Education White Paper 6 (EWP6),11 links this development to the

establishment of a caring and humane society. Historically, a separate inequitable system of

schooling was developed for children with disabilities, with schools being disability

specific and racially segregated. Most special schools for children with disabilities only

provided education for white children with only a small proportion of coloured and African

children having the opportunity to attend a special school. Coloured and African children

with less severe or less obvious disabilities attended their local school with no additional

support to the student or the school. This led to a gap between the education support

provided to students with diagnosed disabilities who attended special schools and those

with undiagnosed disabilities attending ordinary schools, with the result being large

numbers of students having difficulties with learning not getting appropriate support.

1252 P. Struthers

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Furthermore, in 1997 it was estimated that 70% of children with disabilities of school-going

age were out of school12 and in 2001 the South African EWP613 estimated that between

260,000 and 280,000 children with disabilities had no proper care or educational provision.

School and community violence

A serious challenge to schools in South Africa and internationally is conflict and violence

within the school and within the community. In a study in the Western Cape Province,

South Africa, 100% of schools reported weapons on school premises, 90% reported

vandalism, 90% reported drug abuse, 60% reported incidents of assault and 25% reported

incidents of rape.14

The violence in South African society is deep rooted, affecting the political, social and

community life of all.15 With the extreme poverty and economic inequity in the country,

the political differences that were encouraged under apartheid led to conflict within

communities and, in combination with unemployment, developed into criminal activity.16

Additionally, violent behaviour in the home is common. The reported incidence rate of sexual assault on children aged 0 – 13 years is 1.7 per 1000 children.17 This daily

experience of aggression has resulted in a generation of young people who find violence

acceptable and human life cheap.18 Intentional injuries, including stabbing and shooting,

are one of the highest causes of mortality,19 with young males at particular risk.

One form of community conflict, in many communities internationally, has been the

development of gangs whose activities are frequently linked to violence and drug

trafficking. Rocha-Silva and Ryan argue that there is a complex relationship between

drugs and violence.20 In their view, this link can be best understood by using the tripartite

conceptual framework of Goldstein that describes the systemic connection between drugs

and violence.21

This is typical of the violence that results from within the undergroundeconomy of the drug-distribution system in areas in Cape Town, the largest city in the

Western Cape, and some neighbouring small towns.22 Without any legal means of settling

disputes and disagreements related to drug distribution this is done through intimidation,

extortion, bribing and violence. Shoot-outs are used with killing continuing until an equal

number of members of different gangs or their family members have been killed. Taylor

and Chermack also emphasize the importance of the environment in violence.23

While the violence has an effect on the social capital of community, the effect of

violence on the individual is also profound. Physical disability, resulting from gunshot

wounds or stabbing is more common among adults, in particular young men, than among

children. However, the emotional trauma that the children experience growing up in a

violent home and community has a lasting impact on their emotional stability.

Additionally, the heavy drug and alcohol use associated with the violence has led to a high

proportion of children in the community having learning or intellectual disabilities.

Social and economic inequities in many communities are the root cause of this conflict.

The gang violence in the community inevitably spills over into the local schools and the

presence of members of gangs in schools affects the learning process of gang members and

other students as well as the day-by-day life of the school.

Health Promoting School

Health for all A framework that is identified as appropriate for a successful inclusion of students with

disabilities or different learning needs is the Health Promoting School.24 This framework,

Sport in Society 1253

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developed by the WHO and the outcome of the First International Health Promotion

Conference in Ottawa, Canada, in 1986, is the Ottawa Charter.25 The framework is based

on five principles: to develop healthy school policies; to develop a healthy school

environment including both the physical environment and the psychosocial environment;

to develop a healthy network between the school and the community to help empower thecommunity; to develop healthy personal skills of all in the school community, including

students, teachers, parents and other community members; and to develop support services

that give appropriate support to the school.

The importance of the school as a setting for the promotion of health was also identified

by the WHO in the Jakarta Declaration in 1997.26 Health Promoting Schools have been

developed internationally to promote the health of all in the school community, including

students, teachers, parents and others in the community. There is evidence from Denman

et al. that this development has an impact on the health of students, teachers and parents.27

In South Africa there are Health Promoting Schools in all nine provinces,28 often in

poorer communities, where the particular schools are striving for change and

improvement. These schools have been identified as a tool for whole school development,

in the support for activities that encompass both the formal and informal curriculum.29

While the formal curriculum includes the syllabus, the informal curriculum relates to the

aims and purpose of the entire school programme and how these are carried out.30

From biomedical to social definitions of health

Within the Health Promoting School context, the concept of health is understood broadly

and holistically. The concept goes beyond the traditional biomedical view of health to

incorporate the WHO’s definition of health as being: ‘A state of complete physical, mental

and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity’.31

The South AfricaDepartment of Health further states that all aspects of life impact on one’s health and well-

being, including physical, mental, social, environmental, economic and spiritual aspects.32

Consequently, the Health Promoting School takes all these aspects into consideration in the

development of the school and the support that it gives to a diverse population of students.

The Health Promoting School aims at achieving healthy lifestyles for the total schoolpopulation by developing supportive environments conducive to the promotion of health. Itoffers opportunities for, and requires commitments to, the provision of a safe and health-enhancing social and physical environment.33

It is within this context that there are opportunities for students with different needs,

including students with disabilities, to feel at home and supported. Students who comefrom unhealthy home situations, with families affiliated to gangs, and those who do belong

to gangs, are able to learn and play sport together. Team sport can be seen as an alternative

to the gang activities as it can provide a sense of belonging and sense of achievement.

However, gangs do play sport, mostly soccer, against each other. Additionally, gangs have

grown out of the sports clubs – either when members engage in delinquent activities and

turn to violence or, as an indirect result of the closure of soccer clubs in the Western Cape.

Sport and cohesion in school and in the community

Harms describes how, first, sport can be a tool for social integration to overcome cultural

barriers and ‘otherness’;34 second, sport programmes can be occasions of collective

experience and involve direct physical contact, which have an intense effect on both

parties with the potential to build cohesion; third, sport can be a medium that transcends

1254 P. Struthers

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objetivo



class divisions; and fourth, sport can be used as a cultural instrument with the norms and

rules of the sport that transcend the divisions between groups. This theoretical framework

is valuable in planning and reflecting on any sports intervention.

Sport has been identified as a tool for addressing conflict and has been utilized in

peace-building interventions internationally.

35

It has been used to convey a message of non-violence, mobilize and develop communities. Anecdotally, sport is considered to

make a significant difference in children’s lives by boosting self-confidence, increasing

understanding of difference, leading to tolerance and mutual acceptance. It has been

described as a tool for the development of the social capital of the community.36

Unfortunately, it is frequently found that students with disabilities attending ordinary

schools in South Africa, unlike the USA or UK, are excluded from the sporting activities.37

Adapted physical education is not offered in ordinary schools so students with disabilities

can only take part in the regular sports offered by the school for students without

disabilities.38 Only a very few better resourced schools offer students with disabilities

opportunities to participate in sport. Consequently, students with disabilities will sit on the

sidelines during this time. By cintrast, most special schools for students with disabilities do

offer adapted sports and sporting events are organized between special schools.

This article reports on an ordinary primary school in the Western Cape Province that

has identified itself as a Health Promoting School. The research question is: In a

community with a high level of social conflict, as a major disabling factor, how effective is

school sport as an implementation of the Health Promoting Schools framework?

The research setting

Primary school A is situated in a township on the Cape Flats, a socio-economically

deprived community in a densely populated area of the city of Cape Town. In the 1960s,under the apartheid era, the community was formed when people classified as ‘coloured’

by the government were forcibly removed from residential areas that had been declared for

‘whites’ only. During this time, by law, people were classified by the government into

different racial groups which determined the area where people were allowed to live.

There were separate (and unequal) facilities such as hospitals, post offices, beaches and

schools for people of different racial groups. The implementation of this policy involved

the social restructuring of areas people lived in to ensure that people of different racial

groups lived in their own area. During this restructuring, a class separation was

implemented by the state with ‘coloured’ people identified as ‘poorer’ placed in

communities, including this township, where smaller houses or apartments were built andrented to the residents by the city council. Piped water, inside flush toilets and electricity

were provided. Forty years later in this high-density area there are rows of apartments, two

or three stories high separated by washing lines, groups of unemployed youth on street

corners, and very few trees, parks or recreational facilities in the area. Where there is small

piece of land attached to the home/apartment a small wood and iron structure is frequently

built and rented to a family needing accommodation (the backyard dwellings). There are a

few small shops for bread, milk and cigarettes, but no street markets and people do the

bulk of their shopping outside the area. Many households are made up of extended

families, with several generations living together in two or three small rooms. The average

household size in the coloured community is 4.3 persons compared with 3.8 persons

nationally. Single-parent families are common. Socializing happens at home with a lot of

time spent watching TV and parents hesitant to allow young children outside to play. Five

kilometres away from this slice of the third world are the leafy suburbs of Cape Town


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where wealthier people have large homes, private swimming pools and easy access to a

first world lifestyle. The large numbers of unemployed people living in this community

have produced a culture of gangsterism, with extensive involvement in drugs and violence.

Since the 1990s there has been a proliferation of gang-related violence in the Western

Cape.

39

Kinnes argues that many young people, who have been rejected by their familiesor the community, have joined gangs to gain a sense of identity and of belonging. Others

join gangs to gain materially. It is estimated that approximately 60% of the population of

this township, including women and children, are aligned to one gang or another. Jensen

describes the township as the ‘zone’ from which gangsters living in that area go to steal

and commit acts of violence in other equally disadvantaged surrounding areas ‘zones of

poverty and social disintegration’.40 It is considered by the council officials as a

particularly violent space within a broader geographical area and is described as ‘a special

case where the prevalence of gangs, poverty, crime and overcrowding went hand in hand

with a civil society in sharp opposition to state agencies’.41

Methodology

Primary school A has been actively developing as a Health Promoting School for a number

of years. While this development was initiated by the school nurse who visits the school

from the Department of Health, it is fully supported by the principal and school personnel

who work closely with the school nurse to develop healthy school policy, a healthy school

environment, make links with the community, develop the skills of the teachers, students

and parents, and to make links with support services.

In-depth interviews were conducted at the school. The school was visited several times

over a period of 18 months. With the use of an interview guide, open-ended questions were

asked. Ethical considerations included getting consent from participants and theunderstanding that there would be anonymity for participants and the school.

Results and discussion

School: a neutral zone

Primary school A, a small school with 450 students, is one of 11 primary schools in this

township. Despite being situated in a very poor community, the leadership of the school

has been determined to turn a very ordinary, struggling primary school into a centre of

excellence and a creative centre of learning for all in the community.42 Despite this, only

27% of students in the school have reached the expected literacy level, according tonational literacy standards. In a partnership between the principal, teachers and the school

nurse, this school has actively worked to implement the principles of the Ottawa Charter

towards developing the school into a Health Promoting School, including prioritizing the

development of the relationship between the school and the community.43 The school has

been striving for the identity of being a ‘neutral zone’ within this strife-torn community,

with the top priority being to provide world-class education that parents in the community

would be proud to send their children to. Parents are encouraged to visit the school and

have learnt to respect the fact that parents from rival gangs may be at the school.

Despite attempts for a ‘neutral zone’, many activities in the school must be duplicated

to allow students and families of different gangs to attend. As an example, the

development of a counselling centre at the school included training for some mothers as

lay counsellors. Training for mothers aligned to different gangs was necessary as women

would not go for counselling with a woman linked to another gang.

1256 P. Struthers

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The ‘Other’ populations: who is ‘different’, and what is ‘deviant’ behaviour?

In schools across the world there are groups of students that can be described who are

considered different from the ‘ordinary’ students. In primary school A two groups considered

‘others’ by the teachers are the students with disabilities and the students who are gang

members. What is unusual is that the ‘other’ may even be the majority in a particular schoolclass, challenging the teachers who have on average 40– 45 students in a class. Additionally,

manystudents who experience difficulties with learning comefrom homes where adults have

a low level of literacy so are not viewed as ‘other’ within the family. Likewise, the students

who are members of gangs often have older siblings or even parents who are gang members.

Consequently, within this township, these students do not have the identity of being ‘other’.

Students with an intellectual disability

In the past, there have been a small number of students at the school with moderate

intellectual disability.44 However, teachers at primary school A are not keen to have

students with moderate intellectual disabilities in their classes as they feel they do not have

the skills to assist these students to learn. They complain that there is no extra support

provided by the Department of Education for the students or teachers when students

experience barriers to learning. Some students have been referred from this school to

special schools, but the principal reports how the students struggle in the different cultural

environment of the special school, where there is no understanding of the students’ daily

experience of poverty, and the low levels of literacy in their homes. Additionally, students

feel stigmatized by having a ‘special bus’ collect them from home instead of being able to

walk to the local school, and most students soon stop attending any school.

A common cause of intellectual disability in South Africa is foetal alcohol syndrome.

This township has been identified as a community with a very high prevalence of alcoholuse and abuse, and, as a consequence, there is a high prevalence of students with foetal

alcohol syndrome or mild intellectual disabilities; many of whom would not have had any

formal diagnosis of this problem. Advocacy programmes in the community, such as the

‘Sensible Drinking Campaign’ have been discontinued due to a lack of funding. A second

common cause of intellectual disability is the use of methamphetamine (locally known as

Tik), the most frequently used illegal drug in the community, with reports of children as

young as seven years using Tik.

Students with emotional instability

There are a very large number of students at primary school A with emotional difficulties.

According to the school principal, recent psychological tests on all students throughout the

primary school found 90% of students to be emotionally unstable; 70% of students having a

feeling of complete helplessness; 10% being extremely aggressive; and 5% with attention

deficit disorder and not on any medication or treatment. The latter two groups (15% of

students) are described as ‘taking over the school’ (according to the principal) and disrupting

learning. This apparent ‘norm’ of emotional instability has established an alternate reality

for these children who have no experience of life in a different community.45

The principal explains that this emotional instability is partly the result of the conflict

in the community, with normal developmental activities unable to take place for months at

a time while there is active violence. Parents do not allow their children outside and they

may be absent from school for long periods as the same gangs that are present in the

community have a presence in the school. Even when the students are allowed out of the


y



home, there are unwritten rules about where people may go in the community, for example,

‘the library is in the “Clever Kids” area so the “Hard Livings” people [two opposing gangs]

don’t cross the boundaries to go to the library’. There is a similar difficulty with the use of

‘sports fields’ in the area unless they are in your own territory. There is only one real sports

field in the township, the Greens. This was developed subsequent to the netball tournamentdescribed below, and in part as an outcome of this tournament. Other than this, there are a

few small playgrounds for young children in the community with asphalt areas that people

use to play sport on or they use the roads in the community as their ‘sports fields’. This lack

of opportunity in the environment to interact normally with others affects children’s

emotional and cognitive development.

Many students in the school come from single-parent families where the mothers have

very poor parenting skills. Teenage pregnancies are common in this community with

students as early as Grades 7 and 8 (14–15 years old) becoming pregnant. Consequently,

when their children start school in Grade R and Grade 1 (at 6–7 years) the mothers are still

trying to complete secondary school. This has an impact on the learning of both the mother

and the child. The mother is unable to take appropriate responsibility for her child, in turn

affecting the broader community.

Students who are members of gangs

Primary chool A stands geographically between the territories of two rival powerful gangs

with a number of other gangs in the area. Social interaction in the community occurs

within, and not between, rival gangs. While the men and boys in families tend to become

more directly involved in violent activities, such as shooting, the women and girls provide

support by carrying weapons or drugs as they are considered less likely to be searched by

the police. Nevertheless, many of the children from different gangs attend primary schoolA. According to their principal:

There is an alley directly opposite the school. One side of the alley is the territory of the onegang and the other side of the alley is the territory of the other gang. When the gang war wasactive male gang members would line up behind the fences along each side of the alley. Thenthe women and girls from each gang would come with the guns, and walk down the alley tohand out the guns. Then the shooting would start and would continue until an equal number of gang members on both sides had been killed. Afterwards the women and girls would walk down the alley and collect the guns, so that when the police arrived the men would not havethe guns and the women and girls could disappear with the guns hidden in their clothes.

The school considers itself fortunate as it has a solid fence and gates that lock to stop

the gangsters running through the school. However, this does not ensure completeprotection. ‘One day two students at the school got into a fight. One girl left the school,

went home and came back to school with her father’s gun to settle the fight’. On this

occasion, the principal successfully intervened to control the situation. The principal,

teachers and the school nurse are not members of this particular community making it

easier for them to stay out of gang-related alliances.

Need for healing

The high proportion of students who experience emotional instability is reflected in the

wider community, which can thus be described as an emotionally unstable society, where

much of the social structure has disintegrated. It is a community with intense power

struggles, both between rival gangs and between politicians (unrelated to the gangs) in the

area, leading to many factions in the community.

1258 P. Struthers

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In the school, emphasis is placed on understanding the needs of the students and the

community with all programmes being directed to addressing the need for healing. The

notion of South Africa as a wounded society has been offered by Pinnock and Van Wyk

and Theron in describing the disintegration of society following the Group Areas Act

when family and community networks were destroyed.

46

The greatest need of theindividual students and the community, emphasized by the principal, is the need for

healing the emotional instability and hurt: healing of individual students; healing of the

students’ families; and healing of the community.

Sport and healing

Sport has been identified by the school as one tool for addressing this need for healing. The

township has a number of sports clubs with a variety of sports offered including soccer,

cricket, swimming, karate, table tennis and weight lifting. A popular sport offered by clubs

that is played by children, including boys and girls, and adults is netball. This sport,

similar, in some respects, to basketball, is often played in schools in South Africa by girls

and increasingly some boys. Netball teams are developed for the range of age groups –

under 13, under 15, a B team and an A team, often for adults. With the community divided

into different ‘areas’ associated with specific gangs, sports clubs are associated with one

specific area. Although these clubs do not strictly belonging to a specific gang, people will

not walk into another gang’s territory. For example, in the Hard Livings’ (gang) area, the

people who participate in that particular club will all live in the area.

The outcome of this is that each club has its own netball teams with little interaction

between the different clubs. The teams usually practise on the asphalt in the courtyards of

their apartments and when they want to play a game they ask the schools if they canborrow the netball posts for the weekend. For the game, they will find a larger piece of

asphalt to play on or use the road. Occasionally, they may get the opportunity to use the

one proper sports field in the area ‘The Green’ but it is largely used for soccer, the most

popular of all sports in the area.

In 2006, on June 16, National Youth Day, and the following day a two-day netball

tournament for the whole community was organized at primary school A bringing girls

and boys from 20 community netball teams together from all the clubs in the community.

The tournament had taken months of organizing with regular meetings between a school

committee, from primary school A, and the chairladies of the sports clubs. This organizing

group decided on how the day would be structured and the rules that the teams would haveto follow. The clubs indicated that it was easier to make these decisions with the school

committee seen as a neutral body to negotiate with, that was not affiliated to any particular

team and that respected the clubs knowledge of the rules.

The supporters of the clubs, the families of the players, including the parents, brothers,

sisters and other relatives, came as spectators to watch the tournament and enjoy a fun-

filled family day. Many of the spectators had disabilities as a number of young adults in the

community have physical disabilities, such as paraplegia, resulting from the violence in

the community. All were there to support their teams. They came from different factions in

the community, ‘to support the youth within an atmosphere of peace and calm’, while the

school saw its role as being ‘to force integration in a very diplomatic way’ (according to

their principal). Small stalls were set up at the school and food and drinks were sold by

teachers and families. Live entertainment was organized between the netball matches.

There was a special speaker as it was National Youth Day and an exhibition for all to learn


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more about, or remember the political background to the day. At the end of the two days

trophies, donated by sponsoring companies, were given out to the winning teams.

The question must inevitably arise about violence at the tournament. Holding the

tournament and ensuring there would be no violence was partly dependent on what was

happening in the community. The school nurse explained: ‘The community is like avolcano that sleeps and then erupts’. The tournament needed to be held during the time the

volcano was asleep and there are periods when things are quieter in the community and

this was one of those times. The school went ahead with organizing the tournament and the

people from the community who attended respected the school’s position of being a

neutral zone and ‘so there was no fighting’.

Students with mild intellectual or learning disability were included in the teams as

many of them excelled in playing sport. In addition, it was an opportunity for not only the

90% of students from primary school A with emotional difficulties to participate, but also

for many other emotionally scarred students and adults in other teams in the community to

experience the tournament and the days when integration was possible in the community.

The event was repeated the following year. On this occasion, there were spectators

from outside the community including the Western Province Netball Association who

subsequently worked with the teams to develop a Netball Union. For two years the event

was very successful. The principal then describes how the local politicians became

involved, insisting that the event be held away from the school, in the community, in

commemoration of June 16, 1976 when youth were shot by the police in Soweto,

Johannesburg. Public holidays in South Africa are used by politicians as an opportunity to

hold political rallies which the local community is expected to attend. This kind of rally

cannot be held at a school. By insisting on the move away from the relative safety of the

school, the ‘neutral zone’, the members of the community were no longer willing to attend

the sports event. By 2008, this netball tournament had stopped.

Conclusion

The years of building primary school A as a Health Promoting School, as a safe place for

all students and their families, has had an important impact on the relationship between the

school and the community. Additionally, there has been improved trust of the school by

the community through using sport as a tool to bring the community together at a neutral

venue. Members of opposing gangs could jointly participate in this community sporting

event. This sports development suggests that the use of the Health Promoting Schools

framework, as a tool to improve the relationship between the school and the community,can have a positive impact on the social and emotional health of the whole school

community including students, teachers and the families.

The outcome demonstrates that sports can be used as a specific tool to strengthen the

community. The development of a Netball Union is a positive development for the

community which will assist in the sustainability of netball in the community.

Unfortunately, the annual netball tournament has stopped. It appears an element of conflict

between the school and political organizations led to reduced support from the school for

an event outside the school. In hindsight, the prominent role of the principal and the time

and work put into the making the event a success needs to be acknowledged and continued

to ensure future joint community netball events either at the school or in the community.

Perhaps the most strategic way forward would be for the school to work with other schools

in the community, rather than directly with political organizations, and reinstitute the

netball tournament on a day that does not have strong political associations.

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However, the principal is sceptical of whether it would be possible to get the

commitment of other schools in the area to the work that is needed for a successful

tournament to take place.

There is evidence that the sports intervention has had an impact on the development of

social capital in the community with the transformation in the use of the local disused park from an illicit meeting place to a fenced sports field, this is known as the Greens and is well

maintained, with markings on the ground for soccer and soccer goal posts. It is used by all

the community. This suggests that the development of the netball tournament has

strengthened the ties in the community by enabling sports teams associated with the

different gangs to meet on neutral community territory where there is seldom violence.

The study does not provide information on the direct impact of sports on the gangs in

the area. However, there was an important outcome for the school in strengthening its

goal from being a ‘neutral zone’ to a zone where all can meet; a zone where all can learn;

a zone where the steps towards healing a community are being undertaken. Although

prior to the tournament students from rival gangs were already integrated in the

classroom, the principal indicates that sport has helped to ease the tensions. It has forced

further integration and normalization of the broken community. Through a change to the

environment the school has had an impact on the students who have disabilities,

including those with intellectual disabilities or learning difficulties, and those who have

experienced emotional trauma, facilitating their full participation in this community

event. Through the lens of the social model of disability, the effect of facilitating

changes in the physical and the psychosocial environment surrounding the netball

tournament could reduce the experience of disability. What is also of significance is the

involvement of the families of the students, extending the impact beyond the school to

the broader community.

On its own, sport cannot solve the enormous social problems in Cape Town or morewidely in developed and developing countries, where there is extreme poverty, endemic

violence, unemployment and rampant HIV/AIDS. With multiple social factors involved it

is not easy to find hard evidence of the impact of a sports intervention on a community.

However, the evidence does suggest that using sport as a tool for social change may offer

some impetus for change. The sustainability of this change will depend, in part, on whether

the intervention is viewed as a sports ‘plus’ or ‘plus’ sports intervention.47 In the first

instance, sports ‘plus’, the sports intervention is considered more important than

addressing the wider social issue of violence. In the second instance, ‘plus’ sports, sport is

only used as a tool to achieve the objective of addressing violence. Changes in conflict are

generally considered more important than the sustainability of the sports; however,perhaps it is possible for both sports development and changes to happen in a community

simultaneously.

It is recommended that more extensive evaluation is done on the impact of Health

Promoting Schools on reducing violence in the community. Evidence is needed to back the

experience of the principal on the value of addressing the needs of the students and the

school holistically through the use of the Health Promoting School framework: ‘If I don’t

do that (develop a Health Promoting School) I cannot take anybody forward.’

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the principal of primary school A whose commitment to the communityis an inspiration and Dr Brian van Wyk, UWC, for gang-related information.


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Notes1 Groenewald, ‘Western Cape’, 11.2 Statistics South Africa, Census in Brief .3 The last census in South Africa was in 2001. People are still classified by racial group in

South Africa in order to monitor the progress in moving away from the apartheid-based

discrimination of the past. Statistics South Africa uses the following options for self-classification: Black African, Coloured, Indian or Asian, White and Other. ‘Coloured’ includes avaried group of persons, for example, a person of mixed race or with ancestry from countries suchas Malaysia might consider themselves as Coloured. (http://www.statssa.gov.za/keyindicators/ keyindicators.asp)

4 Statistics South Africa, Census 2001.5 Ibid.6 Howell, Chalklen, and Alberts, ‘Disability Rights Movement’. The Disability Rights Movement

in South Africa has a history of opposing oppression and has been active in the promotion of inclusive policy.

7 World Health Organization (WHO), International Classification of Functioning.8 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), The Salamanca

Statement . This document supporting inclusion of children with disabilities in all schools was theoutcome of a conference with representatives of 92 governments and 25 internationalorganizations, hosted by UNESCO, in Salamanca, Spain in 1994.

9 Mainstream schools are referred to as ‘ordinary schools’ by the South African Department of Education. These are public schools that any child or adolescent from the community can attend.

10 South Africa signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on March 30,2007 and it was ratified on November 30, 2007.

11 Department of Education, South Africa, Education White Paper 6 . This paper outlines aninclusive education system for South Africa; Department of Education. ‘Report of nationalcommission’ is an important document for background to inclusive education in South Africa.

12 Office of the Deputy President of South Africa, White Paper Disability Strategy.13 Department of Education, South Africa, Education White Paper 6 .14 Frank, Missed Opportunities.15 Scharf, ‘Resurgence of Urban Street Gangs’, cited in van Wyk and Theron, ‘Fighting

Gangsterism in South Africa’, 54.16 Pinnock, ‘Rituals, Rites and Punishment’, cited in van Wyk and Theron ‘Fighting Gangsterism in

South Africa’, 54.17 Dawes and Ward, ‘Levels, Trends and Determinants of Child Maltreatment’, 111.18 Lombard and van der Merwe, ‘Preventive Programmes for Schools’, 371.19 Bradshaw et al., Initial Burden of Disease. Mortality causes in South Africa: HIV/AIDS (29%),

cardiovascular disease (16.6%), infectious and parasitic diseases (10.3%), malignant neoplasms(7.9%), intentional injuries (7.0%), unintentional injuries (5.4%).

20 Rocha-Silva and Ryan, ‘Drugs and Violence’.21 Ibid.22 Van Wyk and Theron, ‘Fighting Gangsterism in South Africa’.23

Ibid.24 Department of Education, South Africa, Report OF THE National Commission on Special Needs.25 WHO, Ottawa Charter .26 WHO, Jakarta Declaration.27 Denman et al., Health Promoting School.28 Department of Health, South Africa, School Health Policy.29 Department of Health, South Africa, ‘Draft Guidelines for the Development of Health Promoting

Schools’.30 Donald, Lazarus and Lolwana, Educational Psychology in Social Context. 2.1.31 WHO, Constitution.32 Department of Health, South Africa, ‘Draft Guidelines for the Development of Health Promoting

Schools’. These guidelines have remained in this draft format.33 WHO, ‘The overall progress of the European Network of Health Promoting Schools’, cited in

Tones and Tilford, Health Promotion: Effectiveness, Efficiency and Equity, 223.34 Harms, cited in Keim, ‘Sport as Opportunity for Community Development’.35 Keim, ‘Sport as Opportunity for Community Development’.

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36 The development of social capital through sport is discussed by a number of authors: Bailey,‘Evaluating the Relationship’; Misener and Mason, ‘Creating Community Networks’; Lindstrom,Hansen, and Ostergren, ‘Socioeconomic Differences’; Stone, Research Paper 24.

37 Reiman, ‘Sports for Learners’; Block, Teacher’s Guide to Including Students.38 Reiman, ‘Sports for Learners’.39

Kinnes, ‘Struggle for the Cape Flats’.40 Jensen, Gangs, Politics and Dignity in Cape Town.41 Ibid., 116.42 The school has attempted to address widespread illiteracy in the community. First, within the

school, a small library has been started and computer laboratories have been provided by theDepartment of Education and Microsoft. Second, for adolescents who have left secondary schoolwithout qualifications, a night school has been organized with more than 100 registered students,to enable them to complete their matriculation examinations. Third, for adults who are illiterate,the night school provides adult literacy classes. The school hosts a food kitchen which cooksmeals at a very low cost for students or for community members to buy. This facility, housed in asmall container, remains open throughout the year for the community.

43 Activities have included addressing substance abuse, as there is widespread use of ‘Tik’(methamphetamine), ‘dagga’ (marijuana) and heroin from as young as 8 or 9 years. This has includedthe use of role plays, students demonstrating against the use of drugs, and holding posters in a humanchain on the side of the busy road. The school has a policy related to drug use. A school drug-actioncommittee, comprising staff and parents, supports students using drugs to go for counselling.

44 Despite the South African policy of inclusive education, there are few, if any, students attendingSchoolA with moderate or severe physical disabilities, visualdisabilities,hearing disabilities or severeintellectual disabilities as these students are expected to attend the special schools in neighbouringareas.This maychange in the future as the policy of an inclusive education systemis implemented, butimplementation is still in its infancy with minimal additional support available for ordinary schools.

45 Lindegaard. ‘Navigating Terrains of Violence’. Lindegaard discusses the challenges experiencedby young people who attempt to break away from these violent communities.

46 Van Wyk and Theron ‘Fighting Gangsterism in South Africa’, 54.47 Keim, ‘Sport for Community Development’.

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The Use of Sport to Community Conflict

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