The MRP Foundation is transforming physical education in schools.
Learners enjoying their weekly physical education classes. Photo: MRP FOUNDATION / PIERRE TOSTEE
Over the last decade, the YoungHeroes Programme has helped to create an extraordinary passion for physical exercise.
Spanning over 8 provinces, 170 schools, 900 educators and 65 000 learners from selected low-income communities throughout South Africa, the sport for development programme aims to promote healthy minds and bodies among young learners through regular Physical Education (PE) lessons.
Although PE is part of the Life Orientation curriculum obstacles such as lack of basic sporting facilities, sports equipment and teacher training contribute to this particular school subject often being neglected. With the support of the National Department of Basic Education, the MRP Foundation kickstarted Young Heroes, a programme to help bring back the joys of regular sporting activities and harness the power of sport to develop healthy lifestyles.
Educators are taught how to put fun weekly PE lessons into action with invaluable assistance from experienced sports coaches provided by the MRP Foundation. These regular physical education lessons provide learners with a wealth of health benefits both inside and outside the classroom. Energy levels increase, important values like teamwork and discipline are taught, fine motor skills improve and exercise stimulates the brain and assists children in their holistic development.
This year the Young Heroes programme in Soweto moved into the sustainability phase, an exciting chapter in the programme’s journey of strengthening physical education in schools.
Sustainability is a core value of the MRP Foundation and we never aim to create an unhealthy relationship of dependency. Thanks to a combination of in-depth workshops and continuous mentoring, educators now feel confident enough to lead PE lessons without further assistance.
The MRP Foundation will continue to provide sports equipment to the schools in the sustainability phase and will ensure the overall smooth running of all physical activities within each region’s school cluster through experienced steering committees.
Simply put, Young Heroes continues to inspire the culture and importance of physical activity in schools, positively impacting hundreds of thousands of young lives since its inception in 2005.
