By Kabelo Mafiri and Owethu Kholosa
“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, the power to unite people in a way that little else does.” Tata Nelson Mandela
What Tata Mandela meant is that there is no better way to become a game-changer for the nation than through sports. This is exactly what the Mdyesha family believes.
Their love and passion for the community extend far beyond what meets the eye. This past week, on Wednesday and again on Saturday, the Mdyesha family hosted sporting events for eight Makhanda schools: Fikizolo, Vellem, Samuel Ntsiko, and Makana at the primary level and Nombulelo, TEM Mrwetyana, Hendrick Kanise, and the host school, Ntsika Secondary, at the secondary level.
For any event to become successful, there must be substantial support from external partners and dedicated work behind the scenes. The Mdyesha Legacy Games sports festival exemplified this collaboration, receiving support from Khulasande Sports Development, the National Lotteries Commission, Hi-Tech, and enthusiastic young volunteers from the Makhanda community.
Thobela “Thoba” Mdyesha, one of the co-founders of the Mdyesha Legacy Games initiative, said the festival went beyond honouring his family name. It was about continuing the positive impact his family has had throughout the Eastern Cape Province.
“We want to re-instil a culture of sports participation, not only competitive sports but also recreational activities,” he said. “That’s why we had aerobics here this morning, so that people understand you don’t have to participate in sports to win something. There are other personal benefits to being involved.”
The Mdyesha family is proud to see today’s generation moving beyond physical strength alone to continue making a meaningful impact on young people’s lives. It was heartwarming to witness the passion and joy radiating from both the participants and school children.
This initiative clearly had a positive impact, as reflected in the enthusiastic responses from everyone who participated and contributed to the festival.
Delphine Le Pechoux, a member of Khulasande Sports Development, said the organisation’s purpose is to “do sports community activation”. The message they want to give youngsters is that “sports can do many things for them”.
Yivani Mzamane, president of Ntsika’s Representative Council of Learners (RCL), believes that sports development helps youth tremendously. “We could’ve been out and about on a Saturday doing disruptive things, but we are here because of sports. So, sports really do build the youth,” she said. “It’s a good initiative and it will positively impact a lot of people, while it will help rebuild team spirit in us as children.”
“We are sports people in South Africa, and one thing that unites us as a country is sports. So, let’s look at it here on a smaller scale—it’s going to unite us as the community. Instead of seeing each other as enemies, we will now see each other as people who have love for the game.”
Mzamane highlighted another benefit she’s particularly excited about: the equipment used for the festival will be left with the school. This will help improve their sports department since they’ve needed that equipment for quite some time. “For us as a school, it is a blessing in disguise that we’ll walk away with such benefits,” she said.
Lihle Mangesi, a learner and rugby player from TEM Mrwetyana, pointed out how the initiative took youngsters like him off the streets and instead gave them the opportunity to better themselves and enjoy themselves while learning about humanity and teamwork through sports. He thanked the Mdyesha family for bringing such energy to their community.
The Mdyesha family hopes this was just the start of significant events to come and remains hopeful for more external support and participation from the whole province.
