On Thursday 16th April SOHK Founder Scott Sloan was on Heart FM talking about the effect of lockdown on SA’s youth and how the organisation has responded.

SOHK CEO Scott Sloan says 'While we do South Africa proud by staying at home and caring for others, it's important that we continue to recognise our responsibilities for the wellbeing of our programme participants and even though we can't physically reach them at this point we are trying to respond as best we can to their needs. We are alert to the fact that our participants are at greater risk of violence and abuse in this time period and we look forward to having them back on the field at schools once we get through this crisis together. We want to extend this guide and wellness pack to the rest of South Africa. Exercising and meditating are just two ways to self-manage that can make a difference through this difficult period and it will assist in keeping children and adolescents healthy and happy.’

School of Hard Knocks are deeply concerned about the wellbeing of our adolescents during this difficult time. Here is how we have adapted during COV19:

• To support physical distancing without emotional isolation we have been engaging our participants' parents and guardians telephonically, giving them access to counselling services or food vouchers if requested.

• We have also sent out weekly easy-to-follow home activity guides for parents to conduct with their children, including a WellBeing guide aimed specifically at adolescents.

• Knowing that lockdown will have affected each child differently, we have invested in trauma awareness training via accredited online courses so they are prepared adequately to conduct mentoring when children return.

• We have adjusted our staff roles and programme design to keep jobs safe and accommodate the strictest child protection and health and safety guidelines.

• We successfully fundraised for a Social Worker position so that we could help covid affected SOHK families get back on their feet and manage themselves and other during this stressful time.

I'm sure you are aware that the economic impact of COV19 has been costly, and as a result the financial security of the organisation is at risk. We'd love your help to ensure we can continue to meet the urgent and growing need for child friendly mental health care, both during and after lockdown. 

For all the latest info on our COV19 response, follow our progress on Instagram and Facebook.

If you'd like to give to SOHK please go to our Donate page.

Our goal in 2020 was to reduce school drop out by 50%. Why? Finishing school increases your chances of finding employment dramatically and individuals with matric earn on average 39% more than those who don’t. Against our baseline of 37% dropout in our schools, only 15% of our students dropped out on average - that is a 41% improvement.

We are so proud of our Coach Urshwin who received a standing ovation at the ArtscapeTheatre a few Saturdays ago. He starred in a play about two Hanover Park men who struggle to find themselves in a neighbourhood that seems set on trapping them in a life of crime. Although not professionally trained, the play got rave reviews!

Urshwin came to SOHK with a wealth of experience in gang mediation and youth development and he's an incredible role model to young people from his community of Hanover Park. Find out more here! https://www.groundup.org.za/article/dont-miss-your-turning-point/

Charline Little is the Principle at Vista High School located at the top of Signal Hill in Bo Kaap. She was very eager to adopt School of Hard Knocks at her school because she is passionate about holistic learning and creating a better learning environment.

"I want to extend a huge thank you to you and the organisation for allowing Vista High to be a part of the programme. I have been extremely privileged to have observed the coaches interact with the learners, and it really fills me with so much joy to see the learners having so much fun, especially the ones who are extremely troublesome when in a normal class setting.

If you look at - the kids come to the school when SOHK is here. It’s changed. My class, 10C, [Tina] and them they are basically every day in school. They look forward to Wednesdays. And they ask me the day before is SOHK coming, we say they are coming and they are excited to do all these things.

Mrs Little’s colleague at Vista High added ‘if you look at the others their attitudes have changed towards the teachers, they have calmed down and they are working.’

Anger, Resentment and Frustration

Micah describes himself as a typical teenager from the Cape Flats who has endured multiple adversities throughout his life. His mother is a single parent and his dad has been absent since he was seven. Prone to repeating grades at school he confessed to having had no positive role models, ‘never focusing in class’ and delinquent behaviour such as abusing drugs and ‘bunking alot’ Looking back he says he felt ‘anger, resentment and frustration’ with where he found himself, repeating Grade 10 for a second time.

Meeting SOHK

At the beginning of Grade 11 he joined School of Hard Knocks and soon realised that it was more than just a rugby programme. He says ‘through the sport I learnt respect and responsibilities; especially after having to rate ourselves on the [Levels] chart after each session and when the career workshop took place I knew there was definitely something more behind the ‘Hard Knocks.’

He adds ‘Through SOHK, I understood that my past behaviour was leading to a dead end. I felt a need to build myself up to where I want to be one day. 2019 was not easy, but I was kept on track by SOHK staff who didn’t give up on me.’

SOHK encouraged Micah to set goals for himself for 2020, one of which is to become a prefect at school, and he has made this clear to teachers even though they have reservations based on his past reputation. This year [2020] he has been described as a ‘different child’ and (Harold Cressy teacher) Mr. De Storie says “he now stands a good chance of becoming a Prefect”.

Although Micah has gone through traumatic episodes as a teenager he feels that his ‘well-being has improved tremendously; I feel good, I’m confident, humble and ready for anything; the excitement is so real I can hardly contain it.’ He adds that he is thankful that ‘School of Hard Knocks has given me the opportunity to learn about myself.’

But that’s not all!

SOHKs own measure of behaviours used for student self assessment puts peer to peer learning and contribution to helping others at the top of it’s achievements. Therefore we were delighted to learn that over the 2019 Christmas holidays Micah joined a local sports club where he is now an assistant coach teaching learners from his community life skills and education through sport.

“It’s a wonderful experience, the vibe and everyone recognises me as a coach”. He loves the team mates’ acknowledgement, the unity, and says that he may even coach his own team this year. He can see that sport is really his passion. “Through my individual growth I am not hiding from those ‘naughty’ friends anymore, as I have done initially, I want to show them who I am in the hope that they may be inspired too”.

Micah already displays great leadership qualities, a strong sense of self, and SOHK wish him all the best in his future endeavours. We want to say well done on your resilience and allowing us to be part of your journey to be the greatest version of you!

Update* Micah become Prefect in early February 2020. Well done Micah!