Umthombo - Durban, S. Africa (CDD)
Young people in South Africa face extreme challenges. The national unemployment rate is 29%, but for young people this rises to 59% (2019). Rates of gender-based violence in South Africa are some of the highest in the world: a woman is murdered every 3 hours in South Africa; human rights organisations have estimated that over 40% of South African women will be raped in their lifetime.
Umthombo is a pioneering South African organisation based in Durban, providing a fusion of sports and arts activities alongside psychosocial support, training and long-term aftercare; through these programmes they are able to accompany the children and young people as they begin to deal with the traumas they’ve experienced and start to find alternatives to a life on the streets.
Umthombo also offers a range of preventative programmes, focusing on young people dealing with or at risk of substance abuse in Durban, working with schools and other key community contacts. They also work to change the way society perceives children on the streets — educating communities about the realities they face, developing and implementing strategies to address these issues, and continuing to have a significant impact on local, regional and national decision-making in these areas.