A round of golf to change lives

GEORGE NEWS - Continuing their work and support for the young men from Golden Valley in Blanco, the volunteers of Zeal Impact Group George will be hosting a fundraising golf day at Kingswood on 9 April, and everyone is invited.

Zeal was founded five years ago after a group of like-minded men from different church groups realised that true masculinity is largely wanting in today's society.

Many men, especially the young ones, are unsure of their identity and turn to false, 'toxic masculinity', or become passive, avoiding the issue. From this movement was birthed an outflow into their community.

"Our biggest project at this stage is our touch rugby team, the Blanco Storms," says Zeal's Gustav da Silva.

"We have been involved for three years in the underprivileged Golden Valley community in Blanco, where many young men grow up with uninvolved, passive or even no fathers. True masculinity has not been instilled and fatherlessness perpetuates fatherlessness."

Using sport as a platform to bring these young men together, Zeal has built relationships and gained trust.

"Through weekly touch rugby training, we walk a mentorship path with these men. There are now more than 40 young men involved."

Testing their abilities against some stronger teams has built character and unity among the young men.

Since 2021 the team has achieved great success by winning various local beach and touch rugby tournaments. In September 2023, a few of the men represented the Eden District at the National Touch Tournament in Durban.

For most of them, it was the first time they had travelled outside of George.

"They were so inspired by the event and realised what they can achieve if they work hard. Most of them were again selected to represent Eden in March 2024," says Da Silva.

However, sport is only the foundation. Zeal's ultimate mission is to influence these young men's future through training and skills development, teaching them responsibility and ownership, and providing mentoring so that they can give back to their own community.

Among other things, Zeal has sponsored some of the men for training at the Work for a Living organisation, successfully placing one in a job, assisting another with a scholarship for male nursing studies, aiding others in completing their matric qualifications, and identifying men with leadership potential for annual character development camps.

"Our biggest challenges at this stage are finances and transport.

"There are many costs associated with the sports gear and it's important for them to know that they form a unit as a team. We would also like to provide everyone with rugby boots, which is usually a costly item. But by far the biggest cost is the academic and skills development," says Da Silva.

Zeal is therefore looking for businesses to sponsor holes at the golf day and display their promotional material. They also welcome any financial support or involvement with their organisation.

Under the name Zeal Impact Group (NPC), they are currently running this Blanco Community Initiative. Their beneficiaries are 100% B-BBEE and an Article 18 certificate can be issued for tax purposes if anyone wanted to donate to the cause.

Some of the young men at a previous beach tournament.