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Nomxolisi Museta-Youth Interactive Correspondent
Amidst the joy and excitement of the Zimbabwe national cricket team recent victories at the ongoing International Cricket Council World Cup qualifiers, it is no secret that cricket as a sport has been gaining popularity in the country.
A sport that has for years been associated with the elite due to limited access to facilities for children and students hailing from disadvantaged communities.
Apart from Takashinga Cricket Club in Highfield, which to this day continues to groom some of Zimbabwe’s best cricket players, very few cricket clubs have been able to offer inclusivity to players from less privileged areas and backgrounds.
In line with the Government’s commitment to providing an environment in which more young people realise success and their full potential through sporting endeavours, Crystal Trust Academy, a private school in Glaudina, is breaking new ground by offering the community and pupils the same opportunities in sports that are mainly known to be offered in schools and communities in low-density areas.
For so long, the majority of students who have attended schools in high-density communities have been robbed of the chance to participate in sports like cricket, rugby, tennis, and hockey amongst many others.
The lack of suitable facilities has made it difficult for children in these communities to be part of these sporting activities, leaving a lot of talent undiscovered and unexplored.
The headmaster of Crystal Trust Academy, Stanley Mbanje, expressed excitement about the promising initiative.
“As a school, we realized the need to start a sports academy that will not only cater for our students, but for our community as a whole. With sport being a big part of the curriculum, it’s important that we empower our youngsters and help them achieve their dreams,” he said.
“Children’s gifts should not just be limited to academics, they should be afforded the chance and opportunity to explore other avenues and in this case, sports.
“If you take a look at our national cricket team over the years, most of our star players have emerged from Highfield and surrounding areas because of what Takashinga has continued to offer in that area. Crystal Sports Academy intends on giving our community the very same opportunities free of charge.”
With most Harare City Council recreational facilities dilapidating, children from high-density communities barely have safe spaces to spend their time after school hours resulting in high cases of drug abuse and crime.
Crystal Trust School is one of the few schools in Glaudina with the resources and space that allow for a variety of sporting activities to be conducted on the premises.
The school currently has a basketball court, tennis court and recently constructed a swimming pool.
“The idea is to have these facilities accessible to interested members of the community, we want to train and groom the next big athletes of the nation, not only in cricket but in every sport that we can offer,” Mbanje said.
The sports academy will open its doors to community members from Glaudina, Kuwadzana, Dzivarasekwa, and Tynwald areas.
The Crystal Trust Academy board also went the extra mile and engaged Zimbabwe National U19 coach and former national team captain, Prosper Utseya and Zimbabwe U19 national performance analyst Keith Kulinga to help boost the academy by offering their expertise to the school and community for free.
The two gentlemen will also be in charge of cricket training at the academy.
They both expressed great excitement and said they were looking forward to working with the community.
“I’m deeply humbled to be entrusted with such a responsibility to develop sports in an underprivileged community, it is a great honour and I look forward to making a positive impact in the quest to try and create a platform for the kids to play a sport like a cricket. It’s not every day that such opportunities are availed, I too am a product of such humble beginnings. My hope is to help achieve the same for young dreamers through this academy,” said Utseya said
Sport and recreation development is one of the main priorities in line with President Mnangagwa’s Vision 2030 set on improving livelihoods and ultimately the economy of Zimbabwe.
The sports director of Crystal School, Faith Hamandishe Kwangware, said there was a need to open up these elite sports to local communities and townships as there are more opportunities to be explored.
“As we speak, the most talked about sport in Zimbabwe at the current moment is cricket.
“We want to create a platform where a child playing sport at a school in Kuwadzana gets the exact same chance that a child playing sport at a school in Borrowdale would get, not just in cricket but in all the sports that have in the past been inaccessible in these parts. We are currently working on creating state-of-the-art sports fields, that way we are also able to compete with the elite schools.
Parents of Crystal Trust school and members of the community also voiced their support for the academy.
Josphas Munhuuripi, a community member of Glaudina said he could not wait to have his two sons train with the academy
“Having a sports academy offering free services to the community is something to be grateful for. Not all of us can afford to send our children to sports academies that train for big sports such as cricket, it is too expensive.
“The ghetto schools are only known for playing soccer and netball which they normally learn from the streets.
“We are grateful to Crystal School for opening its doors to our children. Now they also have a chance at trying out for things like swimming and hockey.
“It is my hope that other schools learn something from what Crystal Trust is doing,” he said.
Online Reporter