New sport field for Concordia

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KNYSNA NEWS - The sport field adjacent to Concordia High School recently received a much-needed spruce-up in a joint effort of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS), Knysna Municipality, and the school itself.

For the upgrading of the field DCS used offender labour from the Knysna and George correctional facilities as part of its Self Sustainability and Sufficiency Framework, which takes offenders from their prison cells and out into the world to contribute towards community empowerment.

Through implementing the Self Sustainability and Sufficiency Framework, DCS estimates that it saves R163m of its budget for the 2022/23 financial year.

PHOTO GALLERY: Concordia High School's upgrades

The opening of the field was held on Thursday 23 June at a special event at the Concordia High School that saw a vast number of DCS delegates and hundreds of community members pour through the doors to feast their eyes on the newly upgraded facilities.

Among the departmental delegates was SA Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola, who graced the event as part of his second visit to Knysna for the project.

During his first site visit last year, he made a commitment to the community to upgrade the sporting facilities. "When I was here last year, I was equally disturbed when parents, community leaders, and stakeholders raised a genuine concern about the state of the Concordia field," Lamola said at the opening event.

The project formed part of the DCS' Self-Sufficiency and Sustainability initiative.

"It was dilapidated and neglected and not conducive to allow young people to participate in sport. As a consequence, some of the youth out of boredom experimented in substance abuse and others engaged in criminal activities, hence we partnered with the local municipality to upgrade the sport field. Without collaborative work, all of this was not going to be possible."

The project was long overdue - not only for Concordia High, but for the larger community of Concordia too, as the area and the school never before had their own dedicated sports field. Hence the renovated sport field now not only belongs to the school, but is also a public facility for the community.

"It will be made available to Concordia and Thembelitsha primary schools to use too, as well as members of the community," said Concordia High principal Zamabuntu Blaai. "This field is for all of us, and we are so very grateful to finally have a usable facility of our own."

Ward 8 Councillor and former Knysna deputy mayor Aubrey Tshengwa also expressed his pride in and gratitude for the project during the opening event.

"This is wonderful for the community of Concordia and will go a very long way to enhancing sports development in our area, in our community," he said.

Lamola urged the school and the public to put the newly renovated field to good use. "I expect the school to produce some of the best sports people in the province in the coming years. You now have the facility to make this possible," he said.

A total of 60 pairs of shoes were also donated to various schools in Knysna, and a vast number of other donations ranging from sewing machines to vegetables and food packages went to both local charities and families in need.

Minister Ronald Lamola pulls on a soccer shirt that was worn by municipal employees during an opening match on the field. Photos: Blake Linder