Dvokodveni will never be the same
SUNDAY greetings! This is the day, which the Lord has made. We at the Eswatini Sport and Recreation Council (ESRC) and indeed the entire sporting fraternity, will rejoice and be glad in it.
We have so many reasons to be happy. Last Saturday at the Hlane Sports ground, ka Hleta, we delivered what stands out to be the most enthralling outreach programme, we have had in a very long time. This was the second edition of the outreach programme since the beginning of the year. Most will remember that the first Shukuma of the year was hosted by the Manzini South Inkhundla almost three weeks ago.
Last Saturday’s event was nothing the Dvokodveni Inkhundla has ever seen. Almost all the country’s recognised National Sports Associations were present. The likes of Teqball Eswatini, Eswatini Table Tennis, Volleyball Association, Cricket, Handball, Athletics, Cue Sports and others came in their numbers for what was an unbelievable day of fun. The newly-formed Eswatini Indigenous Games Association was also present. It was indeed a day to behold for the people of Dvokodveni and surrounding areas. It was a day of great fun and there were so many activities on the day. We pity those that missed out. We were once again honoured by the presence of the Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, Bongani Nzima. He again led by example, alongside other high ranking government officials including the ministry’s Under Secretary, Mzwandile Mthethwa and Director of Sports, Lucky Sihlongonyane to mention just a few and was part of the festivities from the onset. Nzima took part in the 10km walk. He then participated in the aerobics session, which was led by the ESRC official fitness instructors, the renowned S Team. After that, the minister took part in the tug-of-war game and his team totally outclassed the Dvokodveni select side, which was led by the Indvuna ye Nkhundla. He also took time to visit the different stalls of our respective corporate and social partners. Talking of partners, we were once again overwhelmed by the tremendous response from our partners. The likes of Standard Bank, Diabetes Eswatini, Baphalali Red Cross, the Ministry of Health, Royal Eswatini Police, Road Safety and a host of others, graced us with their presence. We are so grateful to our partners, who have made it a point to always support this noble initiative. Shukuma has obviously evolved to become a premium platform for mass public engagement. The spectacular programme packs them in numbers. On Saturday, we had over 1 000 Shukuma participants, which is what we want to see. It is our desire to see a health nation and it is our quest to develop our nation through quality sports and recreation activities. It is who we are. It is what we do. We will be announcing our next stop soon.
We are extremely happy and grateful to those National Sports Associations that took time to attend our Recognition Review Meetings last week. These were held on Thursday and Friday last week. Everyone knows how crucial these meetings are. It’s the associations key to glory. Without recognition, we cannot be in a position to help that particular association if it is not recognized. A majority of the associations showed up and we were humbled to see presidents and their respective secretaries attend the review meetings. They did well. Extremely well and judging from the attendance, we can safely say that the future of sports is bright. Remember, no association can be granted an operating license without being recognised by the Council.
Until next week: Sports for all:Sport for life!