ED’S LETTER

Keep learning new things, says Sonya Schoeman, as she ticks off another first: canoeing in Khayelitsha

School was always best when it wasn’t school as usual, I’m sure you’ll agree. This applies today too: work is more enjoyable out the office. So one morning I got up early for an Airbnb experience in Khayelitsha called Sport is Power. Like true Capetonians, my friend Nicole and I arrived 45 minutes late (thanks Apple Maps). Ayanda Cuba and Buntu Matole were gracious nonetheless: it takes time to get anything good up and running, and they’ve certainly put time in. They were introducing us to the latest addition to their network, canoeing down the Kuils River. You might be surprised to hear that there’s a canoeing club in Khayelitsha. It’s been going since 2013, and was started by Siyanda Sopangisa and his brother Akhona. At first the take-up wasn’t big, they said. People used to use the river as a dumping ground for tyres, baths and a whole lot worse. The brothers began cleaning it up. People and children wanted to play on this green belt that runs along the highway, said Siyanda. As we set off on our paddle a tumble of children run alongside to prove that point. Later, the city council helped thin out the overgrown reeds, home now to a host of birdlife, too. Sport is Power’s goal is to turn this and all of Khayelitsha into Cape Town’s biggest outdoor adventure area, for tourists but most importantly for their own. Along the river there’s a path that women were too afraid to use because izigebengu would hide in the reeds, waiting to prey on them. Now the reeds have been cut back, it’s safer. If the area also became a vibrant play space for children, it would grow healthier people – experts tell us play is important for skill and social development, creativity and imagination. And play in green areas also grows a strong connection to nature and the outdoors. Talking of water, another social activist is Dr Kevin Winter from UCT’s Future Water Project. Eight years ago he began the Peninsula Paddle to raise awareness of the health of waterways, ones just like Khayelitsha’s Kuils River section. We’re all connected by our waterways, he says, and the healthier they are, the healthier the communities along them will be. The more invested people are in these green belts, the cleaner we’ll keep them, plus they can foster tourist initiatives and job creation. Travel with a purpose is an amazing way to get out into the world, meet new people and keep learning. We hope that this issue, which is all about big, try-something-new adventures, inspires your next journey.