We share JP’s dream
‘NO NORMAL sport in an abnormal society.” That was the proud slogan of the former SA Council of Sport (Sacos) during the soul-destroying years of apartheid.
It is the sacrifices of these men and women – our heroes of a bygone era – that enables children of all communities to have the opportunity of playing for the Springboks, Proteas, Bafana Bafana and all national teams across the different sports codes today.
However, while the rules that govern our society may have changed after 1994, the dream of representing South Africa remains virtually unrealistic for many of our children due to the lack of infrastructure, coaching and facilities in many areas.
Enter JP Duminy and the JP21 Project. A product of the new South Africa who bore the fruits of Sacos’s sacrifices, Duminy still graces the global stage for the Proteas.
But he has not forgotten where he comes from and the people that assisted him en route to the life he now enjoys. Through the JP21 Project that has been running for the past four years, Duminy and his team have reignited the flame for sport, and specifically cricket within young people that once burnt so bright in the Mitchells Plain and Strandfontein areas.
Children at 36 out of a possible 54 primary schools in the region now have the opportunity to pursue an active and healthy lifestyle. It is Duminy’s dream to have all 54 primary schools participating in the JP21 Project.
Such initiatives, though, are a costly exercise to sustain. It is for this reason that Duminy has called upon Proteas teammates like captain Faf du Plessis, AB de Villiers, Morne Morkel and Keshav Maharaj, among others, to support him in trying to raise funds through the JP21 Super Eight’s Challenge that will be held at the exclusive Val de Vie Polo Estate on Sunday.
South Africa needs more sports stars like Duminy. Men and women blessed with a social consciousness, who are not focused purely on selfenrichment. Let’s support him in his endeavours of trying to discover and unearth the hidden talent that’s out there.