Our students and staff improve lives of young people in South Africa
Three members of staff and nine students are travelling to South Africa this month to deliver a life-changing project to young people.
Andy Lockwood, Tom Exeter, and Tilly Hall from the Sport and Physical Activity team, together with the nine students, will be working with young people at the Bambisanani Partnership.
The Gryphons Abroad project, now in its third year, aims to raise aspirations of students overseas through sports leadership initiatives. One key part of the trip will involve the team teaching children how to ride and maintain bikes. Over the past eight months the Gryphons Abroad team have raised over £24,000. This money will enable the team to buy 20 bikes and other equipment for the children, meaning they can get to school and back safely as well as reducing the time it takes them to walk there: up to 2 hours in some cases.
The Leeds students have also planned leadership, sport and classroom sessions for the students in Africa to teach them valuable skills which they can take back into their schools and pass on to their fellow students. This aims to improve their employability and chances of getting a job which will help them out of poverty.
For our University students this trip will provide them with the ability to adapt to new situations, improve their confidence, leadership and teambuilding skills. The project shows the opportunities Leeds Sport provides for students to have a great experience while here in Leeds as well as developing their employability skills to support their future careers.
Good luck and best wishes to the team travelling to Africa.
Find out more about the project at sport.leeds.ac.uk/ga and stay in touch with the team during their trip on Twitter @Leeds_Sport #gryphonsabroad
Posted in: University news