An Essential Lifeline that Helped A Young Woman Bounce Back

A 9th grade student at the Good Hope Seminary High School in Cape Town recently disclosed to a coach at local organisation the School of Hard Knocks that she did not want to live anymore. She had said she planned to end her life after her birthday: one week later. After speaking with the young woman, the coach learned that her father is a convicted rapist, out on early parole, who had been terrorising her and her mother.

The School of Hard Knocks uses sport, research-based curriculums, and highly-trained coaches to provide adolescents and adults with the tools and support needed to overcome trauma and reach their best potential. They use a proven combination of psycho-social counselling and life skills training through rugby coaching to challenge, engage, motivate, and inspire marginalised young people from violent communities—with data showing students leave school with increased wellbeing, a sense of achievement, and brighter aspirations for their future.

The organisation assisted the young woman from the Good Hope Seminary High School and her mother in getting a protection order against the father and helped the young woman access counselling. Today, she is in a better place emotionally and academically.

?In her own words:

"At first I didn't know what School of Hard Knocks was. I was not interested in rugby or sport. Later I realised it is not so much about the sport, but about spending time outside, moving, having fun and being with the coaches, and learning things. That time, when I felt really scared and low, the coaches and Ma'am Lana helped me a lot….SoHK made us feel that we weren't alone and that people cared about us. When we went to court, I was scared, but the judge was very friendly. She even made me a judge for the day!

Life is still difficult, but now I have learned things to do when I feel scared or overwhelmed. I can breathe better, I can focus better, and my anxiety during exams have been much better and my grades too. Maybe I can be a lawyer or judge one day."

We celebrate the work of our grantee partners like the School of Hard Knocks, who are empowering young people to build strength, access critical support, and find pathways out of trauma to realise their dreams.