Youths attending the Northern Cape Provincial Youth Camp, says they are expecting to pick up some leadership skills from the gathering. Three hundred youths from across the province are gathering at Vanderkloof Dam Resort for the 2013 Provincial Youth Camp.

The five day gathering has since started on Sunday, 22 September and is scheduled to run until Friday, 27 September 2013. It comes as part country-wide Youth Camp initiatives by the National Sports and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula to nurture the spirit of social cohesion and nation building.

The first day of the Northern Cape Provincial Youth Camp was characterized by lessons on character building. Youths gathering at the camp were given lessons around self responsibility, understanding of gender based violence and rape, responsible sexual health, personal values and budgeting amongst others. Charne Anthony (22) from De Aar is one of many young people thrilled by the campsite “In our accommodation we come from different backgrounds, different communities, so it’s fun learning and experiencing more from different culture and backgrounds and stuff and meeting new people and so on”.

The Youth Camps were initiated by the National Sports and Recreation Minister Fikile Mbalula in 2012. The camps are aimed at providing young South Africans with life skills and values that will help them develop into proud and patriotic leader citizens.

The 2013 edition comes as a partnership between the Northern Cape Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, National Department of Sport and Recreation, National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) and LoveLife.

The camp participants called Trailblazers and ranging in age from 14-24, have been divided into ten teams, each carrying the name of a wildlife animal that appears on the provincial and national coats of arms. The Quagga, Wildebeest, Elephant, Kudu, Eland, Sable, Buffalo, Cheetah, Lion and Gemsbok teams are being led by well-trained and experienced youth leaders and mentors – Camp  Stewards – who have been tasked to ensure discipline and order.

A day during the five-day-long camp is set aside for community service, when Trailblazers will be visiting impoverished communities at Petrusville and Keurtjieskloof to do some community work.



Issued by: Morapedi Sekhoane
Manager: Communications and Special Programmes
Northern Cape Sport, Arts and Culture Department
Tell: 053 807 4648
Cell: 078 944 0200