The eThekwini Municipality played host to members of the German Parliament’s (Bundestag) Sports Committee as they visited the Isithumba Sporgarten in KwaXimba, near Cato Ridge, today, 5 July 2011.
Isithumba is part of the sister city cooperation between Durban and the German city of Bremen.The German MPs are part of a high profile delegation of German politicians and athletes to support the bid of German city Munich to host the Winter Olympics in 2018.The Bremen Sportgarten has been involved in Isithumba since 2007 and has made a tremendous contribution to youth development in the area. Local children are engaged on most weekday afternoons in soccer, volleyball, netball, table tennis, swimming and traditional games.
Mountain biking and canoeing have recently been introduced. The programme has operated with the support of the eThekwini Sports and Recreation and International Relations Departments and in March 2010 eThekwini and Sportgarten Bremen signed an MOU to establish and formalise the programme.Frequent visits from staff and volunteers from the Bremen Sportgarten take place with assistance from the German government through ASA North South Programme and Weltwarts.Ward 1 Councillor Musa Mkhize said; ‘The partnership between eThekwini and Germany has enabled this area to develop young people and skill them in various sporting codes. It has also contributed to the economy of the area by creating employment opportunities for young people. To us the Germans are now family, we are grateful to the German volunteers who have imparted much needed skills to our young people.’
Mkhize said it was an honour to host the delegation at KwaXimba.
Member of the German Parliament and leader of the delegation Dagmar Freitag said; ‘We are very impressed with what we have seen here. We were told about this project but seeing it for ourselves has been an amazing experience.’
Freitag said partnering with the City in the Isithumba project ‘was an investment in young people. This is the best we can do for young people all over the world’..
Giving a presentation to the German delegation about the status of the project, Green Corridor Project Manager Gary Cullen said; ‘Without your support all of this would not have been possible. This project is very important to the economy of the area and it forms part of the City’s Green Corridor project. It is part of our eco-tourism initiative where we use sport as means of economic development. Trail running, mountain biking and canoeing are some of the initiatives which are part of developing the local economy and the youth,’ he said.
