Youth are at the forefront of Makana Tourism's Annual Golf Tournament
Monday, 25th April 2022
A weekend away of golf at one of South Africa’s top golf courses while seeing the best attractions of the Eastern Cape is on the cards for golf enthusiasts next month! Their participation will also afford children from the rural village of Riebeek East a golf day to inspire their career prospects and learn invaluable life lessons on the golf course.
Golfers will be descending on Makhanda, on May 7 and 8, 2022, to tee off at Makana Tourism's Two-day Golf Classic Tournament taking place at the beautiful The Belmont Golf Club. Golfers stand a chance of winning fantastic prizes, from cash to safari getaways, to the value of R20 000.
At the competition’s inaugural event last year, proceeds from the fundraising event benefited The Belmont Golf Club and The Royal Port Alfred Golf Club’s respective Caddie Academies. The contribution was geared to continuing the work of the academies in creating life-changing caddie opportunities. This year, Makana Tourism will continue these efforts by working with the Belmont Golf Club and its caddies to treat children from Riebeek East to a golf outing on Saturday, May 7th, from 8 a.m. at the Belmont Golf Club.
According to Makana Tourism’s Acting Director, Prudence Mini, the children attend the Riebeek East Combine School and also participate in an afternoon programme called the Hands On Project, coordinated by a local, Yolande Delport, who is a mosaic artist and creative facilitator for Africa Aplus. The Hands on Project was established in 2022 and provides art activities, building eco-benches and mosaicking them with mosaic and ceramic pieces that the children make.
"This golf outing is aimed to expose 25 Riebeek East Combine School learners to a tourist attraction and additionally teach them a new sport that they would have never been exposed to previously. Children have already illustrated a keen attitude to learning new skills at the Hands On Project, which has recently unveiled a mosaic project - aimed at making Riebeek East the mosaic corner of the Eastern Cape Province. We are therefore so proud to be working with the Hands on Project to provide these learners with more opportunities and further support their skills development programme so they can touch more young lives. We, however, cannot do it alone and hope that we can motivate more businesses to follow suit in supporting local youth empowerment, especially as we run up towards Youth Month.
Deplort said she was excited about the initiative. "This is an absolutely wonderful initiative, especially for children from such a neglected, impoverished rural community."
Riebeek East's Ward Councillor, Phumelele Peter supported those sentiments and said that the golfing day would provide an ideal recreational space for the children as many of the Riebeek East youth keep themselves entertained with things such as drugs and criminal activities. "The area also has an issue of high unemployment, and most of the parents support their households with social grants, " Peter said.
Belmont Golf Club Manager, Deon van Deventer, said that they were proud to be associated with Makana Tourism in hosting this annual golf challenge. "The course is in excellent condition and players will love our greens, which are rated in the top 20 in South Africa. We are also very happy to help expose kids to the game of golf and our facilities can be used for this purpose, "he said.
Deon van Deventer added that this year’s two-day golf challenge promises to be even bigger and better compared to last year’s inaugural event. Don't miss out on a fabulous golf weekend. There are lots of prizes to be won by all levels of golfers, so get your four balls entered, "he said.
Businesses can also join this life-changing community drive by committing their staff to sign up for the Makana Sunshine 2 Day Golf Classic or sponsor a hole or more on the golf course and give away promotional prizes for value-added marketing. For more information, interested businesses can simply email director@grahamstown.co.za or call Makana Tourism on 046 622 3241.
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Molo Makana / Welcome to Makana!
The City of Makhanda (Grahamstown) together with the nearby towns of Alicedale and Riebeek East and the quaint villages of Fort Brown, Salem, Seven Fountains and Sidbury make up the Makana Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
This beautiful part of the world offers visitors easy access to the unspoilt beaches of the Sunshine Coast, premier game reserves in a malaria - and bilharzia-free environment and best of all a variety of accommodation types including homestays as well as restaurants, bars, eateries that will help visitors immerse into the local culture.
