By Nangamso Mabindla
17 June 2005

EDUCATION and sports were on the agenda when scores of youngsters from Mdantsane packed the Sisa Dukashe Stadium in NU 2 to celebrate Youth Day on Thursday, 16 June.

Education was a means to escape poverty, they were told. As the school pupils who died in 1976 were fighting for education, the youth of today were encouraged to take education seriously if they wanted to escape the scourge of poverty.

They were also encouraged to participate in sports so that they could help in building the community, and escape the crime that threatened the fabric of Mdantsane.

South African Police Service (SAPS), the event organisers, invited along sports teams to entertain the crowd. There was some dazzling football when the local Correctional Services team locked horns with Mdantsane giants Ace Cosmos.

That was just the opener, however. Joburg's Premier League Giants Kaiser Chiefs went on to play a friendly game against local PSL outfit Bush Bucks. By the end of the day the audience had been thoroughly entertained and had learned much from the various speakers.

Car maker DaimlerChrysler, the SAPS, and the departments of education and of sports, arts and culture, all lent a hand in making the celebration a success.