With a new year ahead, the Douglas Matsha People’s Association (Domapa) has many exciting plans for the young people in Humansdorp, which includes chess, table tennis, swimming, mathematics, and coding.
When Non-Profit Organisation (NPO), Domapa, was established in 2023, the organisation focused mainly on chess training and hosting tournaments to keep children busy while reducing crime in Humansdorp, which is at an alarming rate.
Loyiso Matsha, the club’s president said that after nine months of chess training, Domapa has produced top-class chess players.
He further said that two of their top chess players, Yomelela Pongolo, who is a learner at Mzingisi Primary School, and Khazimla Mtyaleka from JBay Academy, are of provincial standards.
Matsha said that one of Domapa’s objectives is to produce champions.
To further serve the community and keep children active, the organisation has expanded to now offer table tennis, swimming, mathematics, and coding, to children from grades 2 to 12.
He said that they have categorised the activities into sport, education, cultural, and social welfare.
“We hope that parents who are struggling to help their children in these specific areas will consider coming forward for assistance,” said Matsha.
Further elaborating on the thrilling idea of children in Humansdorp learning about coding, despite not having much access to technology, he said that two tutors, Zikhona Masoka and Owethu Mtyaleka, from his organisation, have received training to learn more about Rangers, an offline coding game which has been created by Tangible Africa and Demystified which allows children to learn about mathematics while playing coding games.
“Rangers coding game is a fantastic resource for people to learn the fundamentals of coding in a way that does not require computers. The children will also learn about how to work as a team to solve puzzles, building code using physical and tangible jigsaw pieces,” said Matsha.
He said that every Saturday Masoka and Mtyaleka will offer offline coding training using the Rangers coding game.
Matsha said that all children interested in coding are welcome to join; however, they are required to bring along a smartphone device to download the Rangers application.
Mtyaleka said that the weekly one-hour coding sessions, which will begin on February 10, will improve the children’s thinking skills and their skills in communications, team building and teamwork.
“I think this will help kids a lot, teaching them something new, and it’s a way to keep them off the streets. They could benefit a lot out of this,” said Mtyaleka.
Masoka said that by using the coding game the children will learn to focus more and improve their problem-solving skills.
“The coding games will help the children improve their academics,” said Masoka.
In addition to coding, Matsha said that they have already started offering mathematics classes.
Furthermore, he said that swimming and chess will begin in April with more details to be shared closer to the time.
Matsha said that tutoring for the various activities will be done at two venues in Humansdorp, with more details about the location to be provided directly from the tutors.
For more information, send a message on WhatsApp to Loyiso Matsha on 071 381 6226 or contact the various tutors, Mncedisi Matodlana (mathematics) on 082 700 0086, Zikhona Masoka (coding) on 076 316 5877 or Owethu Mtyaleka (coding) on 067 342 6597.
