Former champion uses sports to change lives in Joburg CBD
· Citizen
When Kirsten Scott returned to South Africa from Australia, she never thought that what started as a six-month contract would turn out to be a calling to transform young people’s lives through sports.
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Today, Scott heads the sports department at Jozi My Jozi and the Maharishi Institute, where she uses sport as a tool to create career opportunities for young people in Johannesburg’s inner city, while also promoting physical well-being.
A lifelong passion for sport
For Scott, sport was a key part of building her identity while growing up.
She is a former dancer and a seven-time national champion who represented South Africa at international level and earned her national colours.
She has also captained several teams, including athletics, swimming and netball.
“Sports has always been in my family. My sister is a dancer and my brother is a professional baseball player in the United States,” she said.
Scott spent a long time living in Australia before making her way back to visit her family.
During that stay, she was offered a six-month contract by the founder of the Maharishi Institute to get a gym up and running.
Turning a contract into a mission
That was when what began as a short-term job became something bigger.
“I saw the possibilities and the power of physical well-being, and that was what was lacking in the CBD,” she said.
Scott is still in Joburg, empowering youth and building careers through sports.
One of her long-term goals is to build a competitive inner-city sports team that will allow local athletes to compete against other regions.
Scott believes that sport can create employment opportunities and pave the way for professional careers.
Currently, the programmes offer a range of sports including football, basketball, netball and rugby, while wellness and fitness sessions are also available to the public.
She said sport taught her many lessons and skills that she still uses in her daily life.
“Sport taught me leadership, consistency and showing up. For community development, those are the skills you need,” she said. I believe if we build better people, we build better communities.”
Creating opportunities through sport
She believes that sport gives young people an opportunity to discover themselves, their purpose and their confidence.
One of the department’s milestones was helping seven students gain professional qualifications.
Through the programme, they were offered bursaries to complete personal training courses. Today, all seven are qualified personal trainers.
Another success story is that of a young man with a substance abuse problem who came from a difficult family background.
Scott brought him into the programme as a trainer and motivated him to pursue opportunities in wellness and fitness.
“Today, he is a yoga instructor and people hire him for private sessions,” she said.
Another student who was previously part of the programme is now a personal trainer at a gym.
Despite the progress, Scott said communities in the inner city still face a significant number of challenges when it comes to sport, with one of the biggest being infrastructure and safe recreational spaces.
This story was produced by Our City News, a non-profit newsroom that serves the people of Johannesburg.