- Hlaliswa Cwayi started West City Netball Club in 2019 to keep girls away from dangerous streets, and the club now has 27 players.
- The Nyanga domestic worker uses her own wages to help pay for transport and food when struggling parents cannot afford to contribute.
Hlaliswa Cwayi works part-time as a domestic worker, but she spends much of her time trying to save young girls from crime and drugs in Nyanga township, Cape Town.
The motherly figure started West City Netball Club in 2019 after noticing young girls spending their days hanging around shops with boys.
She feared they could become victims of shootings or get involved in crime.
“I started the team after I had noticed that young girls like hanging out at the shops with boys. I didn’t like that because we always read about shootings taking place at the shops, and I decided to give them something that would keep them away from the shops,” said Hlaliswa.
Her club now has 27 players, with teams for girls under 13 and under 16.
She believes keeping the girls busy with sport gives them a better chance of staying away from trouble.
“There were also boys, so I knew that talking wouldn’t help; I had to rather start a netball team to keep them away from crime and drugs. Standing at the shops every day might have led them into things they would struggle to let go of,” she said.
But keeping the club running is a daily struggle.
Hlaliswa does not earn a regular salary because she only works part-time.
She asks parents to contribute towards transport and food when the girls travel for netball activities.
Some parents depend on social grants and cannot always afford to help.
When that happens, Hlaliswa sometimes uses money from her own wages.
“We need training shoes size 3 to 7 and poles. Sometimes parents don’t have money to contribute towards transport and food, that’s when I step in and assist. To be honest, I don’t do that all the time because I don’t have money, but on the other hand I want to save the girls,” said Hlaliswa.
She is now appealing for sponsors to help the club survive.
Some girls have already stopped playing because their families cannot afford the costs.
“I am looking for sponsors, and I know that if we get them, the kids who decided to stop because of financial challenges will come back. For many girls in our township, this is more than a sport it is a safe, structured place for them,” she said.
Parents say her work has made a difference in their children’s lives.
Zovuyo Jack, whose two children play netball, said Hlaliswa has given families hope despite having very little money herself.
“I don’t know what my kids would be doing if it wasn’t for her. She doesn’t have sponsors but she’s continuing with her dream of saving our kids. As parents we are financially struggling but we try to contribute for transport and food. We pray that she gets sponsors because she’s saving a lot of kids,” said Zovuyo.
The Nyanga Community Policing Forum has also praised her efforts.
Forum secretary Dumisani Qwebe said the area faces serious problems involving young girls, drugs and crime.
He asked Hlaliswa to contact the forum so members could look at ways to support her.
“Our area has a challenge with young girls who are into drugs and crime and in bad places, and who didn’t have anyone to save them. We are grateful that Cwayi has stepped up and done something about the young girls. We don’t have money, but we will see how we can support her because she’s saving kids,” said Qwebe.
Despite her financial struggles, Hlaliswa is determined to keep the club going because she does not want to disappoint the girls who depend on her.
