Country: South Africa

Organization: Oasis `Reach For Your Dreams`

Sport: Soccer

Year the initative began (yyyy) 2000

What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? Creating awareness on HIV/Aids,streetchildren and various developmental programmes through the use of soccer as a tool to build trusting and lasting relationships with children .

Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? As an NGO ,Oasis decided to reach youth through the medium of soccer at this stage (more codes later ).We live in a community where kids need to be kept occupied in order to be kept away from being negatively influenced by their peers. We became structured in that we registered with the South African Football Association (SAFA ) whereby children can understand the need for structure in a person`s life.We now are in the process of an academy within the school setup which is called Academic Sporting School of Excellence (ASSE ) with the age group of under 12 years old as a pilot.

What are the existing barriers, the biggest problem, your innovation is hoping to address/change? Children need to have fun and within the Oasis structure, this forms an integral part within development.Children need to be children and Oasis need to ensure that children undertsands this. Ones or twice a year we would have an Appreciation day we we either treat the child to a Spur,MC-Donalds or give a toy and not necessarily a soccer award. With the unemployment rife in our communities and substance abuse the order of the day,WE MUST SAVE OUR KIDS.

Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? At school level staff run Lifeskills programmes with the same child that partakes in the Oasis Football club and at the same time we build relationships with the families as far as we can. We are also in the process of setting up a business hive wherby we could possibly assist in the employment of the parents of the children we work with. Oasis in the end has a Holistic development approach.

How do you plan to grow your innovation? As mentioned, by having a holistic approach we would have more parents involved by which we can clearly see the community involved.From the soccer field we then hope to be able to start various other codes such as: Netball,Tennis Cricket Volleyball,Cycling and swimming.

Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. That through this programme we would be able to keep children off the drugs and to get them to work on excelling academically.

What impact has your innovation had to date/or what is your intended impact? Exactly who are the beneficiaries? Oasis beneficiaries are children and youth from marginalised communities whose parents are either unemployed or abuse alcohol and drugs or both. The impact we have made to date was to grow the soccer to 7 divisions from under 7 to premier division. Oasis celebrates its 10th anniversary at the 2010 World Cup and we are proud to share in this momentus occassion.
Before Oasis became a registered NGO in 2003,the Founder started a football club in 2000 mostly aiming at having streetchildren engaged in something away from the streets and by doing this one of the youth,then living on the street were given an opportunity to go to the Laureus Awards evening abroad.Wiseman today has his own car,house and is fulltime employed.Sport do change people if they willing to work at it.

Please list any other measures reflective of the impact of your innovation? As mentioned ,Oasis will be having a business hive whereby this speaks of the impact and growth of Oasis and how the need for the programme increases.

What are the main barriers to creating or achieving your impact? As all other projects would say,a lack in Financial resources always is a barrier in the way of community devlopment.Oasis still do not have a donor but continue to do the work they are called to do and survive on project funding from our local government departments.
Oasis will go on despite not having great cashflow in the bank; As the founder, who grew up in similar conditions as the children we deal with,we believe that this programme will continue.

How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? Oasis is supported by social developments from both local & provincial departments.For the first time we have applied to the National Lottery Trust Fund and hope our application is successfull. Oasis never really attempted to source outside funding,now that we have the required finacial audited information,we will start applying for funding in 2008.

If known, provide information on your finances and organization. We operate on an estimate of R500-600,000 inclusive of all expenditures.These are finances that we wait on for approval from various departments,if we are not successfull on application then we just do not have that budget. So all payements are then worked out from what we get from funding application.

What is the potential demand for your innovation? This is a great initiative as we are probably one of the only NGO`s that we know of who has soccer affiliation to SAFA. Oasis recently started another project based in our Helderberg region with the same aim of using soccer as a means to establish relationships.We intend to take this programme to other provinces and eventually make it National.I AM EXCITED

What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? The main obstacle for any organisation is to have Audited accounts,Oasis is now in possession of regular audited accounts; The barrier now is to find people/ businesses who is on the same page in understanding the need for money to excecute this programme.

What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. As you probably gathered, I am the Founder of Oasis and have been working in various field of community activism for more than 15 years.Clifford Martinus is my name and I grew up with loving parents and siblings. We were not wealthy at all yet my parents struggled to get us to be appreciative of what we have and instilled good mannerism within us and to care for your neighbour.

Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material. I too was a very naughty child growing up,even till in my youth days where I was even disliked by people because of the way I treated people;although the things taught me by my parents was hidden far inside of me.I am fortunate that when my life came to a crossroad I had decided to say know to the wrong in my life and give the good in me a chance to shine. Today I teach of how I was.