Day 6: Active Education and Life College

Today we set out for a fun day of sport at the Barkton Primary School in Jo’burg with Active Education, one of Virgin Unite’s local partners. Active Education provides children in South Africa with skilled coaches, as many schools have cut physical education from their curricula. They also provide life coaching and educate students on issues like AIDS, nutrition, and diabetes.

Our team arrived as the children were having their height and weight recorded as well as being tested for body fat percentage, body mass index (BMI), cardiovascular strength and general agility. Active Education uses this information to design a fitness plan tailored to the children which will be monitored and adjusted over time.

Many of the children don’t eat a balanced diet, and without exercise are at risk of obesity, diabetes and other health issues, so this programme provides critical support to keep them healthy.

We were invited to take part in the fitness assessment, starting off with measuring our height and progressing on to push-ups and sprinting. It was great fun and a nice chance to stretch our limbs after the inactivity of yesterday's marathon drive.

After catching our breath, we said goodbye to the children and headed across town for a mentoring session with another Virgin Unite partner, Life College. This organisation coaches disadvantaged children and teens in leadership development, emotional intelligence, and socially responsible entrepreneurship.

We were treated to a welcome song and presentation about the programme, after which we were each assigned two students for an hour long coaching session. Our group for the day was comprised of young women between the ages of 15 and 17. They face a variety of challenges at home and in their communities, being impacted by poverty, AIDS, crime and other difficulties. We talked with the students about what qualities and behaviours we felt had served us well in our own lives and careers, and learned about how they are working to fulfill their dreams, which range from becoming fashion designer, marine biologist, PR executive and even a "famous gynaecologist"!

We were truly inspired by how mature, strong, thoughtful, confident and positive these young women were. It's obvious that they are headed in the right direction and are already building a brighter future for their country. It was also a great reminder for many of us to live our best lives following the girls' example.

It was hard to leave Life College, and after lots of hugs, exchanging of email addresses and numerous group photos we reluctantly headed back to the hotel to freshen up for our farewell dinner. We can't believe how quickly the week has passed!