At Sutton Vineyard we believe we are being called to extend the table to the least, the lost, the near and the far-off because Jesus asked us to go into all the world and make disciples, teaching them to follow Him.
Many of us do this in our local community, but we also celebrate and support the efforts of those people and organisations going out into other parts of the world who bring Jesus into the lives of others.
Aslan Hope in Sport is Sutton Vineyard’s main international mission relationship but what is Aslan Hope in Sport, and how does their work improve the lives of the least, the lost, the near and the far-off in South Africa? Some of you will be very familiar with the work of Aslan, others of you may be hearing about it for the very first time!
What is Aslan Hope in Sport?
Aslan Hope in Sport is a small mission which exists to bring hope, love and encouragement to all children and young people who live in communities in and around Cape Town and specifically the most vulnerable, poor and disadvantaged communities.
Set up by Denzil Dolley, a former Hockey Olympian representing South Africa in the 2004 Athens Games and past member of Sutton Vineyard, before moving back to South Africa in October 2014 to start this ministry.
Aslan Hope in Sport is a not-for-profit enterprise and ministry which works with young people, many of whom are at risk of being excluded from schools, vulnerable to crime or gangsterism and from communities that experience high levels of social deprivation.
The charity uses sport as a tool to engage with young people, enabling them to develop self-esteem, social responsibility, and life skills. These include the concepts of teamwork, leadership, self-control, making good choices, developing aspirations and respect. Young people are trained by coaches who are positive role models who will build mentoring relationships, self-esteem, and sense of purpose.
Aslan Hope in Sport run a number of sports ministry outreach projects in local disadvantaged communities and development opportunities including:
Outreach programmes which include training, teaching, feeding and usually playing a match. As well as overt Christian teaching, outreach sessions will often include teaching one or more ‘Aslan Values’, such as self-control, kindness, goodness, integrity, love, humility etc.
Employment opportunity and experience for young people engaging disadvantaged black communities and young people who Aslan mentor, train, certify and establish as ‘junior coaches’
Feeding programmes providing poor communities dealing with malnutrition nutritious food and water, as well as provision for emergency food and supplies for those most in need
Church academies are church based venues where sport sessions run each weekend or weekday evening, for local young people wanting to get involved in sport in a safe, positive and encouraging environment
Mission Weeks an annual period of intensive outreach where Aslan leaders and junior coaches head out to engage more intensively with a number of disadvantaged communities. Mission Week 2023 saw over 1000 young people, teachers and community members receive lunch packs and over 790 Bibles were handed out
Ons Plek is an associated body which operates three residential Child and Youth Care Centres in Cape Town that specialise in developmental and therapeutic intake services for girls who have lived, worked or begged on the streets of Cape Town
One of the communities Aslan works is Dunoon, an area under one square kilometre but home to over 30,000, living mainly in informal shacks. Dunoon is characterised by poverty, unemployment, high population density, and all sorts of other socio-economic issues.
This situation isn’t uncommon in South Africa. According to the World Bank, South Africa is the most unequal country in the world, with race playing a determining factor in a society where 10% of the population own 80% of the wealth.
Without the work of charities such as Aslan Hope in Sport, young people in these areas grow up deprived of basic necessities, and are vulnerable to falling into crime and its consequences.
We support Alsan in a number of ways. As part of our giving as a church, we support Alsan and the Dolley family through regular financial gifts. Many of our congregation regularly pray for Aslan and the team. We have visited Aslan Hope in Sport in South Africa on two mission trips, in 2018 and 2019, and we hope to have news of future mission trips very soon!
Over the next few months we will be sharing more about the amazing work Aslan Hope in Sport is doing in South Africa to improve the quality of life for poor communities and discipline thousands of young people.
If you want to receive regular updates from Aslan Hope in Sport we have set up a new WhatsApp community. We will be sharing updates, stories and prayer requests from the team in South Africa.
To be added to the new WhatsApp community, sign up with your details below: