Westlake community to benefit from new sports field
14 March 2022
The Rotary Club of Constantia has officially handed over a multipurpose sports field to Westlake Primary School on Friday, 4 March 2022.
The sports field is seen as an investment in the community which had no sports facilities.
Westlake Principal Tracey Petersen-Brown said the school was grateful for this enormous blessing. She quoted Nelson Mandela who said that “sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand."
Petersen-Brown thanked the Rotary Club of Constantia for validating their learners’ dreams. She added that the new sports field is aligned to the school's vision and mission in developing their learners holistically. “Through sport our learners will learn important life skills such as resilience, confidence, teamwork and other skills. This field is indeed a beacon of hope and light to the Westlake community.”
The school’s founding principal, Landeka Diamond, who is now the director of the Metro East Education District, was the keynote speaker at the handover event.
Landeka, who also had a role in the project, highlighted what the field meant for the learners and the community at large. “The field you see here today goes beyond fulfilling the learners’ sporting needs. It is meant to change this community, which is bedevilled by poverty and unemployment. This field is designed to change every learner’s life. It is meant to fight crime and other social ills. It is not designed to only enhance the children’s physique but to train their young minds and build their confidence. Most importantly, it is built to be a bridge between this community and the rest of the world. Overall, it majestically stands here, as a beacon of hope and resilience,” she said.
The Rotary Club dedicated the multipurpose sports field to Lloyd Whitfield, a founding member of the club. “We know the field is in very capable hands and we hope the learners enjoy many hours of sport, learn new life skills and dream big!”
