Vuka Africa Youth Hub

16/06/2026

50 years since Soweto. Young people are still fighting for their future — just on different battlefields. Violence. Unemployment. No way out. We see you. We work with victims and survivors. Right where you are. 🌿

11/06/2026

Happy International Day of Play! ⚽

Today the whole world kicks off the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and we're celebrating right alongside them, because football is at the heart of who we are.

Our EmpowerSports programme has shown us again and again: when you give a young person a ball and a safe space, you give them so much more. Confidence. Discipline. A crew who has their back. A reason to show up.

Look at these young champions. This is what play looks like. This is what the future looks like.

Happy World Cup. Happy International Day of Play.

Vuka — Rise.

07/06/2026

🌱 It's Youth Month South Africa — and for us, every day counts.

Behind every young person we walk alongside in communities is a story of courage of surviving things no one should have to face, and still choosing to rise.

At Vuka Africa Youth Hub South Africa, we move young women, men, and LGBTQI+ individuals affected by GBV from survival into skills, from skills into opportunity, and from opportunity into a life they can call their own.

This Youth Month, we celebrate every young person in our programmes who keeps showing up. You are the reason we do this. 💛

Tag someone who inspires you this June 16 👇

02/06/2026

We are honoured to be recognised as Leaders in Peer-Led Youth Empowerment 2026 — Harare. 🏆

This award belongs to every young person in Chitungwiza who chose to rise and to lead. Through peer-to-peer mentorship, skills training, and community empowerment, our young people are not waiting to be developed. They are doing the developing.

Vuka means rise. And rise, they have. 💪❤️

Vuka Africa Youth Hub is one of the 2026 winners of Non-Profit Organisation Awards.

31/05/2026

We won an award.

Vuka Africa Youth Hub has been recognised by Leaders in Peer-Led Youth Empowerment 2026 - Harare

But here is what we really want to say.

This award belongs to the young woman in Chitungwiza who came to EmpowerHealth because she had run out of options and was left with a plan, a support network, and a reason to come back.

It belongs to the survivor in Johannesburg who sat with our Survivor Pathways team on the hardest day of her life, and is now six months into a learnership.

It belongs to every young man who stepped onto a football pitch through EmpowerSports and found, maybe for the first time, that he belonged somewhere.

We did not build Vuka Africa to win awards. We built it because we looked for the organisation that held together safety, skills, and livelihoods for young people and could not find it. So we became it.

2,400+ young people engaged. Two country chapters. A Zambia chapter coming in 2027. 100% of participants leave on a chosen pathway.

The work is far from finished. But today, we celebrate the young people who made this recognition possible.

We have won the Leaders in Peer-Led Youth Empowerment 2026 - Harare, a remarkable global achievement that solidifies our organisation’s impact, excellence, and unwavering commitment to meaningful change. This prestigious recognition stands as a powerful testament to the passion, resilience, and pu...

27/05/2026

As Vuka Africa Youth Hub, we are grateful to have been part of the Safe Sport Conference and to have engaged in such meaningful conversations around safeguarding, child-centred coaching, and creating safer sporting environments for young people.

We are thankful for the insights and knowledge gained, and for the valuable connections made along the way.

One key reflection remains clear:

Sport is a right. Safe sport is part of that right — not an optional add-on.

Thank you to Safe Sport International and Sport for Social Change Network Africa - SSCNA for this incredible opportunity to learn, connect, and reflect with others committed to making sport safer and more inclusive.

The implementation work starts now.

27/05/2026

DAY 3!

26/05/2026

Day 2 at the Safe Sport Conference

Today’s panel discussion on Child-Centred Coaching & Giving Children a Voice was a powerful reminder that children must be at the centre of every safe sport environment.

The session was moderated by Ben Sanders from the The International Platform on Sport and Development Karl Voysey from Safe-Hub Global, and Game Mothibi from TAFISA.

One of the key reflections came from Game Mothibi, who spoke about the TAFISA programme and its role in creating pathways towards safer sport environments. For organisations working with young people, access to resources, training, and networks like TAFISA is so important. This is why attending spaces like this conference matters; they help organisations learn, connect, and strengthen the delivery of safe sport on the ground.

A reflection that stood out clearly was:
Sport is a right. Safe sport is part of that right — not an optional add-on.

Children deserve to play, participate, and grow in spaces where they are protected, listened to, and respected.

26/05/2026

Today’s panel on Safeguarding in Sport for Development was a powerful and timely conversation about what it really means to create safe spaces for young people in sport.

One of the strongest reflections came from Elvis Nshimba from UMOJA SPORT DRC, who said that safeguarding without empathy becomes a tick-box exercise. This was such an important reminder that safeguarding is not only about having policies in place but also about standing with young people and ensuring they can play, participate, and grow safely.

We also appreciated the reflections from the panel:

Kuen Roberts from Laureus South Africa spoke about the importance of international organisations walking alongside smaller organisations through training and safeguarding governance.

Marisa Schlenker from adidas Foundation highlighted that safeguarding starts with the grant-making process, and that funders should prioritise organisational development, including safeguarding policies and reporting systems.

Allan Williams from Sport for Social Change Network Africa - SSCNA reminded us that sport for development is often relegated to a small corner, yet the work being done is critical and deserves greater recognition and support.

Safeguarding is not just a policy requirement. It is about care, trust, protection, and the creation of sporting environments where young people are safe, respected, and supported.

25/05/2026

We're in Cape Town! 🙌🏔️ Our co-founders are attending Day 1 of the Safe Sport 2026 Global Conference at the University of Cape Town, representing Vuka Africa Youth Hub alongside the incredible team at Safe Sport International and Sport for Social Change Network Africa - SSCNA

The conversations happening here around safeguarding, inclusion, and the power of sport for development align deeply with the work we do every day for young people. More to come! 🌍🔥