The use of sport by a Health Promoting School to address community conflict

Sport has been utilized as a tool to address situations of conflict globally. This article describes one South African primary school that has identified itself as a Health Promoting School and its use of sport to strengthen the role of the school as a safe place in the community and thus facilitate the learning taking place in the school. The school is situated in a socio-economically deprived community, with a culture of gangsterism and drug abuse, in a densely populated area in Cape Town. Within the school there are very few students with physical disabilities, however, intellectual disability is common and emotional instability, closely associated with violence in the community, is a major disabling factor. The concept of who is considered 'other' in this community is explored. A netball tournament organized by the school enabled all students, boys and girls, regardless of ability or gang alliance, to participate, and brought different factions of the community together.