A new youth development initiative, Seeds of Change, Green Goals, founded by Retreat resident Zaakiyah Booth, aims to engage young people in Retreat, Steenberg, Lavender Hill, Lotus River, and Cafda Village by combining sports coaching with environmental education. The initiative plans to officially launch on Saturday, 7 November 2026, at 10:00 at Wesley Methodist Church, 4th Avenue, Retreat, according to a Southern Mail report published on 29 October 2026.
Booth, who works as a physical education and sports coach at Thomas Wildschutt Senior Primary, developed the programme to offer structured sports training, youth leadership development, and environmental activities including recycling, community clean-ups, indigenous tree planting, and food gardening. She told Southern Mail, “I watched talented young people lose their way because they had nowhere to go after school and on weekends.” Adding, “Your talent is not a mistake. You don’t need to join a gang to belong, you can belong to a team.”
The initiative builds on a holiday programme run at Thomas Wildschutt Senior Primary in June 2025, which reportedly involved over 50 young participants and received support from the Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport. The organisation has applied for registration as a non-profit with the Department of Social Development, with the application acknowledged on 20 October 2026, according to the Southern Mail report.
While the planned launch at Wesley Methodist Church aligns with the church’s active youth ministry in Retreat, this specific event and the details of the initiative remain unconfirmed by an independent source beyond Southern Mail. A representative from the church confirmed their ongoing youth activities but did not verify the Seeds of Change launch details.
The initiative fits into a broader Cape Town pattern of combining sport and environmental education to support youth, similar to the City of Cape Town’s Junior River Warden Programme that teaches learners about freshwater ecosystems through hands-on environmental learning.
Booth emphasises the importance of addressing basic needs alongside coaching: “How can you coach a child who is hungry?” She also highlights the power of mentorship within the programme, sharing the story of a young leader who encourages younger children with the message, “If I can change, you can change.”
Seeds of Change, Green Goals aims to provide a structured alternative to gang involvement by fostering community belonging through sport and environmental stewardship across several Cape Flats communities.
As the initiative moves towards its launch, CapeFlats.co.za will continue to verify further details and report on its development and impact in Retreat and surrounding areas.