Shomong Primary School in Soweto is the first South African school that will benefit from this new patented sports technology. In addition to providing fun and thrills for young children, it aims to contribute to the foundational development of South Africa's youth, including social interaction and inclusion.
"We are excited about the significant multi-dimensional benefits for communities, which the new ball game offers. Besides a multitude of social skills children will accumulate, they will also be taught basic skills in a number of traditional sporting games such as soccer, handball, tennis, cricket fielding and golf," says Gavin Opperman: chief executive of Absa Retail Bank.
The game also has the ability to facilitate the communication of important social messages. "We all know that sport unites communities and, through this new game, important issues such as HIV/Aids education, TB and malaria prevention can be addressed."
He says the game also proves to be valuable for group-play therapy in drug addiction and relapse prevention in older children. "Moreover, early studies suggest that the new ball game also improves numeracy, literacy and mathematics."
KsiaBox spokesperson, Renee Zerle says, "More than 50% of South African schools have little or no sporting facilities. Besides addressing this need, there is also a cost benefit, as children will not need to travel long distances to find sporting facilities. The game concept is simple. It involves a learning process with movement within a circle and aims to develop concentration, short-term memory and the improvement of attention span among children."
