PYC 3716
COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY – WORKING FOR CHANGE
PORTFOLIO
Liezl Stodart (du Plooy) 4 September 2021
Student number 609 155 28
, PYC 3716
COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY – WORKING FOR CHANGE
PORTFOLIO
INDEX
No. Subject Page
1. Section 1 1
2. Section 2 32
3. Section 3 33
4. Section 4 34
i
, PYC 3716
COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY – WORKING FOR CHANGE
PORTFOLIO
SECTION 1
Evidence of my work for each activity
Activities 1 to 10 are included in this section.
1
, PYC 3716
COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY – WORKING FOR CHANGE
ACTIVITY 1
Liezl du Plooy, student number 609 155 28 18 April 2021
Description of a proposed community project: The running train – Uloliwe Obalekayo
At the foot of the Blokberg, in my home town Villiersdorp, you will find the mushrooming squatter
camp, the rows of RDP houses and the low-income residential area. The roadside tableaux are typical
of any other rural township: Men sitting around fires outside a shack, babies playing on the steps of
an RDP house while mothers are doing the washing in a tub in the front yard, pre-schoolers playing in
the dirt, gangs of primary schoolers wandering the streets and high-schoolers hanging out on street
corners.
Every time I see this, I wish that I could get the kids off the streets for a little while. My dream is to
start a running group, which I would call Uloliwe Obalekayo – The Running Train. It would entail myself
asking one or two kids that I know and who live in that area to join me for a run through the area. As
far as we go, we would invite the kids on the street to join us. Our little train of runners would travel
up and down each street block, so that those who get tired can walk home or take short cuts. It won’t
be about running the fastest or the furthest, but about being part of a group and being active. The
finish line would be at the taxi rank or community centre or a church, where I’d hand out stickers or
something similar to all the finishers. I still need to figure out how I can implement a fair rewards
system for frequent participation.
I would do this every week, same day, same time. As time goes on, the children will become fitter, a
camaraderie will develop and those with talent will start to stand out. I could recommend them to
their schools’ cross-country or athletics coaches or I can give them training programs for the rest of
the week and take them to the local Parkrun or some races. Through my years of running, I have seen
first-hand how children flourish when a little talent and perseverance is nurtured by an adult who
believes in them.
Resources
The main resource will be time. I need to set aside time to travel the 10km to town, run for half an
hour, allow another fifteen minutes for handing out the rewards and then to travel back home. The
challenge will be to commit to a fixed day and time every week, because the children will depend on
me and I want to teach them about commitment. Also, they won’t have cell phones so I won’t be able
to communicate with them to say when times or days would change.
For the first few weeks, I would need some children that I know and with whom I’ve arranged
beforehand to join me, because the Goniwe Park and Kersiedorp children may be weary of joining a
strange lady running up and down their streets. Once the group is established I will no longer need
assistance.
Will I be able to get my project off the ground in time?
I will have enough time to start the group, but the time will be too short to really empower the
children.
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