In photos: Boxing academy gives Khayelitsha youth a fighting chance

Recently turned pro boxer Yonelise Poni takes a break from her training session at the Grassroots Youth Academy gym in Makhaza, Khayelitsha. Yonelise has trained at the gym along with coach Jongi Kamko since 2017. She won the Eastern Cape championship earlier this year. Yonelise dreams of more fights on the international stage and loves the feeling of complete focus she gets when she’s facing an opponent in the ring. Photos: David Harrison

In 2004, pro boxer Jongi Kamko lay in bed at Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town with a swollen leg and an undiagnosed circulatory problem. Doctors told him it might have to be amputated. He vowed that if he kept his leg, he would give everything back to boxing, the sport he loved.

Kamko recovered without needing an amputation. Although he never fought professionally again, he kept his promise. He became a coach and founded the Grassroots Youth Academy in Makhaza, Khayelitsha, a multi-sport youth centre and gym offering boxing, cycling and academic tutoring. The academy was registered as a trust in 2006.

Warm-up session: Former professional boxer Jongi Kamko leads a basic fitness training session.

Many young children from the local community see the gym as a second home.

Jongi grew up on a farm in the Eastern Cape until his father died in 1980. His mother and older brothers took care of him; they would sell chickens to nearby locations to make ends meet. His oldest brother was an amateur boxer at school. “He was the one who inspired me, taught me boxing. He showed me all the technical stuff; I was about ten when I started,” Jongi reflects.

At 14, Jongi moved to Cape Town with his brothers. Life was tough. One brother was killed in a stabbing in Khayelitsha’s Site B, and in 1988, he lost his oldest brother in a train accident while he was in matric. He dropped out of school to look after his mother

But he kept boxing. At the age of 20, Jongi was fighting professionally both locally and overseas — in Botswana, Germany and Denmark. In Austria, he faced former world champion Edip Sekowitsch in an eight-round bout. Afterwards, heavyweight legend George Foreman, attending as a guest, presented him with a trophy.

When he retired from professional boxing, Jongi turned his focus to helping young people escape the social ills of Khayelitsha.

“In the townships where we stay, young boys and girls have a lot of problems … I said to myself, let me take these kids and show them the way of dealing with life,” he says.

A late-afternoon training session at the academy. Coach Kamko offers boxing classes. Luzuko Dyantyi and Grant Quixley offer cycling coaching as well as tutoring sessions for students.

Two young boxers spar in the ring.

Luzuko Dyantyi joined as a trustee and coach in 2015, helping balance academics and sport. “We want to make sure that even if the students don’t end up following a career in boxing or cycling, they have had a decent education and can pursue another career.” The academy launched a cycling programme in 2017, with children competing in events like the Cape Town Cycle Tour and SA Nationals.

Cycling and boxing coach Luzuko Diyantyi trains on a stationary training bike. Dyantyi joined the academy in 2015 and is also responsible for the academic tutoring sessions.

Sunset in Makhaza, Khayelitsha.

Many boxers have trained under Jongi, including 22-year-old Nqaba Dantile, who says, “He [Jongi] showed me a father’s love and gave me everything that I need … Grassroots Academy is a family; we are a family here.”

Another boxer, Yonelise “Anita” Poni, joined in 2017. “Coach Jongi told me, you don’t have to worry. You’re safe here,” she says.

Now ranked second in her national division, Yonelise says, “I want to give this everything and make sure that I really did it, that I left my mark in history and make my family happy because of boxing.”

Nqaba Dantile (22) ahead of an afternoon training session at the Grassroots Youth Academy in Makhaza Khayelitsha. Nqaba lives at the gym under the guidance of coach Jongi Kamko. He has his eyes on a world title fight. Kamko believes Nqaba has the discipline and talent needed.

The Pros: Professional fighter Axolile Gabuza (left), coached by Jongi Kamko, lands a left jab during a professional fight against Tristen Naidoo in Cape Town. The fight went to Naidoo on points after six rounds. But, as coach Jongi says, “Some days you are down, [but] you must focus, wake up and fight another day.”

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