Gun violence is rocking Cape Town’s Cape Flats. Organisations working on the ground say they remain steadfast in their efforts to empower and protect young people.

Balls Not Guns, an organisation working in the area, has described the near-daily shootings as critical. The project aims to provide young people with alternative experiences – ball games, dance and mime programmes, as well as photography, arts and culture initiatives, among them.

Balls Not Guns Coordinator, Maureen Sambo, explains, “We try to do this on a weekly basis just to get them out of home because you won’t be able to know every personal home situation. So for us, in order to gather once a week or twice a week if possible, you have to make them forget about what’s happening at home … just play and be children …. that is what is important.”

The young people say they feel scared to even walk to school, not knowing when the next shot will ring out and whether they could get hurt, or worse.

“Our young people are messing the community up because the reason I am saying this … they use drugs, they use alcohol, and they are in gangsterism. They are unemployed, and they don’t want to work and stuff like that. Old people bury young people nowadays. We must actually bury old people. Unfortunately, we are buried by our mothers and parents.”