South Africa · People
Prevention Through Youth Livelihood and Sport
Not For Sale’s people work in South Africa focuses on youth livelihood and sport-based prevention programs in Cape Town and coastal communities. South Africa is both a source, transit, and destination country for trafficking, with children and young adults disproportionately affected. The people work is directly connected to the social innovation model below, because prevention through economic opportunity and community belonging is more effective than intervention after harm.
What We Found
South Africa faces intersecting crises of poverty, unemployment, gender-based violence, and migration that create conditions for trafficking. Youth unemployment exceeds 60% in many communities. Children living on the streets, in informal settlements, or without parental support are aggressively targeted by traffickers. Coastal communities face additional pressures from illegal fishing, drug trafficking routes, and tourism-linked exploitation.
What We Set Out to Do
Reach children and young adults at the point of highest vulnerability, before traffickers do, through sport-based engagement, livelihood training, mentorship, and community building that gives young people identity, structure, and economic alternatives.
What We Have Built
Sport-based prevention: Not For Sale South Africa uses surfing, skateboarding, and team sports as entry points for reaching at-risk youth. Sport provides structure, community, mentorship, and physical confidence, all protective factors against trafficking recruitment.
Livelihood training: Youth participants receive job skills training, life skills development, and pathways to employment or further education. The goal is not just to keep young people safe today but to build the economic independence that keeps them safe for life.
Street outreach: Not For Sale South Africa’s extensive street outreach programs have reached over 121,000 people, connecting vulnerable individuals to services, shelter, and community support.
South Africa · Social Innovation
Sport as a Gateway to Economic Dignity
Not For Sale’s social innovation in South Africa uses sport not as the end goal but as the engagement mechanism. The innovation is the pipeline: sport → trust → mentorship → skills training → employment. Each step reduces vulnerability. Each step increases agency.
This model is now being extended to Mozambique, where the same coastal, poverty-driven vulnerability exists and the same sport-based engagement approach has proven effective.
