The aroma of meat sizzling on the side of the road was an incongruous distraction at the entrance to Virgin Active’s new Khayelitsha ”township gym”, which aims to educate local residents about the advantages of a healthy diet and exercise.
”It’s not going to be easy to convince them, but we must convince them bit by bit,” said trainee assistant Noxolo Jaho at the gym’s launch in the Cape Town township
on Wednesday.
Jaho, who could be described as portly, said it was important to try to reduce the chronic illnesses associated with a sedentary lifestyle.
”Exercising is important because the illnesses are not easy to catch if you exercise … If you are obese, you can get heart attacks and strokes,” she said.
The gym is the community’s first modern exercise club, and is the second of four planned for disadvantaged areas, with one already established in Alexandra and others in Soweto and Thembisa to follow.
Sibulele Sibaca, head of Virgin Active’s corporate social investment programme, said the opening was planned with an eye on the country’s June 16 celebrations.
Opening the gym would expose township youth to things usually associated only with suburbia.
Asked what the untapped potential townships represented to Virgin Active, Sibaca said: ”The truth of the matter is it’s a social investment. When we’re investing somewhere, at the back of your mind we want the investment to pay. Whether it pays or not is not relevant, but when thinking about fitness in gym, the first thing to think about must be Virgin Active.”
An under-utilised building was found and refurbished with lockers and showers, and a wide range of exercise equipment. Users will be charged a nominal fee to cover running costs and the services of trained supervisors.
The gym is called Masiphakame Ngemphilo Yethu health club, which means wake up for health. – Sapa