Skillz Street in review

Skillz Street (pictures here) came to Port Elizabeth on November 15^th 2010 as a pilot intervention for girls on the back of research that points to health benefits from participation in recreational sport and the need to reach young girls who are disproportionately affected by HIV. I was delighted to be part of the team that set up a relationship with the Red location museum, an important cultural centre in Port Elizabeth in the heart of the Red location area of New Brighton. The Intervention happened over an intensive 3 week period where we met 3 times a week with the girls.

Recruiting was done in surrounding schools and on Day 1 we got over a hundred kids and the sessions following saw numbers fluctuate around the 90 mark. I personally learned a lot during this time, having never been part of anything like this. The idea was to test a curriculum in its development stage and send feedback to the Curriculum development team. 

The pillars of Skillz Street are HIV prevention & Life Skills education (taking most of its content from our established curricula), Community Outreach and Fair Play Soccer. 

Fluctuating attendance was a major challenge for us. At any given practice we had at least 80 to 100 girls, but the thing is there would be new kids at almost every one of them, with the new girls replacing the ones who had chosen not to come. Overall 154 girls participated in the intervention for at least two out of the 9 practices. In order for a participant to graduate in any of our interventions they must complete at least 6 practices, 84 girls did so and the rest attended several practices but not enough to graduate. As noted in Skillz holiday below the timing of the intervention coinciding with the end of year holidays is likely to be a major reason why some girls could not complete the required number of practices. Most of the girls live in the surrounding communities, but for a certain few the distance became an issue and they stopped attending. 

It was a pleasure to see the level of enthusiasm that the girls had for activities, discussions and Fairplay soccer. In the end I think we came out with a solid amount of feedback and I look forward to the establishment of Skillz Street alongside other GRS curricula.

At every session/practice we had there was always a group of 15 to 20 odd boys on the sidelines watching the girls play and participate in activities. It felt a bit weird to have excluded them but I understand the need to reach out to girls who frankly do not get as many opportunities to for example play football socially after school. One of our coaches suggested that we do Skillz Street for boys, but perhaps this would defeat the purpose of what we are doing? A tricky questions because in whatever issues, problems or life dilemma young girls may face, there is another side to it, and perhaps bringing boys in would not be such a bad idea? Perhaps not, maybe the emphasis could be placed on separating the sexes but dealing with the hot topics affecting both sides and the kids would equally be more comfortable in a setting where the other sex is not present. Things to think about and suggestions/discussions I will be bringing forward in the new year.

 

Unfortunately we were not able to fully fulfill the community service component of the intervention in the way we would have liked to. The idea was to get the girls involved in some sort of community service or get familiar with a facility in the community. Because we were stretched to the max as an office, we never took the time to really look into what community agents were available, this is something I hope to get done properly at the next Skillz STreet whih will hopefully happen again in February.  

These are exciting times at Grassroot Soccer and within the AIDS response movement. Progress is tangible and the momentum needs to be maintained!

4 months in, and going strong

Yesterday I celebrated 4 months in South Africa with Grassroot Soccer, what an experience and what a time! I head home to Harare tomorrow on the back of a whirlwind 2 month period that has allowed me to learn and grow within the organization. It was a trial by fire one could say, at one point we had 4 programs (1 in its planning stage and 3 in operation - an HIV Counseling and Testing (HCT) Soccer tournament, Skillz Street and 2 holiday programs) going on at the same time!

Needless to say the office and the field had their fair share of highs and lows, but we managed to get through it and I trust that we made an impact in the lives of hundreds of kids while we were at it. I am excited for the year ahead, and the new and exciting opportunities that the year will bring. I want to thank you for your support and I ask that you continue to follow the blog, there is more to come!

Donation Update

2010 is almost over and I am delighted to be looking back on a year to remember. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have supported my internship. From encouraging messages pushing me to take this on, to financial donations that have ensured that I can actually sustain myself here in South Africa, I am truly grateful.

Next week I head home to Harare, excited to see family and friends and to get the chance to share the experiences that have defined the last 4 months of my life. In early January I hope to return and continue playing my part in the AIDS response movement through Grassroot Soccer. I would like to revise my initial fund raising target (set by the organization as $10,000). Looking at my spending so far, I will need to raise $2,000 (making a total of $5,000 for the year) in order to complete my year in South Africa. Monthly costs for health insurance and other living expenses (mostly food) are $250, GRS covers all utilities and rent. The remaining amount covers travel costs back to ZImbabwe at the end of the internship ($200).

I would like to take this opportunity to seek your assistance in reaching my new fund raising target either through donations of your own, referrals to potential donors or any other suggestions you may have. I would truly appreciate it, and I promise to make the most of the opportunity of being here.

I also write a monthly newsletter that goes out every month, if you would like to receive the first three issues and subsequesnt issues going forward please let me know and I will add you to the email list. I hope all is well with you and thanks in advance for your help!

Happy holidays

Skillz Holiday

Over the last two weeks we have completed 2 holiday programs known as Skillz Holiday. During the World Cup, Castrol sponsored and raised awareness about these crucial interventions aimed at kids 12 to 14. Below is a promotional video for Skillz Holiday:



I was happy to help plan and implement 2 holiday programs similar to the one above in Kwazakhele and Walmer townships. Needless to say it was not quite like Skillz Holiday leading up to and during the FIFA World Cup when football fever was rife in South Africa and kids were eager to make the most of sponsored equipment and a chance to attend a World Cup game. Indeed post-World Cup Skillz Holiday seemed to suffering from a severe World Cup hangover.

The Holiday programs are a way for GRS to connect with kids during the breaks when they are most at risk to encountering situations that are most likely dangerous or harmful to their health. There is also idle time that kids have to contend with, and in some areas this idle time can end up being filled with all the wrong sort of things. Teenage pregnancy and HIV are major problems in South Africa and across the continent's lower income areas, Skillz Holiday is an opportunity to provide the kids with something to do and valuable information that can be used to empower them to make smarter choices. The intervention is a tweaked version of our Skillz curriculum and it takes place over an intensive 5 day period where kids play games, do activities and Fair Play soccer from 9a.m. to 3p.m..

Our cumulative goal for participants in Walmer and Kwazakhele was approximately 500 kids. We barely scrapped over a hundred at the end of the day. In fact attendances by kids who did come were sporadic and it was rather disappointing to have worked so hard on recruiting kids and planning the event to only get that number of kids. As mentioned prior it was easier to use the carrot of the World Cup to get kids in. This time around I feel that the December holiday conspired against us. One of our coaches informed me that kids usually travel during this break and kids are less likely to commit to something for an extended period of time as long as a week, unless they see it as more beneficial than what they are already doing.

I just wonder if the kids even go as far as making such a calculation or if they simply forget. Next time around we will need to work on a better recruitment strategy - with no World Cup in sight it will need to be a full proof strategy!

GRS Feature

Profiling Titie, one of the Project Co-ordinators I work with in Port Elizabeth. She plays for City Lads, a local PE team that provides a lot of our Skillz coaches here. They are role models in the community making a difference through their incredible work delivering the Skillz curriculum.

Skillz Street in pictures

On December 6th we had our last Skillz Street. I plan on putting out a detailed blog highlighting what each practice was about and my impressions of it later this weekend. But for now here are some pictures from the Red location museum where we had the intervention:

An aerial view of the Red location museum .

Coach Amy leads an energizer with some of the kids:

Coaches, G and Zoe explain the Skillz contract to their group of girls:

The opening circle (we had one at the beginning of each section).

The museum in the background:

The Red Location community surrounds the museum:

whew! November was some month. After managing to get through the Skillz Street intervention at the Red Location museum, our second HCT as interns and two one week Holiday Programs I am still standing eager to reflect on what has been a whirlwind month! I will do so one by one and I am working on keeping things up to date as the summer break approaches next week.

I am delighted to be doing this internship and I couldn't have asked for more so far. I am excited to use the lessons I have learned so far in order to continue making a contribution to the Grassroot Soccer site in Port Elizabeth.

Stay tuned for detailed updates.

T.