My Grassroot Soccer experience began with an interest in the amazing power of football as a tool for positive social change all over the world. After my initial contact with Grassroot Soccer through a Lose the Shoes soccer tournament in April 2009 at my school, I became a keen follower of the organization.
The following year I applied for the Field Internship position which I currently hold. As you might have already established, this experience is like no other really. I get to work with some truly amazing people, and each day brings unique challenges and opportunities. Every so often I hear incredible stories, some tragic and others inspirational. Its as real as it gets over here, and our drive to work is always a reminder of that.
Evidence has been collected, citing football as an effective means of teaching key messages concerning HIV and AIDS to youths. The use of role models is a novel means of reaching impressionable kids whose future this continent's fate relies on.
As Grassroot Soccer grows and develops, we hope to see HIV infections rapidly decline, stigma destroyed and the youth empowered. I will play my role in this movement, I hope you can too, in whatever way you can.
We have come from a dark past when it comes to the destruction that HIV/AIDS has caused, but the future is currently being (re)written as you read this in the present!
One love.
