National Condom week

The week of February 13 is  STI/Condom and pregnancy week in Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan area. It is also known as "Condom Week." The idea is to capitalize on Valentine's day week to promote safe sex through proper and consistent use of condoms; getting tested for HIV and STIs (Sexually transmitted diseases); encouraging faithfulness and abstinence as a means of avoiding HIV.

The theme this year is "Lead and Unite to strengthen reproductive health." - and the sub theme is "Love me enough to protect me from STI's and unwanted pregnancy."

Various events have been hosted by the ATICC HIV/AIDS Unit, an initiative established by the local metro municipality to collaborate with organizations in the metro and surrounding areas focusing on the HIV/AIDS response. ATICC stands for AIDS Training, Information and Counselling Centre (ATICC)


Yesterday evening, the staff and 7 of our coaches attended a "Trucking Wellness" clinic at the Motherwell truck-stop point*. The idea is to bring awareness and encouragement to truck drivers who are seen as a high risk group as far as HIV contraction goes. The amount of traveling they do exposes them to the temptation of sexual encounters for money. Prostitution is rife in such settings, and an initiative like this aims to promote condom use. Although this is not a demographic GRS normally works with, we were happy to attend and  our coaches led a Skillz activity (Find the Ball) with attendees. There were other activities and messages imparted by other organizations followed by a braai/barbecue for all in attendance.

I want to say the event was beneficial for the handful of truckers that were in attendance, but like all things in life - the real difference is in the heat of the moment when decisions are left to the individual. During the event one of the truck drivers spoke up, thanking the organizations for taking the time to spread the word about condoms to him and his colleagues but he did raise a concern about coverage of such awareness programs. He urged our organization and others to go to smaller towns with the same messages, and events in the interest of all involved. A worthy statement, that I hope was heard and perhaps more will be done to reach more marginalized areas in the country.

* The Trucker Wellness clinic operates under the auspices of the Road Freight Association that provides support services for the road freight industry throughout the country. The representative of the RFA was a guest speaker and he stated the importance of such an event, as HIV/AIDS has negatively impacted an industry that transports 80% of goods in the economy he reminded us.

HIV Counseling and Testing

Last April the government of South Africa launched a new upscaled HIV treatment & prevention plan. Rumblings of actual implementation of the program now are coming up and there is a certain degree of controversy over the efficacy of the particular plan to intoduce HIV Counseling and testing in schools. Basically this would be a plan to avail voluntary counselling and testing at schools on weekends and holidays starting in March.

Most criticism has come from those concerned about the psychological effects on school kids should they test positive. There is no clear cut way of dealing with this particular issue it seems and certain commentators are predicting disastrous consequences that would derail any benefit to be gained from the program. Grassroot Soccer is closely watching developments in this are, since we work directly in schools with students that  will directly be affected by this program. One hopes that should the program go on, the right means of addressing positive results are in place. Some have suggested pushing the program forward in order to allow for proper research and planning for a response is done.

Strike after a strike turns tragic

Matters have truly gone out of hand as the strike has been taken up by a new demographic. Starting this week students in Grade 12 (which is the last year of high school) have been protesting the fact that schools required them to take their preliminary matriculation exams so soon after the strike. All around the country kids in this grade have dropped their pencils and taken to the streets, including kids here in Port Elizabeth.

Confrontations with the police have been reported as crowds of students have damaged property and blocked off streets, in fact on Tuesday police resorted to using rubber bullets in order to disperse the crowds of students. A 17 year old girl in the Free State lost her life yesterday as a warning shot by a policeman ricocheted and hit her in the back. To think that someone has lost their life over this whole situation is beyond belief. May she rest in peace.

Sithembile updates

Yesterday morning we walked into assembly at Sithembile primary on our way into the office. It was a reminder to my own primary school days at David Livingston and Haig Park primary respectively back in Harare! Led by one of the teachers, all the kids were singing several spiritual songs, all in their own special way, showcasing their voices but betraying a slight lack of tune! The group as a whole sounded good though, and this assembly reminded us that the strike was over (at least for now) after 3 weeks without school I forgot that our office is based in a primary school (see previous post). Schools are back in which means Grassroot Soccer can get back to the Skillz curriculum. When the civil servant strike was declared some interventions were ongoing and others were about to begin. Needless to say, this proved to be a major disruption to our work (needless to say, I am fully supportive of better conditions for professionals such as teachers).

This week, our team will be exploring different ways they can re-engage with the schools. This is tricky as schools are making use of after-school time to catch kids up, since exams are on the way. The strike has forced the team to get creative and coaches had been deployed to a juvenile prison and a couple of orphanages, where the strike wasn’t necessarily affecting the kids (and if it did we wouldn’t be embroiled in the politics of it). I hope to provide more details on what we come up with in the coming weeks.

Newsletter on the way!

Meanwhile, starting at the end of this month I will be producing a newsletter that will be available to family, friends, supporters, donors and anyone else interested in receiving it. I will be using it as an active way to summarize my time here on a monthly basis, a means of communication with all who have supported me and another creative way to solicit funds for the remainder of my internship. If you are interested in receiving the newsletter please email me at tchitongo@grassrootsoccer.org. The newsletter is all I will send you, and I am open to suggestions and tips as always.

All the very best! Happy Tuesday.

A moment of clarity

I am in a new country experiencing its people, culture, languages, traits, traditions, prejudices, and weather for the course of a year. Although I was born and raised in neighbouring Zimbabwe, I cannot claim to have extensive views and insights on this country besides general viewpoinbts that I have developed through my learning and television.

At times when you read this blog you might mistakenly think that I am foreign to Africa and its unique localities and lets face it oddities at times.  I am an African through and through (born and raised here, for the first 19 years of my short life) and I have seen and experienced the many aspects of life on the continent, but not all.

Driving into the township of Zwide every morning is incredibly humbling, especially for someone who hasn't  experienced township life extensively. And again we're only working in the township, not living and breathing it day and night. As much as there is economic lack in places like this, the undoubted spirit of opportunism and genuine joy in day to day interactions does exist. Without being too romantic about the whole scenario, I must qualify my statements and say that crime and violence are very much present and they are an unfortunate aspect of life in the township, but I believe in the good of the majority of people living here more than the negative element. 

Looking at the townships of Port Elizabeth (especially the ones we work in mainly: Zwide being our base) is especially humbling when I consider how people living in townships back in Zimbabwe, are possibly worse off economically considering our country’s recent struggles. I only hope and pray that the work of the like of GRS can help the people gain access to more opportunities as they seek to pull themselves out of a life of lack. I think the resourcefulness that exists among the people of the township is a lesson in creating something out of perceived lack.

Africa will always amaze and intrigue me. I am always seeking inspiration from its people, whether it be family, friends or people leading special lives. Either way, I’m encouraged and hopefull. 

Viva Africa!

Let's move!

Hello, I'd like to welcome you to my blog. You've probably been led here from my various fund raising efforts for my one year Field Intern experience in South Africa starting this August. I would like to thank you for your interest and support.

From the onset I want to let you know that I truly believe in the work that Grassroot Soccer does in Africa, and this is evidenced by the innovative work they do and their growing influence in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

I received confirmation earlier this month about the Field Intern position to much excitement. Opportunities come up in life all the time, but every once in a while a particular one strikes a nerve. This one did just that! I had worked with the organization before, raising over $250 for their work in a Lose The Shoes tournament that we had at my school (Providence College) in April of 2009. I co-ran it with a friend and I remember thinking how nifty it was that we could raise money through something as novel as a soccer tournament.

Since Grassroot Soccer was founded in 2002, there have been hundreds of Lose the Shoes tournaments around the United States, they have all been mediums to support the important work that GRS does in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Sub-Saharan Africa has suffered greatly from the effects of HIV and AIDS. Being from Zimbabwe, I am fully aware of the impact the disease has had. In fact according to my country's life expectancy at 22, I have reached/passed the halfway point of my life since life expectancy for males is something over 35, frightening.

The disease is worth fighting and Grassroot Soccer has emerged as a new innovative agent of change. Working particularly among youths the organization uses local trained individuals and popular soccer players to engage the youth and spread the word about the HIV virus. The use of the beautiful game, that is soccer has been effective in reaching out to many African youth and there is still work to do!

The popularity of the Lose the Shoes tournaments in the United States, such as the one we had at my school again made the most of the popularity of the game, and the impact of these initiatives and other work that GRS does has been tangible.

A summary of the organization's capabilities from their website:

"With an annual budget of $4.2 million, 61 employees and over 300 volunteers in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the United States. GRS delivers its Skillz interventions to youth between the ages of 12-18 every day across this geography and regularly hosts training events for staff and volunteers.

GRS’s activities are divided two areas: global activities and in-country activities. Globally, GRS focuses on curriculum development, measurement and evaluations, strategic development and financial management. In-country, our teams execute on the GRS and partner funded programs managing all aspects required to fulfill our mission and satisfy the funders’ financial and programmatic needs. In addition, outside GRS’s three core countries (South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe), the global team provides technical assistance to implementing partners who deliver Skillz interventions. GRS’s global team identifies partners capable of sustaining a football based HIV prevention program, matches them with funders, provides in-country training and ongoing technical assistance and assists in the overall capacity building of these organizations.

Through these activities, GRS engages hundreds of young role model educators (coaches, teachers and peer educators) on a part time or volunteer basis in several African countries."

To date Grassroot Soccer is based mainly in 3 flagship countries, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia. They also have partner sites in Malawi, Tanzania, Sudan, Namibia, Botswana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Cote D'Ivoire and Liberia. They have collaborated with more than 30 government agaencies, corporations, NGOs, CBOs and FBOs worldwide, providing comprehensive HIV prevention and life skills education to more than 270,000 young people throughout sub-Saharan Africa. They have partnerships with the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, Nike, the English Premier League, FIFA, usaid, UNHCR, the WHO and the Ford Foundation to name a few. This 8 year old non-profit is making major moves and I am excited to be part of the team.

My passion for the game of soccer and desire to join the fight against HIV and AIDS meant that this internship would be the right for me from the moment I learned about it. I hope that you can support the movement, by either continuing to follow this blog, visiting the GRS website, making a donation to my firstgiving account or simply improving your awareness about HIV and AIDS in your own way.

Our ability to make a difference is heavily influenced by our willingness to move. And that is my challenge to you!

GRS video: