Reality.

The other day we had the chance to spend a fair amount of time in Zwide and Njoli townships. I’ve seen poverty and struggle back home, in urban and rural areas alike, the same sort of struggle can be found here in Port Elizabeth.

As much as South Africa has been able to successfully host the football World Cup and its manufacturing industry is one of the biggest on the continent there are still millions of South Africans struggling to make ends meet. This is a recurring theme across the continent of course, but sometimes I need reminders in order to fully appreciate the harsh realities on the ground.

Many in the township have no consistent employment, HIV and AIDS are ravaging the population and “by any means” necessary is a mantra followed by too many, resulting in too many incidents of rape, violence and theft. Of course PE is not the only city/ region facing such problems. Africa’s poor, have been short changed by historically failed leadership and mismanagement.

During the day the streets are littered with kids, of all ages, kicking around rag soccer balls, chasing each other down and generally not worrying about the bleak surroundings they find themselves in. By no means would I want to burden the thoughts of a child, with a run down of all of life’s harsh realities. But to leave a child, any child in these circumstances makes for an uncertain future. This is why the visit to SOS was particularly significant to me. In the SOS village, the kids have been given an opportunity to grow , express themselves and learn uninhibited by their surroundings. Every child deserves opportunities,and spending a few hours in the townships brought home so many of the troubles facing our continent.

There’s work to be done…

the GRS intern class of 2010/2011

Although I haven't met all the GRS interns, I have gathered enough info to know that they are an amazing group of people's who skills and energy will be a great resource to the organization! My fellow interns in PE have taken to the challenge with energy and verve, it promises to be some year.

Follow this link to see all the intern blogsites. They make for some interesting reading. We have interns in Cape Town, Kimberly, Lesotho, Malawi, and Zambia to name a few!

slow internet....updates on the way!

Coach's story.

One of the key activities in the Skillz curriculum is the coach's story. Here the coach tells their story, where they are from and how HIV and AIDS or another big challenge has affected their lives. This occurs in the second Practice typically. The coach's story is not only a means of showing the impact the HIV epidemic has had in local communities, but the coach delivering the lesson seeks to show that it is okay for the kids to get things off their chest and share them. The goal so early in the curriculum is to get the kids comfortable in their learning environment and the coach has a chance to earn their trust.

Many of the coach's stories I have heard have been hard hitting, tragic and touching. But their show of resilience and desire to bounce back by dedicating part of their lives to Grassroot Soccer is admirable. I am sure this has an impact on the kids participating in the program too. Here is the story of one of our Port Elizabeth coaches, documented by Austin Merrill, for Vanity fair a few months ago.

****update (September 4)**** As if it was like a response to this blog and the things I have said so far about my internship, the universe has contrived to ensure that my GRS experience will remain one of the unforgettable periods in my entire life as I learnt yesterday afternoon. One of our supervisors, a Master coach was helping us understand the curriculum fully because he felt (rightly so) that wee needed to be fully invested in it in order to be able to be of real assistance to the coaches. When we were done he threw perhaps the first curve ball I have faced in my intern experience. He informed us that 2 of us would be doing practices from the curriculum the following week, at the development session with all 27 coaches being out participants. Did't see that one coming, but I'm glad to have been pushed like this. The position of the coach is unlike any other and in order to fully understand it, I get the chance to play their role fo 45 minutes! It can only be good for my experience and GRS will further be entrenched in my mind long after this is all over! Watch this space for updates on how I do, Tuesday awaits! Of course, I will be administering Practice 2..

Quotable quote..

"I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
Nelson Mandela

Using football for HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa: CSI report

Before I started working with Grassroot Soccer through the Lose The Shoes Soccer tournament back 2 Springs ago (April 2009), I wasn’t aware of very many programs that were using football as a means to engage kids in disease prevention interventions like what GRS does. I was aware of football teams and personalities being heavily involved in charities, but I never saw the game being used in an actual curriculum, such as in Skillz. It turns out that this field is getting bigger and bigger, the best part being that research is proving that it works!

According to streetfootballworld, ‘A new study by Coxswain Social Investment, entitled “Using Football for HIV/AIDS Prevention in Africa”, has found that football-based programmes are uniquely successful in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS.’ This is a huge revelation for an organization like Grassroot Soccer and others scattered around the continent of Africa doing similar work. Not that evidence hasn’t already justified the work GRS does, it is just especially heartening to see that there is further evidence that these programs are making an impact. The ultimate test will of course be the passage of time.

I look forward to seeing a future where kids who have been through these programs can stand up and say how important these intervention have been in their lives as HIV infection rates drop in generations to come.

The study was done in the months running up to the FIFA World Cup, and it features many organizations that are part of the streetfootballworld network. According to streetfootballworld: “The study concludes that football programmes can lead to profound behavior change, a huge aspect of HIV and AIDS prevention. It also highlights that football programmes are successful with hard-to-reach audiences, at tackling sensitive issues within the safety of the team and, because of its appeal to young audiences, football can reach those most at risk. While it is not a UNAIDS study, experts from UNAIDS contributed their time, experience, and resources to the Coxswain Social Investment study. It is a legacy product of the Football for an HIV-Free Generation Initiative.”

I was very excited when I first discovered this report and to see evidence based backing for such an important cause is encouraging to the people dedicationg so much of their lives to make a real change for the future.

I urge you to check out the report here, and leave feedback on in the comments section below, I would love to hear your thoughts. I will leave my own impressions below. I look forward to hearing from you.

Some of the organizations mentioned in the report:

Love life - South Africa's national HIV prevention initiative for young people.
Kicking Aids Out - global network with network organizations, partners and associates operating in many sub-Saharan African countries.
Whizzkids United - an organization using football as a means to teach boys and girls essential life skills designed to enable healthy behavioral change.

Other organizations using football to promote positive social change:

Play 31 brings together people who have been split by armed conflict.
Alive and Kicking manufactures sports balls to provide balls for children, create jobs for adults and promote health education through sport.
Foot Solidaire seeks out and assists abandoned young soccer players around Europe whose dreams have been placed in the hands of opportunistic agents.
Coaches Across Continents helps young people around the world learn practical coaching and leadership skills that benefit their local communities.

Passion.

Third week on the job, and passion is the best word to desribe the people I am working with. From my supervisors, to the coaches working in the communities of Zwide, New Brighton and Motherwell I feel an infectious sense of joy, and overwhelming passion. Passion enough to understand the size of the problem we are facing as individuals and as an organization. I can't help but feel lucky to be here, after each passing day I ask myself if I did all I could to help GRS advance its mission. I hope to answer yes, more often than not. What is this passion I talk about: its the way the coaches have welcomed us, the interns, the way they are willing to share their experiences in order to help us understand GRS and of course their dedication to the job at hand, that is reaching out to the kids in their communities!

I recently read the Alchemist (too me 2 days), a modern classic whose storyline can be used as an analogy for our own lives and how we choose to live them. For those who have read the book, you know Santiago's search for his Personal Legend, something we should all be doing - achieiving your personal Legend involves living your dream.

A key phrase in the book, that really resonated with me was this (paraphrased): "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping youto achieve it.”  (if you haven't read the book, please do so!) We certainly want something, an HIV free generation and future, lets go!

There is something very special about Grassroot Soccer; the people it draws, the impact its had in 8 years and its unique approach, all feed into the incredible momentum the organization continues to have are all factors that I hope will inspire and result in an HIV free generation! Where there is a will there is a way.