Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Skillz to take on the world!
Grassroot Soccer is developing several curricula, focusing on different age groups starting at the age of 12. The curricula, and notes associated with them are available for public viewing on Google sites. To learn more about them, visit Google sites page here. Some parts of the page are blank because the site is a work in progress.Input on these programs, curricula and plans is welcome.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Thanks Mpumi!
Friday, October 15, 2010
A few steps closer to a million changemakers...
The calendar GRS uses to do its books of accounts is aligned with the American fiscal year due to the major sponsorship we receive from the states. What does this mean? The Financial year of 2010 is over as of Sptember 30th. GRS SA set a target of 26,000 graduates to go through the Skillz curriculum(as seen above) for the year. We managed 25,400, an excellent achievement considering major disruptions from the civil servant strikes of August and early Septmber. Kilo!
Port Elizbeth managed to graduate 5,433, a few hundred off the target of 6,000 (again, the strike hurt our numbers).
GRS aims to graduate a million changemakers by 2014 around Africa, at this rate, we are well on course!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Fun Day!
On Saturday Grassroot Soccer helped with a local fun run hosted by a local church, St Barnabas in Kwazakele township.The event started with a run/walk starting at 7 in the morning. We didn't attend this portion of the day, but it seems to have been successful, with winning runners winning prizes. Starting at 09.30 there was free HIV (pre- and post-) counseling and testing for participants on the day, and anyone from the community. We arrived around 10am along with 8 GRS coaches. Overall, 80 people were tested at the event.
GRS contributed shirts left over from our HCT for all individuals who tested. Our coaches led some Skillz activities with participants as part of the day's events. Us interns assisted with the group of kids 12 to 18 years old. The coaches led the kids in a game of Find the Ball and the Talk Show from Skillz 1.1. We participated in the talk show as "experts." Overall it was nice to participate in a community event targeted at local youths.
Another group of coaches led participants who were 18 and over, they led them in a discussion activity from Generation Skillz. The kids in our section were shy at first but in the end it was great to see their participation in the activities!
The church folk were very friendly and the day was filled with song and dance. For long periods of the program I couldn't understand what was being said, but from the bits of translation I got I was happy to learn about the messages of good healthy living being promoted particularly for youths in the community.
GRS contributed shirts left over from our HCT for all individuals who tested. Our coaches led some Skillz activities with participants as part of the day's events. Us interns assisted with the group of kids 12 to 18 years old. The coaches led the kids in a game of Find the Ball and the Talk Show from Skillz 1.1. We participated in the talk show as "experts." Overall it was nice to participate in a community event targeted at local youths.
Another group of coaches led participants who were 18 and over, they led them in a discussion activity from Generation Skillz. The kids in our section were shy at first but in the end it was great to see their participation in the activities!
The church folk were very friendly and the day was filled with song and dance. For long periods of the program I couldn't understand what was being said, but from the bits of translation I got I was happy to learn about the messages of good healthy living being promoted particularly for youths in the community.
Girls Count
The Nike foundation has in the last 4 years been researching and working on a theory that states that investment in adolescent girls will yield benefits for poorer communities overall. They are not the first to do so, but their research has backed the theory which has driven them to invest further in girls through 2 initiatives known as Girls Count and The Girl Effect. It is certainly true that women and girls have received the short end of the stick historically, in terms of access to education, important roles in society and other other arenas as simple as participation in sports. There are many working to change these imbalances, and other projects like the microlending boom have also seen women being major beneficiaries of credit, proving to be very resourceful in enhancing their situations and collectively improving the plight of their families (The Grameen Bank is one such example).
Gender imbalance also affects females here in South Africa with teenage girls 3 to 4 times more likely to get HIV than teenage boys according to our Skillz booklet. The coach's booklet in the Skillz Curriculum states that girls are more likely to get HIV because they attract older men who are more likely to have HIV. The culture of sugar daddies is also prevalent especially in poorer areas of the country where older men will offer material goods for sex. (see UNFPA report for further info on Women and AIDS). Our Generation Skillz Curriculum will seek to address gender imbalance and the risks teenage girls face concerning the virus.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
HCT
Play to Win, Test to live!
This was the tagline to our Heritage Day HCT. The whole Port Elizabeth Staff: coaches, interns, staff and site-coordinator were assigned roles in this major holiday event based on GRS principles. It truly was Grassroot Soccer at work.
Often you read about the millions of people that play the game informally at the grassroot level and I have played there most of my life. This event was an opportunity for an organization that does social profit work such as ours to harness the popularity of the game among the youth in the area to provide them with some education (on HIV/AIDS), an opportunity to test for the disease and play the game they love.
My direct supervisor Titie was in charge of the overall planning of the event, a big big job considering our target of getting 250 players and community members tested. As interns we were assigned various roles before and during the tournament, doing our best to support her. It was perhaps a little more difficult to do considering the fact that we are still figuring out the lay of the land, and we did lack experience with an event quite like this one. We gave it our best though, and I think our multicultural intern team did a sterling job.
New Start and the South African Health Department were our testing partners; we bought 300 HIV testing kits and planned on other various logistics for the day. This included lunch, snacks, t-shirts, advertising, venue, media, entertainment and recruitment of players. It was certainly a bit of a squeeze leading up to the tournament, but it was great to see the kick off of the tournament as kids from Zwide, and surrounding townships.
The day's schedule, which I played a part in planning was based on teams rotating between playing football, participating in Find The Ball (led by several GRS coaches) and if they chose to - getting tested for HIV. Things started off a bit hairy, as teams arrived slightly later than planned and some of the testers were not fully prepared at the assigned start time. We did however get things started in decent time and as soon as the DJ got his music going the tournament was well and truly on! It was an explosion of house, all day!
Part of the plan of the tournament was to attract passing members of the public, in addition to the +100 kids playing in the tournament. I was impressed by the spirit displayed by the teams participating in the tournament. The kids were well aware of the fact that testing was an essential part of their success in the tournament and there was more than a few cases of teams coming to test together as teams. There was lots of dancing, singing and healthy competition as the kids were engrossed in a great day out of organized fun!
Find the Ball was an important activity, seeing as it highlights the important point that HIV cannot be detected from someone's appearance. We made sure that on the schedule that each team did Find the Ball before they tested. I personally feel that more educational opportunities are necessary in terms of future HCT's.
The football itself was a joy to watch. We pushed to involve 15 to 17 year olds, but there were more than a few players outside of this range. Part of the problem was partnering organizations struggling to find participants in the age group therefore enlisting younger and sometimes older kids. It worked out in the end, and the tournament went without too much incident involving the difference in age.
As for testing, the most important part of the day, we managed to get 189 people tested overall, and although we haven't received the full breakdown yet, we do know that 5 people tested positive for HIV. I was in charge of the testing area on the day, as far as directing people to the right places and my guess would be that 100 to 110 players were tested on the day (updates to follow as soon as I have them).
Every individual who tested received pre and post test counseling which is crucial when dealing with something as important as the result of an HIV test. Each person also received a t-shirt which was a token of their participation in our event. In my eyes this is another means of spreading the name of our organization in the community, as we seek to expand our work in the community. The tagline, Play to Win, Test to live! was also on the T-shirt, another way to encourage more people to know their HIV status in an era of epidemic.The individuals who would have tested positive would also be refereed to local resources available to help them live healthy lives. This includes a local HCT center, providing access to counseling and Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) which are free to the public. I can only hope that these individuals as hurt as they may be by the news will eventually be aided by this knowledge as they seek to live their lives differently.
The HCT was a lesson in community engagement for me, and I think that there needs to be even more community based events where further opportunities to educate, inspire and provide access to services to communities that are plagued by lack. I was proud to be part of this event, and I look forward to playing a role in the next one.
Pictures........
This was the tagline to our Heritage Day HCT. The whole Port Elizabeth Staff: coaches, interns, staff and site-coordinator were assigned roles in this major holiday event based on GRS principles. It truly was Grassroot Soccer at work.
Often you read about the millions of people that play the game informally at the grassroot level and I have played there most of my life. This event was an opportunity for an organization that does social profit work such as ours to harness the popularity of the game among the youth in the area to provide them with some education (on HIV/AIDS), an opportunity to test for the disease and play the game they love.
My direct supervisor Titie was in charge of the overall planning of the event, a big big job considering our target of getting 250 players and community members tested. As interns we were assigned various roles before and during the tournament, doing our best to support her. It was perhaps a little more difficult to do considering the fact that we are still figuring out the lay of the land, and we did lack experience with an event quite like this one. We gave it our best though, and I think our multicultural intern team did a sterling job.
New Start and the South African Health Department were our testing partners; we bought 300 HIV testing kits and planned on other various logistics for the day. This included lunch, snacks, t-shirts, advertising, venue, media, entertainment and recruitment of players. It was certainly a bit of a squeeze leading up to the tournament, but it was great to see the kick off of the tournament as kids from Zwide, and surrounding townships.
The day's schedule, which I played a part in planning was based on teams rotating between playing football, participating in Find The Ball (led by several GRS coaches) and if they chose to - getting tested for HIV. Things started off a bit hairy, as teams arrived slightly later than planned and some of the testers were not fully prepared at the assigned start time. We did however get things started in decent time and as soon as the DJ got his music going the tournament was well and truly on! It was an explosion of house, all day!
Part of the plan of the tournament was to attract passing members of the public, in addition to the +100 kids playing in the tournament. I was impressed by the spirit displayed by the teams participating in the tournament. The kids were well aware of the fact that testing was an essential part of their success in the tournament and there was more than a few cases of teams coming to test together as teams. There was lots of dancing, singing and healthy competition as the kids were engrossed in a great day out of organized fun!
Find the Ball was an important activity, seeing as it highlights the important point that HIV cannot be detected from someone's appearance. We made sure that on the schedule that each team did Find the Ball before they tested. I personally feel that more educational opportunities are necessary in terms of future HCT's.
The football itself was a joy to watch. We pushed to involve 15 to 17 year olds, but there were more than a few players outside of this range. Part of the problem was partnering organizations struggling to find participants in the age group therefore enlisting younger and sometimes older kids. It worked out in the end, and the tournament went without too much incident involving the difference in age.
As for testing, the most important part of the day, we managed to get 189 people tested overall, and although we haven't received the full breakdown yet, we do know that 5 people tested positive for HIV. I was in charge of the testing area on the day, as far as directing people to the right places and my guess would be that 100 to 110 players were tested on the day (updates to follow as soon as I have them).
Every individual who tested received pre and post test counseling which is crucial when dealing with something as important as the result of an HIV test. Each person also received a t-shirt which was a token of their participation in our event. In my eyes this is another means of spreading the name of our organization in the community, as we seek to expand our work in the community. The tagline, Play to Win, Test to live! was also on the T-shirt, another way to encourage more people to know their HIV status in an era of epidemic.The individuals who would have tested positive would also be refereed to local resources available to help them live healthy lives. This includes a local HCT center, providing access to counseling and Antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) which are free to the public. I can only hope that these individuals as hurt as they may be by the news will eventually be aided by this knowledge as they seek to live their lives differently.
The HCT was a lesson in community engagement for me, and I think that there needs to be even more community based events where further opportunities to educate, inspire and provide access to services to communities that are plagued by lack. I was proud to be part of this event, and I look forward to playing a role in the next one.
Pictures........
The Poster
Find The Ball
Interns with our big boss Mpumi (sunglasses) and Thamie, far right.
Some of the early birds
Skillz Banner
Some of the action from the boys' final.
Monday, September 27, 2010
updates on the way...
It was a hectic Heritage Day on Friday, with the HCT being an all day event....The event was a whirlwind of action culminating in 189 kids and community members getting tested for HIV...Updates on this event are on the way! stay tuned.
Generation Skillz has also begun in PE. A group of some of our best coaches are getting trained in the curriculum which will target older kids in the 15-19 age group. I am not part of the training but it is being held in our office, so I hope to provide some insights on the development of this brand new initiative which is so necessary.
Moja!
Generation Skillz has also begun in PE. A group of some of our best coaches are getting trained in the curriculum which will target older kids in the 15-19 age group. I am not part of the training but it is being held in our office, so I hope to provide some insights on the development of this brand new initiative which is so necessary.
Moja!
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