Welcome and thank you for visiting my blog! As many of you know, I graduated from Dartmouth in June and was selected to be a Grassroot Soccer field intern. Grassroot Soccer (GRS) is a South-African based NGO founded by former professional soccer players. It intergrates the cross-cultural appeal of soccer with evidence-based HIV prevention and life skills programs that arm African youth with the knowledge, skills, and support to live HIV free. Translating research into action and leveraging the excitement around the 2010 World Cup, GRS attracts and engages African youth through schools, community outreach, and social multimedia. It is focused around the realization that the true power of soccer has always been connections that it creates between people. By using soccer players as role models, and the popularity of soccer to engage hard to reach young people, GRS combines social theory, public health methodologies, rigorous evaluation, and a huge dose of passion. Since 2003, over 270,000 youth in 16 countries have received comprehensive HIV prevention education through programs linked to GRS. By bringing the model to scale through innovative and sustainable partnerships, GRS aims to educate many more by World Cup 2010.

I am truly passionate about this cause and organization. However, in order to participate as an intern, I have been asked to raise $10,000 to cover my living expenses and I am currently $2,000 short of my goal. Please consider supporting me in the fight against HIV/AIDS and making a tax-deductible donation with the icon below. Thank you for the support and I hope you continue to follow this blog as I post updates throughout my internship.

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Thursday, April 29, 2010

Mini VCT

Thuso, our incredible assistant site coordinator and coach extraordinaire, teaching "Risk Field" to eager participants. HIV counseling and testing tents can be seen in the background.

On March 20th, we had a mini VCT. It was the first of its kind in Kimberley and I hope to have more in the future. As discussed in a previous post, I had an idea for small VCTs to increase our testing numbers. Ideally, I wanted to be able to test people without having to invest as many resources or as much money as we do for our bigger events. We setup in the very center of the township, situated next to the grocery store and major roundabout where all major routes connect. At this location, we commanded attention and were guaranteed to interact with a lot of people.


In "Find the Ball", the tennis ball is labeled with "HIV". The participants secretly pass the ball back and forth. When the coach says, "stop", they stop passing the ball. The other line of participants tries to guess who is holding the "HIV" ball. Usually, it takes quite a few guesses before they get it right. The person holding the ball is supposed to represent a person with HIV and the point of the activity is that just as you cannot tell by looking at someone whether or not they are holding the ball, you cannot tell by looking at someone whether or not they are HIV positive.

Overall, the event was a success. We tested over 20 people in a few short hours while a bunch of local kids participated in 6 of our Skillz activities. Although the number of people tested was not huge, our testing partner had reached their total testing capacity for the half day and they were really happy with how quickly we had recruited passersby to test. As soon as our testing partners gain more staff, we'll be testing even more people at these relatively simple events. Excited participants! These kids are from a school we have worked with a lot. The girls were part of our pilot Skillz Street League and we frequently play with them on the weekend. My next idea is to start doing similar small VCTs after school at the high schools where we work. I would love to combine an afternoon of HIV testing and counseling with pickup soccer with our Skillz coaches. Hopefully we'll see it in action soon!
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