so i accepted a year-long internship with grassroot soccer in lusaka, zambia starting this august! grassroot soccer (gsr) is a non-profit that uses the power of soccer in the fight against hiv and aids. through its soccer programs, grs provides african youth with the knowledge, life-skills, and support to live hiv-free.
founded by former professional soccer players in 2002, grs trains african soccer stars, coaches, teachers, and peer educators to deliver an interactive hiv prevention and life skills curriculum to youth. since its start, grs has gained many supporters, including nike, the bill and melinda gates foundation, and the elton john foundation.
the grs zambia site, where i will be located, was founded in 2005 and has proven to be very effective. in 2005, unicef estimated the adult hiv prevalence rate in zambia to be 17%, or 1 in 6 adults infected -- one of the highest infections rates in the world. as of 2008, the rate dropped to 15.2%. even with these significant results for such a short period of time, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
as an intern, i will be involved in many aspects of grs:
* implementing youth-targeted hiv prevention education programs
* networking with the community to develop relationships and promote grs services
* coordinating community events such as voluntary counseling and testing (vct)
soccer tournaments
* building capacity of grs field staff and local grs coaches
* assisting with program monitoring and evaluation
* recruiting community-based volunteers
* assisting in curriculum and business development
to learn more about the organization, please check out our website at http://www.grassrootsoccer.org/.
also, the youtube video, "lusaka sunrise," (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyplef2Hi6Y) shows how the coaches educate the youth through interactive soccer programs. it's a really enlightening video.
as my leaving date draws nearer, i keep getting more excited. i can't wait to get started on my new adventure!
