Grassroot Soccer

Yeah! Grassroot Soccer!! Ever hear of it? No? Unitl a few months ago, I hadn't either. Now, I am their biggest fan!!!

Grassroot Soccer is an adolescent health organization founded in 2002 by four professional soccer players in Africa, all of whom had seen the affects of HIV and AIDS in their communities. Their mission is to use the game of soccer to educate, inspire, and mobilize the youth to overcome health challenges, live healthier, more productive lives, and to be agents for change in their communities. They use enjoyment and the power of play to get essential health messages to kids who would otherwise live uninformed lives.

Overlooking Lake Victoria

In 2011, they started a partnership with the Peace Corps and have incorporated their lessons and methodology to countries around the world in which the Peace Corps serves. This year they came to Uganda! I have been priledged to be one of the first 20 PCVs in Uganda to receive the training and to be appointed as a Grassroot Soccer SkillZ Coach. I am now charged with starting the program in my community, making youth teams, and trainnig future coaches. If all goes well, year after year, long after I'm gone, kids will be learning how to live healthier lives while having a good time. Rather than droning on and on about using condoms and being faithful to your partner, I get to play games. I am so excited!



I was able to take one person with me to get the SkillZ Coach training. This is Safari Benson. He is the supervisor of one of the nine labor camps on the tea estate. Now we will work together to enlist more coaches and create soccer teams. My vision is to have a team in each village. Then at the end of the program (there are 12 health lessons after which we practice a little real soccer) we can have the teams play in a competition. We'll see how far I get. It's all in fun. The teams are meant for youth age 12 to 20, both boys and girls, and no prior soccer skills are required. Ha! I'm out there kicking the ball around and Lord knows I cannot play soccer!

By the way, culture lesson... in Uganda, hand holding is for everyone and means nothing more than I am your friend. You see two men holding hands all the time and it is not a sign of intimacy.

Safari with one of the GRS trainers, Nicole

With two more of the trainers, Rosie and  Ilana

The hotel we stayed at for the training was overrun with these adorable little monkeys. All of the Americans were facinated by them, and as you can see, the locals paid them no attention. They treated them as we would treat squirrels, I suppose. I wonder if a Ugandan came to America, if he would gawk over squirrels in the same manner we gawk over the monkeys?

The day after we returned to the tea estate, an outside health organization partnered with our clinic to do onsite HIV counseling and testing. It was a perfect opportunity to use our new coaching skills to help mobilize the residents and encourage them to get tested.