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Hello!
I’m still here! I know I said I was supposed to be in the refugee camps now but I STILL haven’t left. We are still waiting to receive the money from the funders (UNHCR) and even though they’ve approved our proposal in full they haven’t given us the money yet. That seems to be the case with a bunch of our pending projects. Of course, though, I’ve managed to stay busy here in Lusaka because we’ve had a lot to do here also.
Well, first off, for those of you who didn’t know, December 1st was World AIDS Day and being an HIV/AIDS organization it was a big day for Grassroot Soccer around the world. Three months ago Ethan Zohn (one of the co-founders of GRS, winner of Survivor Africa, former Lexingtonian) started a fundraisers in the US to raise money for GRS. He dribbled a soccer ball from Gillette Stadium (home to the New England Patriots and New England Revolution) in Foxboro, MA 550 miles down to Washington DC with the whole dibble ending on World AIDS Day. Along the way Ethan stopped to do clinics with local soccer team, give presentations, attend soccer tournaments, etc. Go to www.grassrootsoccerunited.org for more info. All over Africa Grassroot Soccer ran or helped to run soccer tournaments. Stuart, my fellow Zambia intern, went to Malawi for the week of World AIDS Day to help out with a VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) Tournament that GRS was running there. The way that the tournament works is that it is just like any other soccer tournament but instead of teams just getting points for winning/losing game they also get points for going for VCT (getting tested for HIV) as well as participating in GRS activities. During this tournament they tested 364 people and 9 people were found to be HIV positive. VCT is a very private, personal, and sensitive matter so the testing is done off to the side privately with qualified health and counseling staff. There were a few other GRS VCT tournaments in South Africa on World AIDS Day as well. We are planning on having a VCT Tournament here in Zambia probably hopefully April.
For World AIDS Day here in Lusaka we helped to run a regular youth soccer tournament with a partner of ours (Breakthrough Sports Academy). The way the tournament worked was that everyone would play in their regular games but while their teams weren’t playing they would participate in GRS activities with our peer educators. Each team played a game called HIV Attacks which talks about the immune system, HIV, and ART (Antiretroviral therapy/AIDS treatment). The way the game works is that one person stands in the middle of the circle and is the “human”. Then another person is also put into the middle and is labeled the “immune system”. In the first round everyone on the outside of the circle throws a soccer ball (which represents germs and diseases) at the “human” in the middle who stands in one place while the “immune system” has to try and block the ball from hitting the human. In the second round a person labeled “HIV” is introduced and gets to hold the hands of the “immune system” behind their back. Again everyone on the outside tries to hit the “human” but now the “immune system” is being suppressed by “HIV” so they are able to hit the “human” much more. Then in round three “ART” is introduced to fight “HIV”. Now instead of “HIV” holding the hands of the “immune system” behind their back, “ART” gets to hold the hands of “HIV” behind their back and the “immune system” is free to block the ball again. After each round there is a discussion about if it was easy or hard to hit the human with the soccer ball (aka germs/diseases) and why. (I hope you were able to follow that explanation). It’s one of my favorite GRS activities because I think that it breaks down HIV and biology basics and makes it fun and easy to understand.
The day before World AIDS Day we took part in a HIV/AIDS vigil. It was put together by an interfaith organization called ZINGO but included some non-religious groups like ours. It consisted of a march down one of the main streets in Lusaka. One of our co-workers Lazarous is also in the Scouts (like boy/girl scouts but for anyone of any age, it’s really big here) and taught our little group how to march like Scouts which was fun and funny. The vigil itself was at a place called Pope Square which is a huge Catholic church in town. The guest of honor was actually the newly elected President of Zambia, Rupiah Banda! I got a front row view of him coming into the church because we were tabling in the back where the main entrance was so he had to walk right in front of us while he entered. He was literally 3 feet in front of me and my coworker Grace who was standing right next to me stuck out her hand and shook his hand. It was really exciting!
I have also gotten to attend a few Grassroot Soccer graduations in the past few weeks at some schools. I think I’ve mentioned this before but we are working with a group of physical education teachers who run the GRS program in their schools. In all GRS programs, there is a graduation ceremony at the end where each participant receives a certificate certifying them as “HIV experts” and it is up to them now to share their knowledge with their friends, family, and community. One graduation I went to was in an area called Chipata. The graduations at the school usually consist of the headmaster or a head teacher saying a few words and the teacher/coach themselves and often there is a drama or poem done by the class. This particular class did a poem/performance where they basically talked about everything they learned about in GRS and why it is important with lots of key phrases and messages that are used in GRS. It was really good and I had tears in my eyes when they were finished because I was so impressed and proud. I was also lucky enough to get most of it on video on my camera so was able to share it with some of the others in our office who were amazed by it. It’s moments like those where you really feel like your work is making an impact on these youths. It was really amazing! During this graduation we were also joined by a woman named Gift Lusaka who plays on one of the women’s professional teams in Zambia called the Red Arrows and is a member of the women’s national team. One of the things we are trying to integrate into our GRS Zambia program is the involvement of national and professional soccer players in something called the Ambassador Program. It’s really up to the professional players how much they want to be involved but the idea is to get them to come to events like graduations and tournaments and hang out with the young people to hopefully inspire them.
Two weeks ago I attended a 3-day workshop run an international NGO called Project Concern International (PCI) who is funding a new project of ours with another Lusaka-based NGO called Barefeet (a performing arts NGO that works with street kids). Like the refugee project they have approved our proposal but we have not yet received the money from them (and they approved it over 6 months ago!) but supposedly it’s coming very soon (even though they’ve been saying that for a while). PCI is funded by USAID which means that when we do our reporting about our project (such as financial reporting) there is a very specific way in which they want the reporting to be done. Most of this workshop was on basic accounting (I was having scary flashbacks to my university accounting classes!) and on the rules of USAID reporting. The group that was there consisted of about 14 different Zambian NGO that are part of a network of NGOs called KidSAFE. KidSAFE is a network of organizations that work with street kids. We were one of the few organizations there that do not solely work with street kids but because of a previous project funded by PCI and our upcoming project with Barefeet we are apart of this KidSAFE network. It was really interesting to be apart of the workshop and learn about these other organizations that are working with street kids around Zambia.
Lastly, Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and was able to spend time with friends and family and take a step back from your busy lives for a bit. There is a big enough American population here in Lusaka for there to be some Thanksgiving celebrations throughout the ex-pat community. My day was just like any other Thursday except that during our weekly Thursday meeting with one of our groups of peer educators at the beginning we talked briefly about Thanksgiving and had everyone going around in the circle and say something they were thankful for. After work I went to dinner at a friend of a friend of mine’s and enjoyed Thanksgiving with 25-30 people including Americans, Europeans, and Zambians. We had some traditional Thanksgiving dishes as well as some traditional Zambian dishes. It was a really wonderful meal and I met a lot of new people.
That’s the latest and greatest. Yesterday one of my fellow interns left to go back to the US for the holiday and then is moving to Cape Town to start a real job with the Grassroot Soccer office there. She was a six month intern and her time here was finished. So it’s now down to just two interns (me and Stuart). Other than that, we are staying busying finishing up the work before we take a break for the holiday. I’m very excited to be taking a trip during my break start which starts in Nairobi, Kenya and going through Tanzania, Zanzibar, Malawi, and finishes back home in Zambia. It’s a 3-week trip and I am going with three other GRS interns (all of who are working in Port Elizabeth, South Africa). We will be traveling to Nairobi a few days before our trip beings to spend some time with a Kenyan Grassroot Soccer friend who we all met during our training back in September in Cape Town.
Well, I hope everyone enjoys as the holiday season approaches. For those of you who were added to my email list later I have posted all my previous emails to a blog. The address is http://freckleL11.livejournal.com.
Usale bwino!
Lena
I’m still here! I know I said I was supposed to be in the refugee camps now but I STILL haven’t left. We are still waiting to receive the money from the funders (UNHCR) and even though they’ve approved our proposal in full they haven’t given us the money yet. That seems to be the case with a bunch of our pending projects. Of course, though, I’ve managed to stay busy here in Lusaka because we’ve had a lot to do here also.
Well, first off, for those of you who didn’t know, December 1st was World AIDS Day and being an HIV/AIDS organization it was a big day for Grassroot Soccer around the world. Three months ago Ethan Zohn (one of the co-founders of GRS, winner of Survivor Africa, former Lexingtonian) started a fundraisers in the US to raise money for GRS. He dribbled a soccer ball from Gillette Stadium (home to the New England Patriots and New England Revolution) in Foxboro, MA 550 miles down to Washington DC with the whole dibble ending on World AIDS Day. Along the way Ethan stopped to do clinics with local soccer team, give presentations, attend soccer tournaments, etc. Go to www.grassrootsoccerunited.org for more info. All over Africa Grassroot Soccer ran or helped to run soccer tournaments. Stuart, my fellow Zambia intern, went to Malawi for the week of World AIDS Day to help out with a VCT (Voluntary Counseling and Testing) Tournament that GRS was running there. The way that the tournament works is that it is just like any other soccer tournament but instead of teams just getting points for winning/losing game they also get points for going for VCT (getting tested for HIV) as well as participating in GRS activities. During this tournament they tested 364 people and 9 people were found to be HIV positive. VCT is a very private, personal, and sensitive matter so the testing is done off to the side privately with qualified health and counseling staff. There were a few other GRS VCT tournaments in South Africa on World AIDS Day as well. We are planning on having a VCT Tournament here in Zambia probably hopefully April.
For World AIDS Day here in Lusaka we helped to run a regular youth soccer tournament with a partner of ours (Breakthrough Sports Academy). The way the tournament worked was that everyone would play in their regular games but while their teams weren’t playing they would participate in GRS activities with our peer educators. Each team played a game called HIV Attacks which talks about the immune system, HIV, and ART (Antiretroviral therapy/AIDS treatment). The way the game works is that one person stands in the middle of the circle and is the “human”. Then another person is also put into the middle and is labeled the “immune system”. In the first round everyone on the outside of the circle throws a soccer ball (which represents germs and diseases) at the “human” in the middle who stands in one place while the “immune system” has to try and block the ball from hitting the human. In the second round a person labeled “HIV” is introduced and gets to hold the hands of the “immune system” behind their back. Again everyone on the outside tries to hit the “human” but now the “immune system” is being suppressed by “HIV” so they are able to hit the “human” much more. Then in round three “ART” is introduced to fight “HIV”. Now instead of “HIV” holding the hands of the “immune system” behind their back, “ART” gets to hold the hands of “HIV” behind their back and the “immune system” is free to block the ball again. After each round there is a discussion about if it was easy or hard to hit the human with the soccer ball (aka germs/diseases) and why. (I hope you were able to follow that explanation). It’s one of my favorite GRS activities because I think that it breaks down HIV and biology basics and makes it fun and easy to understand.
The day before World AIDS Day we took part in a HIV/AIDS vigil. It was put together by an interfaith organization called ZINGO but included some non-religious groups like ours. It consisted of a march down one of the main streets in Lusaka. One of our co-workers Lazarous is also in the Scouts (like boy/girl scouts but for anyone of any age, it’s really big here) and taught our little group how to march like Scouts which was fun and funny. The vigil itself was at a place called Pope Square which is a huge Catholic church in town. The guest of honor was actually the newly elected President of Zambia, Rupiah Banda! I got a front row view of him coming into the church because we were tabling in the back where the main entrance was so he had to walk right in front of us while he entered. He was literally 3 feet in front of me and my coworker Grace who was standing right next to me stuck out her hand and shook his hand. It was really exciting!
I have also gotten to attend a few Grassroot Soccer graduations in the past few weeks at some schools. I think I’ve mentioned this before but we are working with a group of physical education teachers who run the GRS program in their schools. In all GRS programs, there is a graduation ceremony at the end where each participant receives a certificate certifying them as “HIV experts” and it is up to them now to share their knowledge with their friends, family, and community. One graduation I went to was in an area called Chipata. The graduations at the school usually consist of the headmaster or a head teacher saying a few words and the teacher/coach themselves and often there is a drama or poem done by the class. This particular class did a poem/performance where they basically talked about everything they learned about in GRS and why it is important with lots of key phrases and messages that are used in GRS. It was really good and I had tears in my eyes when they were finished because I was so impressed and proud. I was also lucky enough to get most of it on video on my camera so was able to share it with some of the others in our office who were amazed by it. It’s moments like those where you really feel like your work is making an impact on these youths. It was really amazing! During this graduation we were also joined by a woman named Gift Lusaka who plays on one of the women’s professional teams in Zambia called the Red Arrows and is a member of the women’s national team. One of the things we are trying to integrate into our GRS Zambia program is the involvement of national and professional soccer players in something called the Ambassador Program. It’s really up to the professional players how much they want to be involved but the idea is to get them to come to events like graduations and tournaments and hang out with the young people to hopefully inspire them.
Two weeks ago I attended a 3-day workshop run an international NGO called Project Concern International (PCI) who is funding a new project of ours with another Lusaka-based NGO called Barefeet (a performing arts NGO that works with street kids). Like the refugee project they have approved our proposal but we have not yet received the money from them (and they approved it over 6 months ago!) but supposedly it’s coming very soon (even though they’ve been saying that for a while). PCI is funded by USAID which means that when we do our reporting about our project (such as financial reporting) there is a very specific way in which they want the reporting to be done. Most of this workshop was on basic accounting (I was having scary flashbacks to my university accounting classes!) and on the rules of USAID reporting. The group that was there consisted of about 14 different Zambian NGO that are part of a network of NGOs called KidSAFE. KidSAFE is a network of organizations that work with street kids. We were one of the few organizations there that do not solely work with street kids but because of a previous project funded by PCI and our upcoming project with Barefeet we are apart of this KidSAFE network. It was really interesting to be apart of the workshop and learn about these other organizations that are working with street kids around Zambia.
Lastly, Thanksgiving! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and was able to spend time with friends and family and take a step back from your busy lives for a bit. There is a big enough American population here in Lusaka for there to be some Thanksgiving celebrations throughout the ex-pat community. My day was just like any other Thursday except that during our weekly Thursday meeting with one of our groups of peer educators at the beginning we talked briefly about Thanksgiving and had everyone going around in the circle and say something they were thankful for. After work I went to dinner at a friend of a friend of mine’s and enjoyed Thanksgiving with 25-30 people including Americans, Europeans, and Zambians. We had some traditional Thanksgiving dishes as well as some traditional Zambian dishes. It was a really wonderful meal and I met a lot of new people.
That’s the latest and greatest. Yesterday one of my fellow interns left to go back to the US for the holiday and then is moving to Cape Town to start a real job with the Grassroot Soccer office there. She was a six month intern and her time here was finished. So it’s now down to just two interns (me and Stuart). Other than that, we are staying busying finishing up the work before we take a break for the holiday. I’m very excited to be taking a trip during my break start which starts in Nairobi, Kenya and going through Tanzania, Zanzibar, Malawi, and finishes back home in Zambia. It’s a 3-week trip and I am going with three other GRS interns (all of who are working in Port Elizabeth, South Africa). We will be traveling to Nairobi a few days before our trip beings to spend some time with a Kenyan Grassroot Soccer friend who we all met during our training back in September in Cape Town.
Well, I hope everyone enjoys as the holiday season approaches. For those of you who were added to my email list later I have posted all my previous emails to a blog. The address is http://freckleL11.livejournal.com.
Usale bwino!
Lena
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