Sport For Development realized

About 3 weeks ago my coach here in Limbe gave me a manual about using Football to teach kids about HIV/AIDS.  With my older group of AVFAL players, aged anywhere from 15-18, I have employed a couple of these drills in the past couple of weeks.  My 3 months here have provided A LOT of amazing experiences where I was able to see my efforts making a difference somewhere in the community but few have been as perfect as this...

On Tuesday October 2, 2012, I ran a training session with 10 of the older players.  We took full advantage of the half of the Victoria Centenary Stadium pitch, which we rarely get to use, to run a full-scale ball possession drill.  A strictly football-related drill. 

Once we were kicked off the field by the Limbe Premier League team, I arranged another drill with an area of about 20'x20' for the players to roam.  I gave out 7 balls to 9 players and one other player was not given a ball and asked that he represent HIV.  The balls represented condoms.  The player representing HIV had to run around trying to touch the players without a ball.  If a player was touched by HIV without protection (a Condom/Ball), then they were infected.  If a player with protection (a Condom/Ball) saw another player being chased by HIV, they had to pass  the condom to their teammate to protect them. 

From a football point of view this drill emphasized ball control, communication, proper passing techniques and awareness of where your teammates are on the pitch.  From an HIV/AIDS awareness point of view, it emphasized the importance of using condoms in preventing contraction of the disease as well as a basic understanding of the progression of the disease.  I.e.  if you were touched by the HIV player twice without a condom, you progress from healthy, to HIV, to AIDS. 

It was pretty amazing to be able to use football to send a message like that.  I came to Africa to see programmes like this implemented and it was truly rewarding to see my goals and objectives  realized right before my eyes.  The best part of it was that the participation level was so high, all of the players bought into it, asked questions, and understood the drill from a football and HIV/AIDS awareness perspective.

When I return to Toronto I will be able to look back on this 3 month adventure and be proud of a lot of my accomplishments, but this one will stand out. 

Sport for Development Realized ... and it feels good.