Newsletter –
July 2010
Play
Football For Life
Play Football for Life is a remarkable programme which One to One Children’s
Fund is supporting through our partner Africaid- Whizzkids United. The
pilot programme has been implemented during the past year in Rustenburg,
South Africa (where the England World Cup team were based). The aim of
the programme is to create an AIDS-free generation through a unique approach
centred around the game of football, an already hugely popular sport
within Africa as a whole. Through the language of football the children
involved are educated on both the dangers of HIV/AIDS as well as life
skills in general in an attempt to bring about positive behavioural changes.
The programme is aimed equally at boys and girls.
A 10-hour Life Skills course spread across 6 weeks and run in schools forms the foundation of the programme. After each football training exercise the children are brought back together and asked to apply the lessons they learned from training to life. For example, understanding the importance of a goal in football is easy but what about the need for having goals in life? To score a goal in football you have to beat the defenders and the goalkeeper but what obstacles do you have to overcome in life to achieve your goals? How do you prevent HIV infection becoming your biggest obstacle in life? These are just some of the many questions explored during the Life Skills course.
2,831 children have been involved in Play Football For Life (PFL) in
Rustenburg so far and graduated through a World Cup style tournament,
receiving cups and medals to mark their effort. This has been just a
pilot programme. Now we need to reach tens of thousands more children
in South Africa and beyond. The World Cup will end, and so will the focus
on South Africa. But with your help, we can leave a lasting legacy that
will see the new generation of young people live their lives to the full.
"The learning outcomes are wonderful, I cannot even describe...I have
seen learners take charge of their own lifestyle."
Principal of Abana Primary School
"I think by doing this using football they understand more than when
we talk to them, because it is practical, they can see it."
A teacher at Tshirologang Primary School
To add your support, donate here.
Download Summer 2010 newsletter
Download Spring 2010 newsletter
