One terminal, one very large animal running across the field next to the runway, two airplanes in total, and about 20 palm trees.
We (my 2 roommates, Katie, Amanda, and I) have been members of the Grassroot Soccer family for 6 days now. Orientation for all the new interns, heading to different GRS sites from Malawi to Zimbabwe to South Africa to Zambia, began 6 days before our arrival in Africa. The orientation was led by current GRS employees from the Cape Town, South Africa office who specialize in GRS “SKILLZ” curriculum, GRS culture, and facilitation of the GRS games used in our interventions (interventions are our 10 session camps where we deliver our HIV/AIDS education and prevention curriculum to 12-18 year old kids around Lusaka). The leader’s expertise in the curriculum is important because the goal of orientation was very much the same as the goal of our interventions. Firstly, to get a group of young adults to feel comfortable in an uncomfortable setting. In the case of our interventions, the uncomfortable setting is discussing the very socially taboo topic of HIV and AIDS (Saying “HIV” or “AIDS” in Africa is like saying “Voldemort” in the world of Harry Potter – not cool). In our case the uncomfortable setting was being with 23 other brand new faces about to leave the comfort of their lives in the US for the unknown of a year in Africa. Secondly, the curriculum aims to heighten self efficacy – the belief in one’s self to overcome obstacles in life. The obstacle that lies ahead of both us and the kids in Africa is a devastating virus called Human Immunodeficiency Virus. In order to empower African youth to act on their knowledge of how to prevent HIV and AIDS they must feel like they can make a difference- that their decisions and their actions can actually keep themselves and others HIV free. The same type of self efficacy works in a slightly different way for people like us trying to fight HIV and AIDS on a large scale. HIV is such an overwhelming problem in the parts of Africa where we are working (1 in 7 people in Zambia have HIV) that it can be very easy for a volunteer to lose motivation because our mission of creating an AIDS free generation can seem so insurmountable, so impossible that our actions and the energy we put into defeating AIDS is wasted. But its not. Its making a difference, however small that difference is, we are making a difference and we have to know that to harness the motivation necessary to continue our work and reach our goal. (addendum on Sept 22 Sports Illustrated published an article featuring GRS that cited a 50% decrease in the HIV infection rate among teens in South Africa between ’05 and ’08. GRS has been in South Africa since ’05. The change is happening, however slow it may be.) Looking back, the first goal was achieved in a big way. The 24 interns left to their own devices at the very beginning of the orientation did what most large groups do when they first meet each other. We had the same “where are you from? … Where did you go to school? … How did you hear about GRS?” conversation with 23 people. Painful. When the chattering subsided, the facilitators took over with GRS games, energizers, and icebreakers and the power of the GRS curriculum got us joking around and pranking each other within 24 hours. These became the fastest friendships I had ever formed. After 3 more days learning about GRS and HIV and a bunch of other acronyms like ARVs (antiretrovirals – the drugs that halt the progression of HIV) and VCT (voluntary counseling and testing – we specialize in these events in Lusaka so I will be talking about this a lot more) we left for Africa equipped with the knowledge and motivation to take on a huge challenge.
So I’ve traded in Dollars for Kwachas, redwood trees for palm trees, fast internet for snail mail, driving on the right side of the road to driving on the left side, watching football for watching football (soccer), and a failing economy for a failing economy. Can’t wait to see how the next year goes.
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