Tag Archives: HIV/AIDS prevention

by | September 21, 2010 · 1:00 pm

HIV/AIDS Testing in South Africa: Practicing What We Preach

PPI - SA Senior Life Skills Coordinator Ntobeko Ngcamu was influential in organizing the testing event.

On September 8th & 9th, 32 (out of a total of 40) PeacePlayers International- South Africa coaches and staff members attended an HIV/AIDS Counseling & Testing Session held in partnership with Zoë-Life, a health development and training organization, at Glenridge Community Church.  One of PPI-SA’s main goals is to raise awareness in our participants – especially the teenagers in our Leadership Development Program – of the importance of knowing their HIV status. We assume that having been given basic information about the virus and the AIDS epidemic, and some encouragement to test, our participants will eagerly rush to the nearest health centre to get tested.  However, our experience with our own staff – the coaches and area coordinators who teach at our sites as well as their managers – has shown that testing for HIV can often be difficult even for those who know the benefits of it well.

During the Zoë-Life session, each PPI-SA employee had a 45-minute meeting with one of the three Zoë-Life counselors, in which counsellors asked participants questions, participants had the opportunity to ask the counsellors any questions they had as well, and an HIV/AIDS test was administered.  Each participant knew their results within five minutes of the test, and emotional support was provided by Zoë-Life staff before, during and after the testing.

PPI-SA Senior Life Skills Coordinator Ntobeko Ngcamu, who was crucial in the planning and coordination of the event, had the following to say about the session, “This was the first step of what PPI-SA is doing and I’m so proud to be a part of an organization that is making a positive impact in my  community.  To have such great participation from our staff and coaches is a dream come true and shows promise for a better tomorrow for South Africa.”

This entire experience presents some important lessons for those of us concerned with HIV/AIDS prevention, especially in  South Africa:

  • The subject of HIV is still taboo and difficult to feel comfortable about;
  • Knowledge of the need and benefits of testing alone is not enough to make people get tested – other factors like support and the right environment also count;
  • People respond differently to the concept of HIV testing, and may be ready to go ahead with it at different times;
  • It is important for us educators to undergo the process ourselves first before we can seek to convince others to do so, so that we may better understand any issues they may have that make them resistant to testing.  The old adage stays true – we must practice what we preach.

Thank you to Zoë-Life Managing Director and PPI-SA Board Member Neville Keenan, for providing the staff and resources (at zero cost to PPI-SA!) for the event and to Glenridge Community Church for lending the ideal venue. PPI-SA hopes to replicate the Counseling & Testing Event once each semester moving forward, so that each PPI-SA employee is able to make informed decisions in their daily lives and have the knowledge to educate their participants, peers, families and communities about HIV/AIDS.

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by | August 30, 2010 · 1:03 pm

Video Vault Part II – PPI-South Africa and Life Skills

PPI-SA now utilizes coach-player bonds to transmit lessons about how to live a safe and healthy life.

Last week, we went deep into PPI’s archives to bring you this video, which takes a look at the earliest days of PeacePlayers International in South Africa, our very first area of operations.

Today, we’re going back to Durban, but fast-forwarding just a touch. Founded with the original purpose of bridging post-apartheid divides, PeacePlayers International – South Africa quickly realized that that was only one of the problems facing the country. HIV/AIDS was an even greater threat, decimating the population and weakening the very fabric of society – today, South Africa has the world’s highest population of HIV-positive individuals, and the province in which PPI is based, KwaZulu-Natal, has the country’s highest rates of infection.

By 2003, PPI had adapted to address this change, working with the Harvard School of Public Health’s Centre for the Support of Peer Education to develop a unique life skills curriculum, that capitalized on the power of a coach-player bond to teach children crucial lessons about how to live a healthy life. This video, narrated by PPI’s first Life Skills Coordinator, Andrew Gordon, describes those early efforts to combat the virus.

Learn more about PeacePlayers International in South Africa today here.

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by | June 2, 2010 · 1:12 pm

The 16th PeacePlayers International – South Africa City-Wide Tournament

South Africa's "Rainbow Nation" was on display at the 16th City-Wide Tournament

Last Saturday, ten basketball courts, more than 1,200 young players, and countless coaches and volunteers all participated in PeacePlayers International – South Africa’s 16th Durban City-Wide Tournament.

Sunny as can be, the weather could not have cooperated better throughout the entire eight-hour event.  The day started with an original hip-hop performance by one of our own PPI-SA coaches and an inspirational introduction by PPI – SA Managing Director Sbo Vilakazi.

Some of the City-Wide's 1,200 participants waiting for the action to start.

Afterward, the schools split, four to each of the ten courts, for presentations on what they had learned from PPI-SA’s life skills program throughout the semester.  Debates and conversations ensued about stigmas, peer pressure and ways to avoid contracting HIV/AIDS.  After the discussions, basketball play  proceeded for four straight hours.  The schools mixed to create eight new teams, four female and four male.  Staying true to PeacePlayer’s mission of ‘bridging divides,’ this mixing allowed our players to interact with others whom they likely never would have met if not for PPI.  Many of the teams served as microcosms of the  entire “Rainbow Nation” of South Africa, with Indians, coloureds, blacks, and whites playing together seamlessly.

A shot goes up in the LDP Championship

Each player played at least three games, plus one more if he or she made the final rounds.  The day ended with two raucous and lively championship games played by our Leadership Development Program (LDP), PPI – SA’s group of high-school-aged youth leaders.  The younger players surrounded the sidelines as they watched their future selves.  Many guests were impressed with the improvement in talent and commitment seen across the primary and high school levels this year.

“I love being at the PPI-SA Citywide, as it is always a showcase of PeacePlayers’s biggest strength – the strong relationships between participants and coaches,” says Tal Alter, PPI’s Global Director of Operations. “I was lucky enough to witness the participants demonstrate their learning through insightful life skills presentations and noticeably improved play on the basketball court, and to see the coaches show their approval with great energy and smiles from ear to ear all day long.

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by | June 1, 2010 · 1:35 pm

The City-Wide: “A Picture of the South Africa We Are Trying to Build”

A life skills presentation by a PPI-SA participant before the basketball tipped off this weekend. Photo by Chris Middleton.

This weekend, PeacePlayers International – South Africa held its semi-annual City-Wide Tournament, a celebration of the work that’s been done by participants and coaches alike throughout the year. More than 1,200 children participated. We’ll have more from the City-Wide shortly, but as a preview, check out this article by Chris Middleton of the International Platform for Sport and Development:

Each school attending the event was requested to organise life skills presentations, with a specific focus on HIV/AIDS awareness. Group presentations provided basic information to their peers about HIV/AIDS, stigma related to the pandemic were discussed in a second stage, and issues related to decision-making and peer pressure were finally addressed.

According to Magwaza Edwin, teacher at the North Crest primary school, this is the added-value of such initiatives: “These events, and the work carried out by PeacePlayers throughout the year, enable to get the message across to the youth. We assume that life skills are dispensed within the families, at school or at church. However, in some cases, the connection with the youth is lost due to age difference. The coaches who are part of this programme help bridge this age gap, they represent role models for the participants and have established an important trust relation with them.”

For the full article, visit the Platform.

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by | March 30, 2010 · 1:29 pm

PPI – SA Family Bonding Session

This week, Fellow Claire Perry reports from a PeacePlayers International – South Africa coaching retreat. PPI – SA’s coaches are the lifeblood of the program there, and training like these are essential, as coaches learn new ways to communicate the lessons of PPI – SA’s life skills curriculum to their children.

The coaches prepping for a day full of discussions with PPI-SA's ice-breakers (Not shown: pirate dancing)

It started with a few raucous ice-breakers, dancing like a pirate and counting backwards from ten to one in perfect rhythm, before all the attendees of the PPI – SA Coaches’ Retreat split into groups of five to begin the real work.

The groups discussed how to best approach taboo subjects, like HIV/AIDS and gang- and drug-related violence.  In South Africa, communities face a wide variety of challenges – in one township, the major issue might be the prevalence of drugs, while in another the need for a conflict resolution model – so each group of coaches brought their own challenges, successes and experiences to the table.

After the discussions, coaches bonded with some hoops...

They all agreed on one thing though: the necessity of establishing trusting and welcoming relationships with the youth they teach.  Without this bond, the group concluded, a coach cannot and will not positively influence their players.  “I act as a kid,” explained one coach from Lamontville township, “I act as a kid to get their trust because they won’t tell an adult they have been peer-pressured to have sex.  They’d be too scared. My enthusiasm and willingness to listen lends a certain trust to the player.  The player knows I’m an adult who gets things done though, I guess – an adult with a kid’s enthusiasm and love for life.”

...and pioneered some interesting new defensive techniques.

The pointed conversations proved beneficial, as we ran over the allotted time limit, fully engrossed in our discussions.  Once the whistle was blown, however, the coaches donned their vests (jerseys) and tekkies (sneakers) for some eagerly awaited basketball, especially the coaches vs managers skirmish.  You don’t have to ask: we managers took care of business.  Just giving the coaches some life-long goals to one day accomplish.  One day…

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by | March 2, 2010 · 2:53 pm

Meet Sihle Cele

Kaelo “Stories of Hope,” a documentary series examining Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives in South Africa, recently examined PPI – South Africa and its partnership with Sasol, a local chemical company. The documentary focuses specifically on Sihle Cele, an orphaned resident of the rural areas near Durban who’s turned to PPI – SA to help him grow up healthy and happy. “If you don’t have parents, it shouldn’t be the end of the world to you,” Sihle explains. Watch the video below to learn more about Sihle and PPI-SA.

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by | February 23, 2010 · 2:04 pm

Life Skills Training for PPI-SA

Nasipi, a PPI-SA coach, working on a presentation at the program's recent training session.

PPI-SA Coaches and Managers soaking up CSPE's lessons.

This past weekend, in cooperation with the Harvard School of Public Health’s Centre for the Support of Peer Education (CSPE), the PPI – SA coaches and managers sharpened their ability to effectively use basketball as a teaching tool for more serious conversations, addressing topics like child abuse, child rights, and HIV/AIDS.  These trainings are at the core of PPI – SA’s work: through basketball, PPI – SA creates a safe enviornment for youth, where healthy lives are constantly promoted and an atmosphere of trust is built within each team of players and coaches.

Additionally, about half of all PPI – SA coaches have gone through this program themselves, lending them more credibility and an easier avenue to establish trust with their players to speak about topics like HIV and AIDS.  Furthermore, the sustainability of our program is fortified when our former players cycle to coaches, raising the credibility of our own program as they return to invest their time to teach what they have learned. It’s the trust that derives from these strategies that allows the honest discussion of very sensitive – sometimes even taboo – topics, and helps differentiate PPI – SA from many similar nonprofits.

A teambuilding activity

The training welcomed coaches from all our SA divisions, from downtown Durban to the area’s 2nd largest township, Umlazi.  The coaches warmed up with teambuilding exercises, then split into groups to simulate the life skills sessions that coaches will teach their players throughout the semester.  Overall, the two day training was considered a success by our life skills team and our coaches who took part.

Briyani, a Durban favorite.

The two long days of heavy teaching and planning were topped off with two healthy portions of briyani, the ever-popular Indian dish found throughout the Durban area.  If the coaches were not already full with information, the briyani surely did the trick.

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by | February 2, 2010 · 1:35 pm

PPI-SA Kicks Off 2010!

Starting the season under Durban's hot February sun.

Potential coaches at our "on-court interview" getting directions in Zulu. Coaches had to lead a session and teach PPI staff basketball fundamentals.

February always brings heat, humidity, and the first full month of the new school year to Durban.  For the past seven years, February has also brought the beginning of the basketball season to PPI – SA.  Last week, all coach trainings were completed, and this week marked the beginning of primary school try outs.

Potential PeacePlayers getting started with their tryouts.

In South Africa, PeacePlayers International operates its Primary School Programme in 35 different schools, and draws its Leadership Development Program from 20 secondary schools in four different areas.  With 39 programs operating at the same time, there is a lot of basketball going on!  The tryout period will last through the end of next week, followed by the commencement of full time program activity.  All of PPI-SA is excited for our season to begin, as we develop new basketball players and teach young adults our life skills curriculum!

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by | October 27, 2009 · 7:13 am

PPI – SA Lifeskills: How Trust Can Give Hope

This week’s entry comes from guest blogger Laura Sibanda. Laura is a PPI Fellow originally from Zimbabwe, and is a Program Director for the South Africa Life Skills team. Here, she explains PPI – SA’s approach to Life Skills and how that differs from some other organizations’.
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Magic Hat: A Life Skills trust-building game

At some point in life, we find that we have a deep desire to share something about ourselves with – not just anyone – but someone we can trust to keep our secrets or help us when we need it. It is not often that we look to our teachers or parents for help because they tend to be unapproachable and can be judgmental. Instead, we look to our peers for comfort and advice. While “life skills” programs are implemented in schools throughout South Africa, these programs can be run by teachers who are quick to judge or threaten with repercussions for any choices that have been made. There can be little time spent trying to understand the reasons behind a decision or what has led to help-seeking behavior.

What PPI – SA seeks to do is to create a safe space in which one can learn and freely interact with both information and peers. Playing on a team is an additional advantage because bonds of trust are formed not just between the coach and players but among teammates.

In this age of HIV/AIDS, it becomes essential to build such relationships and allow for in-depth understanding of how behavior can threaten the future. Statistics have shown that young people in South Africa between the ages of 15 and 25 have a 50% greater chance of contracting HIV before their 25th birthday than young people growing up elsewhere in the world. The time has come to take off the gloves and begin the process of trying to understand what puts our youth at risk and what can be done to make information clear. Even better, we can determine what can be done to promote a culture of self preservation for the future.

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On court meetings with Life Skills instructors are a regular occurance

In response to these challenges, the PPI-SA Life Skills Program has evolved into a multi-focal program that has a strong focus on HIV prevention, coupled with a focus on the age groups that exhibit the highest incidence rates.

What differentiates our program from others is that our coaches have now established strong relationships with the participants they work with. They present information through open discussion outside confined classrooms, which encourages participation and interaction, in some instances even on the basketball court. Bonds of trust are formed between coaches and participants which allows us to reach our participants where other programs do not.

It is these bonds of trust that allow disclosure of any kind to happen within safe spaces created by the coaches. The resilience that is shown by our participants is proof that a relationship built on trust is one that can last a lifetime and give hope and faith in a bright future. This can only be a testament to the dedication and commitment that all PPI-SA staff have to the program and the faith our participants have in us.

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