Tag Archives: HIV/AIDS

by | July 5, 2011 · 12:45 pm

Know Your Status: PPI-SA Staff Participates in HIV Voluntary Counselling & Testing

On June 7th & 8th, the entire PPI-SA staff participated in an HIV Voluntary Counselling & Testing session at Glenridge Community Church, through a PPI-SA partner, Zoë-Life. This followed a two-day HIV/AIDS & Wellness capacity building workshop through Zoë-Life, which was also attended by all 44 PPI-SA staff members (take a look at the blog from last year’s capacity building workshop and VCT session).

Coach Zanele, facilitating a Life Skills session, with support from Molweni Area Coordinator, Sifiso Mthembu.

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

PPI's HIV Basics chart on display for Sizimiselle Primary School's participants during a Life Skills session.

As PPI-SA’s program is first and foremost an HIV/AIDS education and risk reduction program, it is important that each one of PPI-SA’s peer educators has the knowledge and capacity to deliver our Life Skills curriculum and provide answers to the critical questions participants might come up with. Sifiso Mthembu, PPI-SA’s Area Coordinator in Molweni, was very pleased with the both the Counseling & Testing session and workshop. He comments, “I’m very happy with the Zoë-Life training and Counseling and Testing session. It gave me and my Molweni coaches a lot of knowledge, not only for us, but to pass on to our kids during our Life Skills sessions.”

A huge thank you to Zoë-Life for providing these services to PPI-SA pro bono (again!), especially to each of the Zoë-Life counselors and staff that supported PPI-SA over the four days!

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by | February 1, 2011 · 2:51 pm

Theresa Verzosa: PPI-South Africa Grows Up

Theresa Verzosa first volunteered for PPI-South Africa in 2008, having known Racquel Thompson, who was serving as a PPI-SA Fellow at the time, from high school. Through her work with the organization, Theresa formed extremely close relationships with players, coaches, and families of all PPI-SA stakeholders.

Theresa with former PPI-SA Fellow Raquel Thompson.

Fortunately, Theresa has made it back to PPI-SA headquarters two more times, most recently spending several days with us this past week.  Here’s what she has to say.

PPI – SA: Describe your first time with PeacePlayers International-South Africa?

Theresa Verzosa: Just incredible.  I have kept in touch with almost everyone I met while here and am lucky to be seeing some of them again now as I return to Umbumbulu and Molweni, two of the several townships I visited frequently.  My volunteer time at PPI made me realize I want to do work along the lines of PeacePlayers’ mission, which is essentially helping people in any way I can, while working hands-on in the field.

PPI-SA: How was it been being back here?

Mhligo, a former PPI-SA coach, rapping at a City-Wide basketball tournament. Theresa is the closest to Mhligo in the bottom-left.

TV: Incredible to see how people have grown, in basketball and just in life.  Now the players and coaches are in University and doing really well.  One of the girls I am close with still has grown immensely.  Watching her play, to see her automatically place the ball in triple threat – just that – was amazing to see.  She represents the best of PPI, a player and person developed through PPI-SA’s PSP and LDP programs and now, while studying, as a coach for PSP.  She’s extremely hard-working and has grown tremendously.

She’s obsessed with basketball. She attends University in the City in the morning, and then hustles back to play a three-hour game of pick-up back in her township.  You guys…were drenched. [Author's Note: We had played a long, long game in one of the few indoor courts in South Africa. Nice to be indoors, though the gym is like a microwave, getting hotter with every second that ticks by.]

PPI-SA: What were you most looking forward to on your third trip back?

TV: Going to Umbumbulu and seeing all the LDP players, to see where they’ve been and listen to what they’ve accomplished.  And visiting the families of those players who would graciously provide home-cooked meals for us every time we came to their place.  I miss the families. And definitely magwinas.  I averaged one a day.  [Author's Note: Magwinas are township staples.  Picture a massive ball of dough that is freshly fried, dripping in grease.  You can add a Kraft slice of cheese and baloney-type slice of meat, though Theresa eats them the best way…plain.  And all for R1, about $.70.]

Sad to hear the stories about family members who have passed, and how the role of children in their family has changed (more responsibility in all facets of life).  And yet, they’re still able to take away so much and make the experience positive.  Zulus have so much to struggle against, and yet you’ll find many within PPI who take what they’re given and just run with it.  PPI helps these kids grow to responsible adults, and I’m lucky to have seen this first-hand at different times of each PPI-SA life I see, each time I head back here.

A video Theresa made chronicling the 2008 City-Wide.

PPI-SA: When are you going to be back again?

TV: I’m going to work on my East African adventures, and then I will be back after that.

PPI-SA: Well hurry back!

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by | December 28, 2010 · 2:42 pm

Nasiphi Khafu Is PPI-South Africa

Nasiphi Khafu, one of the rising stars of PPI-SA, leading a life skills session.

A quick update on the bio of the young woman whom we introduced you to during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, who might just one day be the Managing Director of PeacePlayers International – South Africa.  Not making this up: I quote, “One day, I want Sbo Vilakazi’s job.”  We believe it.

Nasiphi (center) with other PPI-SA staffers.

Nasiphi Khafu is one several staff members who grew up in the PPI-SA system.  Her first time playing basketball was in our Leadership Development Program (LDP) and her passion and resolve cannot be beat. “At first, I just loved watching the game.  I watched, still watch, every game I could.  I had to get better.”  Today, Nasiphi captains her college basketball team and recently earned a starting spot on her provincial team (the Eastern Cape).  Her playing accolades just keep piling up.

The largest turnout of kids in Carringtom Primary history. 45 girls and 12 boys. Brought to you by Nasiphi.

Her steady climb to the Managing Director position seems almost inevitable to those of us around her.  Once a PPI-SA player, she’s now a PPI-SA coach – one of the best, actually.  Wherever Nasiphi coaches, kids pour in, and stick around even if teams are already over capacity.  The school representatives who help us with our program constantly ask to work with her.  Nasiphi just completed one semester as PPI-SA’s Area Coordinator for the Durban City Area, one of our largest with eight schools.  As if that wasn’t enough, she also volunteered her time to help with our basketball committee and fundraising initiatives.   Without Nasiphi, schools would not have been able to attend our 17th City-Wide Tournament.

Posing with two school representatives at a primary school basketball tournament.

No one doubts her climb to the top.  Despite her late start in basketball, she’s already accomplished her first goal, which was making the provincial team. Her next goal is to make the South African senior team.  She thanks PPI-SA and swears herself to the organization. “I love PPI-SA.  The program has helped me grow and molded me into a leader.” No one doubts she will continue to flourish as she moves through the ranks in PPI-SA.  One day, she will make the SA Senior team.  And one day, you should expect to see her running the PPI-SA program. No doubt about it.

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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 | April 20, 2010 · 2:18 pm

Thobani Khumalo: “I am a PeacePlayer”

Thobani Khumalo, fresh off a promotion, delivered this rousing poem at a recent staff meeting.

As part of our weekly PPI-SA management meetings, one designated attendee always ends with a unique presentation, which we call “News to Me.”  Fresh off a promotion and a rookie to the meetings, Thobani Khumalo ended the meeting with a bang.

Thobani had written a poem just days before, prompted only by the love and passion present for PeacePlayers International -  South Africa.

If only we could upload a video of his spirited delivery…

Enjoy!

I am a PeacePlayer.  I am a PeacePlayer.  I am a PeacePlayer.
My dreams are painted with hope for a brighter future,
for these kids especially within my reach.
My mind is programmed to do everything in my will to help some kid reach their dream.
My life is governed by a righteous force that motivates me to do good.
My dreams are inspired simply by people with passion and love like you and me.
My energy is enough to drive my body to be available in time of need.
Yes, I intend to make myself accessible in times of need.
My words and my actions are enough to be a psychic fuel that propels and inspires many to do good.
My love for sport has helped me grow so I will make sure that some kid out there will grow through sport, too.
You see, I believe that the passion of life shares the same spark with a thousand neuron pulses in the brain.
So I wish I can at least do good for one person everyday.
So every morning when I wake, I remind myself of what good I did yesterday and then strategize on what good I can do today.
I remind myself that I am a PeacePlayer.  I am a PeacePlayer.

Though it is tough sometimes.
I remind myself of the passion I once had and the passion I see in kids’ eyes every session.
That smile in kids’ faces when I come to my session, that joy they have when they run towards me, just simply to say, ‘What up coach?’
And I reply,’ The sky,’ then we all laugh about it.
See my job is not about coaching basketball but to link basketball with life lessons that these kids will grow old with.
Sadly, I didn’t have people like me when I was growing up.
In my heart I carry a flag of peace.
In my mind I hold the truth.
I hold the wisdom that we can use basketball as a tool to teach.
And yet again, I am a PeacePlayer.  I am a PeacePlayer.

You see I am not here for the payroll.
I am not here cause I got nothing else to do.
I am here cause I have a lot to do for my community, for the kids we brothers can reach.
My brothers and sisters through PPI.
Yes, through PPI.
And if you feel the same way put your right hand up and repeat after me.
I am a PeacePlayer. ‘I am a PeacePlayer.’
And I love my job. ‘And I love my job.’
I will make a positive difference. ‘I will make a positive difference.’
In my community. ‘In my community.’
I will honor and cherish. ‘I will honor and cherish.’
Respect and love. ‘Respect and love.’
The good work that we do.  ‘The good work that we do.’
For the rest of my life. ‘For the rest of my life.’
Simply because. ‘Simply because.’

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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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