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School's out, the FIFA World Cup is on, and HIV/AIDS groups are using the opportunity to bring HIV messages to South Africa's youngest and least privileged soccer supporters.
"Camp I Am", an initiative by the South African Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (SABCOHA), an NGO that coordinates private-sector responses to the epidemic, kicked off in five of the country's nine provinces a few days before the World Cup began.
International HIV organizations like dance4life have partnered with home-grown organizations like loveLife, an HIV/AIDS youth programme, and Soul City, a health communication non-profit organization, to use dance and sport to teach kids about HIV, risk, and how to plan their future.
The government decided to close schools during the month-long World Cup, but various concerned groups argued that a potential lack of adult supervision during that time could put children at risk of HIV, hunger, and even trafficking.
Brad Mears, SABCOHA's CEO, said, "Camp I Am" was a response to similar concerns raised by the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), on which he sits.
When I grow up…
Soweto, a sprawling township south of Johannesburg, South Africa's commercial hub and a World Cup host city, boasts an increasing share of purchasing power and affluent suburbs, but many residents still struggle with HIV, unemployment, poverty and substance abuse.
SABCOHA communications spokesperson Tracey Peterson said the camp staff - mainly local teachers, community members and loveLife facilitators – saw evidence of this daily.
Around 300 children attend the camp but not all of them live within walking distance of it, so staff members fetch some from their homes, often helping the younger ones get ready while their parents sleep off a night of heavy drinking, said Peterson.
"Seven out of every 10 billboards you see driving into Soweto are advertising alcohol," said David Matamela, a choreographer at the South African dance company, Dance 24, who is overseeing the Soweto camp.
Alcohol abuse and the risky behaviour that often goes with it form a big part of the HIV and life skills education the children are given in between practicing traditional South African and modern township dance moves with Matamela, and getting out on the soccer pitch.
"Alcohol must not lead you, you must defend yourself," said Priviledge Makhaya, 13, a camp participant and self-professed future CEO.
Telling it like it is
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Zuko Mata, a loveLife facilitator, said he enjoyed the challenge of working with younger kids and tailoring HIV awareness to different age groups. "You have to look at HIV and think of ways to simplify everything so that they understand it," he told IRIN/PlusNews.
"Sometimes you omit something that you don't think the smaller ones should hear, but with the older ones we tell it like it is – it's a good way to catch them early."
Mata said many of the children had become more confident and willing to speak up since the camp began. Some have also brought friends and cousins, illustrating what Peterson said was an unmet demand for more holiday programmes for children.
"This camp is only touching a fraction of what needs to be done," she said.
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
