It’s not every day that you get to test your footballing skills against a prince, but youngsters in Cape Town suburb Khayelitsha were treated to just such a remarkable experience after His Royal Highness Prince Harry paid a visit to their Football For Hope Centre. A legacy of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ in the country, the centre was the first of the 20 across the African continent to be completed in 2009 and it is the second such royal visit since its inauguration, with Harry’s father Prince Charles having made a similar trip in November 2011.
Harry joined in with training sessions, took part in the educational discussions about HIV and AIDS, and even showcased his dancing ability, with the wide smiles on the youngsters’ faces evidence of the positive impact of his visit. Grassroots Soccer, who manage the centre, use football to educate, inspire, and mobilise young people to stop the spread of HIV.
Harry joined in with training sessions, took part in the educational discussions about HIV and AIDS, and even showcased his dancing ability, with the wide smiles on the youngsters’ faces evidence of the positive impact of his visit. Grassroots Soccer, who manage the centre, use football to educate, inspire, and mobilise young people to stop the spread of HIV.
“The real magic of the programme is that they use soccer to build relationships with kids,” James Donald, the Managing Director of Grassroots Soccer told Eyewitness News. “Having a caring adult in their life, there is evidence that shows they are more likely to make healthy decisions.”
Those caring adults, the 20 coaches at the centre, work with thousands of children every year.
“It’s easy to educate the children by using the thing they love and that they are doing during their free time,” Wonderboy Sibiya, one of the Grassroots Premier Skills Coaches, said. “If you give them something that they love, that makes it easy to teach them the things that are affecting their lives, which is to make them be aware of the disease that is killing the youth.”
The numbers of deaths from HIV in Africa may be decreasing overall, but recent figures released by UNICEF revealed the only age group not seeing a decline in mortalities from the disease are adolescents. That makes the work of organisations like Grassroots Soccer, and the endorsement by stellar names like Prince Harry, all the more important.
“He is one of the few celebrities who still makes a lot of measured and thoughtful statements around HIV,” Donald concluded. “Somehow, more than 20 years into fighting the disease, we’re still scared to have conversations like that, so it’s very helpful that Prince Harry has shown a commitment to HIV prevention.”
Those caring adults, the 20 coaches at the centre, work with thousands of children every year.
“It’s easy to educate the children by using the thing they love and that they are doing during their free time,” Wonderboy Sibiya, one of the Grassroots Premier Skills Coaches, said. “If you give them something that they love, that makes it easy to teach them the things that are affecting their lives, which is to make them be aware of the disease that is killing the youth.”
The numbers of deaths from HIV in Africa may be decreasing overall, but recent figures released by UNICEF revealed the only age group not seeing a decline in mortalities from the disease are adolescents. That makes the work of organisations like Grassroots Soccer, and the endorsement by stellar names like Prince Harry, all the more important.
“He is one of the few celebrities who still makes a lot of measured and thoughtful statements around HIV,” Donald concluded. “Somehow, more than 20 years into fighting the disease, we’re still scared to have conversations like that, so it’s very helpful that Prince Harry has shown a commitment to HIV prevention.”
By: FIFA.com
RSS Feed