In partnership with Nike and Grassroots Soccer, Mercy Corps has educated over 7,000 Sudanese youth about AIDS. Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps

A Mercy Corps program in southern Sudan uses sports to attract and educate youth about HIV/AIDS and develop peace building skills. Mercy Corps, an international humanitarian aid organization working in over 35 countries around the globe, implemented the Sports for Life program in 2006 with the goal of empowering local populations to be agents of their own change. An interview with Program Manager, Matt Streng, highlights the program's evolution over a 9 month period discussing the goals and difficulties of such an undertaking. Streng has a Master's in Public Health from the University of North Carolina. Before working for Mercy Corps he spent time working in public health with youth in Chile.

"Imagine believing that you can tell just by looking at someone that they have HIV or AIDS, and at the same time believing you can contract the disease through mere contact."

Before January of 2005 southern Sudan had been war-torn for over two decades. Today there are efforts to re-build after 21 years of civil conflict. Working in this vacuum, Mercy Corps implemented the program Sports for Peace and Life in 2006. With lack of awareness and education about HIV/AIDS as well as the threat of the disease spreading there was a much needed, positive way for these issues to be approached. The appeal of sports such as soccer and volleyball provided the incentive for youth to get involved. "Using sports to educate about HIV/AIDS is a great way to attract youth to this kind of program," says Streng. And through practice and game-based activities the program was able to build awareness about HIV/AIDS and strengthen peace building efforts.

"Imagine believing that you can tell just by looking at someone that they have HIV or AIDS," explains Streng. "And at the same time believing you can contract the disease through mere contact." These were common misconceptions before the Sports for Peace and Life Program…And although HIV prevalence is currently estimated at 1.6 percent, much lower than bordering countries, there are factors that threaten to increase this rate. These include increase in population movement, lack of HIV/AIDS education and awareness, low levels of health care services, as well as cultural risks such as polygamy and the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.

To ensure the success and support of Sports for Peace and Life, Mercy Corps partnered with Nike, Grassroots Soccer (another non-profit working on HIV/AIDS awareness) and the Southern Sudanese Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports. Matt explains, "With this partnership and relationship with the government our aim [was] for the program to be sustainable." These partnerships were key to the forward momentum of the program and future stability.

"The game-based approach is a relaxed and comfortable way to address these sensitive topics."

The Ministry of Culture functioned as the recruitment team locating coaches and teachers from each state to lead the program. A Mercy Corps employee partnered with a Grassroots Soccer employee to train these new recruits who in turn led groups of youths, ages 13-24, through 6 weeks of curriculum and training. In most cases the sport used was soccer, although for some all girls' teams it was volleyball. Soccer, being the most popular sport around the globe, was an obvious choice for males. Many females, however, culturally do not participate in soccer so volleyball was the most logical approach.

Game-based activities were used to de-stigmatize the issue of HIV/AIDS, as well as distinguish the difference between HIV and AIDS, explain properly how the disease is transmitted, and how to avoid the disease either through use of condoms, abstinence, or having one partner. As Matt emphasizes, "The game-based approach is a relaxed and comfortable way to address these sensitive topics. We strive to identify trusted adults in the community to be coaches so the atmosphere can be relaxed and youths can open up about the issues addressed." For the peace building component of the program, role-playing was used to give examples of how to manage conflict rather than resorting to violence.

Once the six week curriculum was over, participants completed a post-test to measure changed attitudes and understanding. A large state tournament was held to celebrate the completion of the program as well as reinforce the main issues. Nike provided jerseys and sports equipment for all the teams, in all more than 190,000 pieces of equipment were donated. The tournament was not only a celebration but a graduation from the program.

In 9 months 7,000 youth completed the Sports for Peace and Life program with a 92 percent graduation rate. In total there were 366 coaches spread out among the 10 states of southern Sudan with each coach in charge of approximately 20 youths.

In 9 months 7,000 youth completed the Sports for Peace and Life program with a 92 percent graduation rate. In total there were 366 coaches spread out among the 10 states of southern Sudan with each coach in charge of approximately 20 youths. Overall, the program was deemed successful even with the many challenges that were presented. However, these challenges have informed the future of the program and identified areas of improvement. "There were a few cultural barriers we had to overcome, particularly with females being involved in the program," explains Matt. "Culturally, females tend to domestic chores and do not participate in sports and sometimes do not even go to school." Four out of five participants in the program were male. So for the future Matt wants to focus on encouraging females to participate, and working through parents may be the best way forward. "By improving access to sports, education and HIV/AIDS awareness we can improve the livelihood and self-esteem of many females in the area," says Matt.

There were other challenges along the way such as language barriers, too few Mercy Corps staff working in too many areas, as well as minimal access to condoms and testing services. Furthermore, as Matt articulates, "Working in a post-conflict environment presented issues because of the lack of organized sports teams and attempting to function with a government structure that is currently being developed." In time these issues will be resolved. But the building blocks have been laid, and there is a potential to grow on the success of the Sports for Peace and Life program. There is now a strong relationship with the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports which the state of Western Equatoria is using as a means to implement the Sports for Peace and Life Program into their school system. With the right resources, other states will follow in their footsteps.




Contributed by Cami Martin, a writer for Global Envision. Cami has a BA in English from the University of Oregon and works for Mercy Corps.

Click here to view a Mercy Corps video about Sports for Peace and Life.

To read another Global Envision article about efforts to build awareness about HIV/AIDS, see Pulling Stunts to End AIDS Ignorance.



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