YDF in Botswana: tackling HIV and AIDS

Botswana is a small land-locked country in southern Africa with an estimated population of 1.9 million. The Kalahari Desert makes up much of its territory and is still home to indigenous Bushman people. Vast areas of Botswana are too arid to sustain any agriculture other than cattle–farming, but the country’s unique wildlife and wilderness make tourism a major economic factor. Botswana’s main economic pillar, however, is its diamond and mineral wealth, which has contributed strongly to the country’s development from a low-income country to one of the fastest growing economies in the world. Today, Botswana is the world’s largest diamond-producer and is considered a development success story. Nevertheless, the HIV/AIDS pandemic remains a serious challenge: Botswana has one of the highest prevalence rates of HIV/AIDS in the world. Fortunately, it also has one of Africa's most progressive and comprehensive programmes for dealing with the disease. Approximately 24% of the adult population is infected; nevertheless, the number of infections among young people aged between 15 and 24 has been declining steadily since 2001.

A youth-led programme in the rural areas In 2009

YDF embarked on a partnership with the ‘South-East District Youth Empowerment League’ (SEDYEL) and Botswana became one of YDF’s partner countries in Africa. The YDF project in Botswana kicked off with the All Star Tournament in the village of Ramotswa. The two-day event, with a focus on youth and health, involved teams from African countries that had qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2010™, and promoted the idea of youth development through football.

SEDYEL was founded in 2001 in the rural areas of south-east Botswana and runs a community-development league programme that focuses on HIV/AIDS. The non-governmental organisation has its roots in the ongoing partnership between the Canadian city of Toronto and the South-East District Council of Botswana. SEDYEL’s focus is on youth-engagement strategies and HIV/AIDS-education through sport. In 2005 a mixed-gender league was formed to channel the energy and enthusiasm of girls and boys away from risky behaviour - the main factor involved in the high incidence of HIV/AIDS in the country - towards sport. To date, SEDYEL has grown to be the largest youth sports- and community-development organisation in Botswana. It comprises 112 teams, of which 25 are female.

SEDYEL’s programme is based on a youth-led approach: in a school outreach component, peer educators offer extra-curricular activities during the week, focusing on activities for HIV/AIDS-infected people in hospitals. Another component offers life-skills education on the playground over weekends and during tournaments. In addition, SEDYEL runs education campaigns on HIV/AIDS-awareness and -prevention which promote the Pan-African idea of young achievers and an HIV-free generation. In special youth forums, young girls and women are given the opportunity to discuss their day-to-day worries and needs. SEDYEL’s programme is channelled through the ‘kick-AIDS’ network, which enhances life skills through sport.

Capacity development and networking opportunities

In 2010 coach instructors from SEDYEL and from the Botswana Football Association (BFA) joined a workshop in South Africa and were trained on using the YDF Toolkit. Once qualified, the instructors are expected to facilitate coach-training courses for local coaches from various organisations, who in turn are to include the YDF methodology in future football coaching sessions. SEDYEL facilitated a networking workshop where other organisations in the field of sport for development discussed issues around the YDF Toolkit. The event presented SEDYEL with a platform to facilitate dialogue among stakeholders, and offered networking opportunities for all participants.