YDF in Lesotho: Life skills-based education for HIV-prevention
The Kingdom of Lesotho is a small country with an estimated
population of 2 million. It is completely surrounded by the Republic of
South Africa and is one of the three remaining monarchies in Africa.
Living conditions are tough: Lesotho, also known as "Africa's Mountain
Kingdom", is made up mostly of highlands where many of the villages can
be reached only on horseback, on foot or by light aircraft. During
winter, temperatures below freezing are common. Arable land is scarce,
infrastructure weak. Industry is largely limited to diamond mining and
textiles. As a result, approximately two thirds of the people live below
the poverty line. More than 23 per cent of the adult population are
infected with HIV - the third highest rate in the world. There is
widespread ignorance about the disease and less than ten per cent of the
Basotho people know their status. According to the Ministry of Health,
close to 18,000 children are infected with the virus and thousands have
been orphaned by the pandemic. HIV and AIDS not only constitute a health
problem, but also impact heavily on all spheres of day-to-day life.
Dedicated to bettering the lives of orphans and vulnerable children
In order to tackle HIV and AIDS in Lesotho, the Youth Development
through Football project embarked on a partnership with the
non-governmental organisation Kick4Life in 2008. Kick4Life was founded
in 2005 and engages with the youth through programmes such as
sports-based health education, voluntary HIV-testing, and life-skills
development. In addition it offers support with regard to education and
employment in and around Maseru. Its K4L curriculum educates youths of
between 10 and 18 years of age about how to prevent HIV-infection as
well as about the transmission of the disease, risk awareness and peer
pressure. The partnership programme between Kick4Life and YDF focuses on
awareness and prevention of HIV and AIDS through football. It aims to
benefit the youth of Lesotho, particularly orphaned and vulnerable
children, and has resulted in the establishment of the 'Maseru Street
League'.
Opening up opportunities for the youth
The street league teaches the youths who take part in it a great deal
more than just the rules and techniques of the game. It provides them
with secondary education and achieves this through football-related
activities. The objective is to develop skills and impart knowledge that
will assist them in preventing HIV infections, in living a healthy
lifestyle and in finding employment. The team members are encouraged to
know their HIV status and are offered voluntary counselling and testing.
The league concurrently creates a social network that provides young
people with an opportunity to interact in a supportive environment. In
addition K4L identifies and trains - with the assistance of YDF - school
teachers, coaches, youth leaders and other community role models to
raise awareness about HIV and AIDS among community members. The
implementation of YDF's Toolkit in the K4L curriculum will offer further
assistance in this regard. The partnership is supported by the Lesotho
Government and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.
Integrating street children into the labour market
YDF's support to Kick4Life also targets strategies to prevent or
fight youth unemployment. The programme equips young people with the
relevant skills to continue their education, undergo training or obtain
employment by helping them with career-planning, applying for higher
education and funding, CV-writing, job-hunting, budgeting, interviewing
techniques, as well as communication and presentation skills.
Decentralisation as a powerful tool against HIV and AIDS
YDF and Kick4Life cooperate closely with the Decentralised Rural
Development Programme (DRDP), which GIZ is implementing in Lesotho on
behalf of the German Government. Together, they have established
football-for-youth-development initiatives in some of Lesotho's
districts. They also cooperate with DRDP where the prevention of HIV and
AIDS is concerned, supporting the implementation of specific measures
of prevention and treatment by all 128 of Lesotho's community councils.