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A TOTAL of 200 pupils drawn from Bulawayoa��s five secondary schools will on Saturday converge on Lobengula Grounds for the Grassroot Soccer Health and Awareness soccer tournament.
Grassroot Soccer Zimbabwe communications officer Nompumelelo Bhebhe said the participating pupils were drawn from Njube, Sikhulile, Msiteli, Lobengula and Emganwini high schools.
a�?We have 100 girls and 100 boys who were drawn from academic institutions that include Njube, Sikhulile, Msiteli, Lobengula and Emganwini that will take part in Saturdaya��s tournament at Lobengula Grounds. The 200 pupils have been part of our half-day holiday camp run by Skillz Coaches during the school break. The girls and boys will represent their respective schools at the Grassroot Soccer Health and Wellness soccer tournament,a�? said Bhebhe.
The half-day holiday camp programme was meant to keep the young people engaged in meaningful activities during the high risk holiday period.
a�?This is an eight practice intervention which makes use of the soccer language, metaphors and activities to address key behaviours that drive the spread of HIV and Aids to young people,a�? said Bhebhe.
She also mentioned that the tournament would be used to bring health services directly to the communities.
a�?Grassroot Soccer uses soccer celebrities to mobilise communities to attend tournaments through door-to-door campaigns. For this particular event we will have Highlanders defender Benson Phiri, ex-Bosso player Chipo Tsodzo and former Mighty Warriors duo of Amellia Chifodya and Siza Khoza. Services such as HIV counselling and testing, family planning, TB screening, STI screening and others will be offered for free at the tournament by our partnering organisations,a�? she added.
GRSZ uses the power of the worlda��s favourite game to educate African youth about HIV and Aids and deliver HIV testing and other health services to under-served populations.
In 2011, Grassroot Soccer Zimbabwe, whose ambassadors include ex-Warriors captain Benjani Mwaruwari, senior national team midfielder Kudakwashe Mahachi and former Highlanders and AmaZulu utility player Vusa Nyoni, forged a three-year $300 000 partnership with Barclays Bank aimed at using the power of football in the fight against the pandemic in Bulawayo.
The organisation was founded in 2003 in Bulawayo and has since trained community leaders, educators, and professional soccer players to deliver culturally relevant HIV-prevention curricula to more than 30 000 youth in communities hit hardest by HIV.
Online Reporter