GRS Priority Partner RV United Celebrates Programming Success

Junior Development team photo courtesy RV United.

(Editor’s note: This piece has been adapted from content written by GRS South Africa Communications Specialist Jenn Warren.)

Grassroot Soccer (GRS) would like to extend gratitude to the Premier League International Development Fund and Manchester City FC’s City in the Community Foundation for their support in making GRS priority partner RV United’s B-GREAT program a success in 2019. GRS South Africa and RV United (RVU) finalized a formal agreement between our organizations in 2019, which saw GRS South Africa supporting RVU in bringing the grant to Khayelitsha.

Join us as we celebrate select highlights from RVU’s B-GREAT program in 2019:

RV United reached a total of 246 participants, and graduated 200 adolescent girls from the 10-session intervention (an 81% graduation rate) who gained important knowledge, skills, and values about mindfulness, and loving themselves as they are, all while learning to play soccer
Overall, girls attending the B-GREAT intervention demonstrated improved knowledge and favorable attitudes around key risk and protective factors in their lives – questions around resilience, positive mood, positive self-concept, belonging and connection, improved support and leadership trended positively
Four RVU female leaders acted as change agents, providing coaching, life skills and mentoring to B-GREAT participants.

B-GREAT programming photo courtesy of RV United.

In their own words: What RV United’s B-GREAT participants say about the program:

“At B-GREAT I gained a lot of support from the group and Coaches. B-GREAT practice helped me to learn about mental health and how to control myself when I get angry.”

“I learned that I am beautiful in my own way and I will never let anyone tell me otherwise. Every day before I got to sleep I look at myself in the mirror and tell myself that I am beautiful.”

”I learned that rape is never the victim’s fault, and no matter what we wear as girls no one has the right to touch my body. I have the right to say no.”

KILO to our GRS South Africa colleague and RV United co-founder Vuyo Kayi, along with the entire Khayelitsha site, for their support to RVU’s girls and young women, the team’s development goals, and its mission as an independent organization.

Here’s to another successful year!