Grassroot Soccer (GRS) is launching âYouth Run the World: Sustainable Empowerment in Gorongosa National Parkâ, a dynamic new project in Mozambique in partnership with Gorongosa National Park (GNP) with funding from the Cameron Schrier Foundation.
The catalytic 18-month project will integrate GRSâs signature sport-based SKILLZ health model within existing youth programming in Gorongosa National Park to scale up urgently needed health and conservation education for the next generation of adolescents in Mozambique. The project will combine the appeal of soccer with a youth-centered, evidence-based approach to build adolescentsâ health and life skills Assets, increase their Access to sexual and reproductive health services, and support Adherence to healthy behaviors to reach their full potential and promote sustainable development within the park.
Aligned to emerging evidence and the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the project addresses the intersection of climate change, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and gender equality, a key priority in Mozambique, one of the world’s most climate-stressed countries. Gorongosa National Park is globally recognized for its holistic conservation model that emphasizes the need to address and balance the health of people and wildlife, and it is currently expanding its conservation efforts with an anticipated reach of approximately 250,000 people in the near future.
GRS will work with Gorongosa National Park from startup to sustainability to launch a customized package of SKILLZ programming that addresses the specific sexual and reproductive health needs and conservation context of adolescents from communities in and around the park. The project will ensure Gorongosa National Park develops capacity to scale this initiative across its youth programming throughout the park.
This project expands the ongoing partnership between GRS and GNP since 2020 through the promotion of Our Gorongosa specialty coffee, with 100% of profits supporting wildlife conservation and human development initiatives in the Park, including our work with adolescent girls and young women. The Cameron Schrier Foundationâs commitment to the âYouth Run the Worldâ Project expands on previous collaboration with both partners. The Foundation supports research in Gorongosa National Park and has been among Grassroot Soccerâs supporters since 2013.