With the kickoff of the 2010 World Cup, GRS is launching an ambitious goal of reaching 1 million youth by the start of the World Cup in 2014. Our work over the coming month catalyzes these efforts.
In sites across South Africa, GRS will keep more than 5,000 youth safe and learning during the extended holiday period through Skillz Holiday Programs, send close to 15,000 young people to World Cup matches, and be represented by youth from our South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia programs in the Football for Hope Festival 2010.
To amplify our impact, GRS has developed the Skillz World Cup Workbook, a 16-page magazine that has been distributed to over 200,000 children at 2,600 schools nationwide. The attractive and youth-friendly workbook capitalizes on the excitement around the World Cup with player profiles, a World Cup bracket, and information and activities on the key drivers of the HIV epidemic in South Africa, including intergenerational sex, multiple partners, and gender-based violence.
The workbook also provides GRS with a platform to launch the Red Card Campaign for HIV Risk, which identifies risky behaviours such as “sex with older partners” and “having more than one partner.” Each workbook includes a free Red Card that youth can use as a tool to identify risky behaviors in their daily lives. The Red Card will appear in GRS’ Skillz Holiday programs and has been adopted by partners across the country. Through a partnership with the wildly popular, animated mass media campaign, “Scrutinize,” a Red Card “animert” will air on national television during and after the World Cup, reaching millions more.