Grassroot Soccer (GRS) is proud to relay that we are now running our girls-only, culturally tailored HIV prevention program, SKILLZ Girl, in seven African countries. SKILLZ Girl is an adapted version of GRS South Africa’s SKILLZ Street curriculum. For each project, the GRS Research & Development team works to modify the curriculum to align with the partner’s cultural setting and available resources.
According to UNAIDS, young women aged 15-24 account for 31% of all new HIV infections in Sub-Saharan Africa. The expansion of SKILLZ Girl is a response to this alarming statistic, and provides opportunities for girls and young women to build their self-esteem, learn valuable life skills, and understand the health options available to them.
At the end of January, GRS held our latest training of SKILLZ Girl coaches with our partner in Nigeria, the Youth Empowerment Development Initiative (YEDI). The program is now active in Ethiopia and Senegal (through partner Peace Corps), Malawi (through partner Concern Malawi), Tanzania (through partner IDYDC), Nigeria (through partner YEDI), Zimbabwe and South Africa (through Grassroot Soccer programming).
Grassroot Soccer is dedicated to empowering female youth across Africa to stop the spread of HIV!