Can I get a Les Lionnes de Mbane kilo?!
By: Lindsay Padell, 2nd Year
St. Louis Health Volunteer
"Taar jigeen ci jikko lay ne."
(Wolof proverb: True beauty is one’s character)
This past April, I was fortunate enough to get the opportunity to attend a weeklong training for a new program being piloted in Senegal. While I was excited about the possibilities the program offered me, I never would have imagined the impact it would have on my service. After having implemented the Grassroots Soccer Skillz Girl curriculum in my village, I have no doubt that the initiative was one of the most rewarding projects I’ve done so far in my service.
Ten Peace Corps Senegal volunteers were chosen to attend the training at the Thies Training Center, led by two Grassroots Soccer headquarters staff. We brought along our Senegalese counterparts from our respective villages, many of whom are well-respected leaders in their communities and all of whom are dedicated to empowering the younger generation. After a week of training covering the 12-lesson curriculum, we formed a tight bond and wished each other luck on our future endeavors. Feeling the pressure to succeed at this pilot program in Senegal and not wanting to disappoint our GRS trainers, I set out back to village to prepare myself for the journey ahead.
Grassroots Soccer is a 501(c)3 charitable organization based out of South Africa whose mission is to use the power of soccer to educate, inspire, and mobilize communities to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS. They have several curriculums, including one for malaria prevention and another focused primarily on HIV/AIDS education and prevention. Their newest program, the one I most recently completed, is called Skillz Girl, an innovative soccer-based HIV/AIDS education program for young girls aged 12 to 19. The overall message is HIV/AIDS prevention, but the 12 lesson plans include confidence exercises, discussions on the differences between sex and gender, healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, puberty, basic human rights, family planning, and access to health services including HIV/AIDS testing.
12