TackleAfrica’s work in Uganda focusses in two main areas – the urban slums of Kampala and the fishing communities around Lake Victoria.    The two areas have a vastly different feel and a hugely varied landscape, but both share an HIV prevalence rate that is significantly above the national average.

A recent visit by TackleAfrica coach educators Tom Colborne and Ben Sadler helped develop coaching capacity in both communities, as well as a momentous start in a third new region – the rural Semuto where the football and HIV community centre on 25 acres of TackleAfrica-owned land enjoyed its debut community event.

First was the Level 1.5 course in Kamwokya, Kampala, a refresher training and assessment for 20 coaches from across the country who are 6 months into their formal coach development programme.   Participants on the course included Majidah Majidah, coach of the Uganda national ladies team, and a number of coaches from amongst Kampala’s top club sides.   Between them the coaches work with almost 1,000 young people in their communities, delivering HIV education through football coaching on a regular basis. 

The 5 day course, facilitated by Tom, Ben and local project office Mpoza Dennis, covered theory sessions on intermediate football strategy, session planning and goalkeeping, as well as HIV focus group discussions on how the virus works, gender equality, why communities in Uganda are at risk and what we as coaches can do to support them.   The practical sessions allowed each coach to demonstrate what they had learned and further practise delivering HIV education through football coaching sessions.

The tournament at Semuto, organised by local partners Kamwokya Christian Caring Community in partnership with TackleAfrica and FUFA (the Federation of Uganda Football Associations) brought the local community together to launch the new site and engage with HIV testing facilities.    Over 300 young people played in the netball and football tournaments, with hundreds more spectating.   75 community members engaged with HIV testing and counselling services at the event in what was reognized by all as the first step in a significant programme of health through sport community work for 10,000 Semuto residents.

TackleAfrica also conducted follow up visits with coaches in Kampala and Ssenyi, near Lake Victoria, offering in-community support and coaching tips as part of the ongoing coach development programme,.   We were also able to meet with partners The Kids League and ASDHI to plan work for 2012 and beyond.  

Following the 2009 projects in the Ssi District of Uganda, near Lake Victoria, TackleAfrica coaches Tom Colborne and Hugh Thompson delivered a 4 day course in using the World Cup edition of the TackleAfrica HIV education through football coaching to 12 local coaches, teachers and youth leaders in May 2010. 

ASDHI (African Social Development and Health Initiatives) serves some of the most vulnerable communities in Africa, with HIV prevalence rates in isolated high-poverty fishing villages estimated at up to 30%.  TackleAfrica and ASDHI – run by KCCC director Peter Byansi – are two of the only NGOs working regularly with these communities, and the appeal of football has proved a incredibly effective technique for engaging many local people, who travelled for miles to attend the course and subsequent gala event.

Most communities around Lake Victoria have no electricity or running water, and education is a luxury rather than an assumed right as the every day struggles of subsistence existence take priority.  Young women regularly miss one week’s schooling each month simply due to a lack of sanitary towels, and access to HIV information, testing, care and treatment are severely limited.  With TackleAfrica’s support, ASDHI provides HIV education through football across several districts in schools and football clubs, as well as testing and counselling facilities at TackleAfrica-funded tournaments and anti retro-viral treatment.

Following the course, 5 teams played over 2 days in the ASDHI TackleAfrica gala.  126 players and spectators tested for HIV at the event, including TackleAfrica coach Tom Colborne.

TackleAfrica are now into the 3rd year of their programme with Kamwokya Christian Caring Community in Kampala and in May 2010, coaches Tom Colborne and Hugh Thompson delivered the first project in Africa using the new World Cup edition of the TackleAfrica coaching manual.

25 coaches from organisations across were trained in a week-long workshop based at the KCCC Treasure Life Centre with the support of local volunteers Moses Kibirango and Matuvo Eric Paul and the Technical Director of the Ugandan Football Association, Usmani Lebowah.

The coaches, many of whom have been delivering TackleAfrica HIV education through football coaching sessions for up to three years already, were given additional training in coaching methodology, session planning and designing TackleAfrica drills as well as in the issues relating to the new HIV sections of the manual, Living with HIV and Relationships.

Coaches trained: 25
Number of young people benefitting regularly from training: 1250

The KCCC Allstars World Cup sponsored by TackleAfrica

37 teams played in the TackleAfrica World Cup, organised by KCCC to raise awareness of TackleAfrica HIV programmes. Teams took part over two days in 4 different categories – U17s, Academies, Women and Organisations – at Ketante Primary School, with over 600 players involved. TackleAfrica coaches ran drills before the semi finals and finals as well as helping out with refereeing, formalities and the all important trophy presentation.

We have been working closely with KCCC ever since, running biannual coaching projects with the Allstars and training over 200 local coaches, teachers and youth leaders.  Input from Moses and Robert has been crucial in developing the TackleAfrica HIV education and football coaching manual, and in helping sustain the impact of our work by supporting the coaches we have trained across Uganda.  We have now trained and supported coaches from organisations all over the country, and estimate that these coaches are currently working with over 6,000 young people.

In January 2009 we worked with a new partner, ASDHI, for the first time, allowing us to work with a rural community in the Ssi District near Lake Victoria.  ASDHI was setup by Peter Byansi, one of the Directors of KCCC, who grew up in the Ssi District and runs a monthly mobile testing unit.  At a TackleAfrica funded football and testing tournament, ASDHI found an HIV prevalence rate of 16-30% within the fishing-reliant communities that live around the lake.  In January we ran the first training course for 20 teachers and peer educators in Ssi, and are offering ongoing support to reach young people from the community.

We have ambitious plans for further development work with KCCC and ASDHI in Uganda including:

•    3 month monitoring and evaluation project to assess the impact of our work so far

•    Building of a sports and HIV education centre in Semuto – the new home of the Allstars

•    Tournament and coach seminar for coaches trained in last two years in the build up to World Cup 2010

Useful links:

BBC report and video of January Uganda project

ASDHI annual report

KCCC website: www.kamccc.org

The projects involve volunteer coaches from across the UK delivering HIV and AIDS awareness messages through football coaching to the players at the All Stars Academy in Kamwokya.. The coaches work closely with the KCCC peer educators and the All Stars Academy coaches, reaching around 100 players per day at the soccer clinic run by the academy throughout the school holiday.

The volunteers have also worked in partnership with F.U.F.A. (Federation of Uganda Football Association), providing a coaching manual to over 50 coaches from across Uganda including the first 25 female coaches in East Africa, developing a nationally recognised coaching scheme, the first of its kind in Uganda to be themed around HIV awareness, as well as coaching programme specifically for young women.

The aims of the project were:

• To use football to deliver HIV/AIDS education and awareness to highly at risk young people from Kamwokya and beyond
• To deliver good quality football coaching to Academy members
• To deliver training to local coaches in partnership with the Federation of Uganda Football Association (FUFA) in the delivery of HIV and AIDS messages through football drills
• To enable community coaches to deliver TackleAfrica’s HIV awareness drills to many areas in Uganda allowing young people access to important health messages and quality football coaching. To date additional coaching has taken place in Entebe, Bomba, Luerwo and Masind

On his return to the UK, volunteer coach Graeme Sears commented:

“The coaching drills we used were very popular and were a really good way of conveying important health messages and getting the players involved in the fight against HIV.

The kids attending the clinic have embraced the concept, by the end of the first week we had several players coming to us with their own ideas for HIV/AIDS coaching drills.”

The peer educators from KCCC said:

“Young people normally get this information from teachers but integration of HIV/AIDS awareness in football drills is tantamount to comprehensive knowledge about HIV/AIDS and behaviour change.”

Before this project it was hard to get footballers to such awareness programmes…most footballers think that such diseases don’t affect them being powerful and strong.”