TackleAfrica began working with South African youth charity MADAboutArt in early 2009, funding a community event through our small grants programme and conducting the first coaching project in April.  MADAboutArt work in Neckies, a township in the Western Cape near Knysna, using innovative arts-based education and narrative therapy designed to increase children’s knowledge of HIV & AIDS and create more open communication as well as reduce risk-taking behaviour by increasing self-esteem and self-advocacy.

TackleAfrica’s partnership will help MADAboutArt add football to their portfolio of activities and engage through an additional medium with more young people at risk of HIV.  During our first project, two TackleAfrica trustees, Tom and Charlie, worked closely with MADAboutArt’s youth ambassadors and trained a group of 20 educators from MAD and two other youth organisations in delivering HIV education through football coaching.

MADAboutArt also developed a new take on using the drills in our manual, developing costumes to allow their young people to demonstrate the HIV messages visually to an audience at their football tournament.  The youth ambassadors we trained in April are now conducting outreach work to other organisations in the Western Cape, and building a network of local coaches that we can support in the coming years.

We look forward to MADAboutArt being our main partner in South Africa, and helping us co-ordinate programmes around the World Cup in 2010.

Useful links:

MADAboutArt website:  www.madaboutart.org

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