Uganda

Posted on: June 9th, 2009 No Comments

In 2006, TackleAfrica trustee Charlie Gamble spent several months volunteering with Ugandan partner NGO Kamwokya Christian Caring Community (KCCC) as a football coach with the Allstars Academy, run by Moses Kiribango and Robert Mulerwa. [singlepic id=39 w=320 h=240 float=left]It was Charlie’s experience working with the Allstars that led to the idea of delivering HIV education through football coaching drills, and the idea was pioneered in a TackleAfrica’s first coaching project in January 2007.

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