MYSA HIV/AIDS Prevention and Awareness Project

The project emphasises capacity building and a participatory approach. It trains and empowers peer educators who in turn train fellow youth and other members of their respective communities.

The HIV/AIDS awareness activities include:

• Life skills training and courses among selected MYSA youth leaders, coaches and players on counselling and movement games in relation to HIV/AIDS, drug use and abuse, reproductive health, and other health-related issues.
• Fieldwork support for peer educators and peer counsellors.
• Networking with youth organisations working in the same field.
• Meetings, exchange programmes, and visits to children's homes by peer educators.
• Providing schools and communities in MYSA zones with relevant information during school and community awareness campaigns.
• Supporting Youth Resource Centres for educational and referral purposes and counselling.
• Documenting best practices, success stories, approaches, and different methodologies used in sport and community development as an advocacy tool for youth participation. This information may also be used for fundraising and sustainability of the programme.
• Developing information, education, and communication (IEC) materials that may be used for fundraising and income generation for the sustainability of the programme.

According to MYSA, the strong focus of sport in MYSA makes it a practical tool to support the attainment of healthy living and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other diseases. Sport has an impact on health and tends to reduce the likelihood of contracting illness. In addition, sports programmes can be an effective tool for social mobilisation, supporting health activities such as HIV/AIDS education and immunisation campaigns. Sport can also be a significant economic force, providing employment and contributing to local development. MYSA points, too, to the connection between sport and volunteer involvement, especially among youth. Finally, participation in sport encourages clean living and a healthy environment.

Youth, HIV/AIDS.

MYSA explains that several hundred thousand people are living in poverty in the Mathare Valley and the neighbouring slums. More than half are children and there are few playing fields - consequently, few chances to play sport. Their homes are often surrounded by garbage and sewage, both major causes of disease, which debilitate, cripple, and kill many - both children and adults. "Over 75% of the people living in the Mathare Valley are hard working single mothers who have been abandoned by their husbands. They earn income through small-scale businesses. Open communication between parents and their children rarely exists any longer since the parents have little time to spare. The responsibility to share important information with kids is thus left to peers, resulting in an increase in teenage sex, pregnancies, abortions, drug abuse, cross generation sex, short term relationships and HIV/AIDS. The lack of a reliable source of information is a problem that hinders healthy development of the youth of Mathare."

Most youth that MYSA's programme has reached are between the ages of 6 and 21 years. To assess the impact of their participation, organisers asked the youth to take part in discussions and games to respond to questions which helped the facilitators to assess their level of understanding of the information. This process revealed that, thus far, the programme has managed to:

• Influence positive behaviour change: teachers and parents have been responding positively to how students and pupils express themselves openly on reproductive health issues.
• Promote effective voluntary counselling.
• Assist some students to attend counselling sessions at the MYSA Counselling and Resource Centre.
• Distribute IEC materials after each discussion with the students.
• Apart from facilitation, group discussions, and lectures, the outreach programme has integrated other programmes such as movement games, edutainment (drama), and counselling.

MYSA celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2006. In that time, the Nairobi-based organisation has grown to include 60 staff members and over 7,000 volunteers. The organisation involves approximately 20,000 young people, of which over 14,000 youth participate in the football programme. MYSA participated at the streetfootballworld festival 2006 in Berlin, Germany, and was crowned Street Football World Champion.