Rimoho! Rikafela!

Today Trevor and I went to a Skillz intervention. GRS uses the term “Skillz” to refer to the programs that we run. Each program consists of 10 – 12 sessions, or interventions, in which two coaches visit a school and give a lesson to a group of students. The format of these interventions is really cool. First, all of the coaches are local high school or college graduates. By using local people as coaches, GRS is able to take a sustainable approach towards molding community role models and leaders in the fight against HIV. The other really cool part of the interventions is that in all of them, analogies are drawn between soccer and real life in order to teach the kids about life skills and HIV.

The intervention that we went to is called Generation Skillz and it is for students who are in secondary school (ages 15 – 19). It was really interesting to watch the intervention because at the end of the day, South African high school students are pretty similar to high school students anywhere else in the world. There were some who are eager to learn and actively participate; there are others who listen in but don’t really say much; others just dick around in the background; and still others crack jokes so that they can be the center of attention.

GRS coaches use simple soccer activities to convey messages about HIV and it seemed that the particular activity the coaches were doing today wasn’t really gripping the attention of many of the students. But at the end of the intervention, all of the coaches came together and they talked about what went well and what didn’t. I am glad that I got to witness this exchange because all of the coaches were open and honest about what happened. One of the coaches, Necy (who I really like), made an excellent point though; she said that these interventions really tested her patience, but she knew that it was a time when she had to just stick it out, be patient and lead by example. She then said that at the end of the day, if she was able to just reach one kid, then it was all worth it. Hearing each of the coaches acknowledge how difficult the intervention had been and hearing them also recognize that at the end of the day they were there for the kids was really inspiring.

The day ended on a really high note as we drove through the township in order to get back to the office. Throughout the entire drive kids would see our car pass, they would recognize the bright yellow t-shirts we were all wearing and then they would shout out, “Rimoho!” to which we would respond, “Rikafela!” Rimoho means ‘are we together’ and rikafela means ‘we are one.’ These are the call-and-response phrases that the coaches use during interventions in order to grab the kids’ attention. Hearing the kids yell out these phrases as we drove by made me not only see that GRS is having a positive impact on the community, but it also made me feel welcome.