empowerment

GRS Kimberley had a very exciting week - we had our first ever Skillz Street graduations! I know I've talked about Skillz Street before, but I'll give you a quick recap of the program. Skillz Street is a girls targeted intervention. This program was developed in response to overwhelming research that shows: 1. Participation in sport among adolescent females correlates to a range of health benefits, and 2. HIV is disproportionately concentrated among women and girls. Skillz Street combines Fair Play soccer matches with assertiveness-, efficacy-, and interpersonal relationship-building activities.

I love Skillz Street. I think it is a fantastic program that has the ability to instill a lot of change if implemented correctly. And making sure that Skillz Street is indeed all that it can be is my job. So it was incredibly gratifying and heart warming to see Kimberley's first two Skillz Street graduations. 

The girls at Venus Primary school.

These graduations are pretty cool, especially because in South Africa girls rarely have the opportunity to participate in an activity for which they get any sort of recognition. I couldn't help but smile throughout both graduations as I watched the girls. They all had huge smiles on their faces the whole time, they were all volunteering to answer questions about what they had learned in Skillz Street, they were all leading their own songs and kilos, and they were all so thrilled to receive their certificates. 

Girls answering questions about Skillz Street.

One change that I can already see in the girls that participated is that they have more confidence. Girls that were shy during weeks three and four are now much more willing to participate in activities. Girls that never really wanted to say anything will now shoot their hand really high into the air in order to answer a question. It's pretty special getting to see young girls realize that they have the potential to be something. It's pretty special getting to see young girls realize that they have the power - and the right - to stand on their own two feet. It's pretty special getting to see young girls participate in Skillz Street and I am excited to start our next Skillz Street camps!

Coach Crista giving the closing address.