Grassroot Soccer

"When boys and men come together to discuss gender equality, positive masculinity, violence prevention, and mental health, the results are powerful," Grassroot Soccer's Praise Dlakama writes in a new op-ed. Read it here: https://lnkd.in/ebXNHc-q

We are thrilled to highlight that Grassroot Soccer’s Kunda Mwitwa was recently named to the World Health Organization (WHO) Youth Council! The Council is a direct advisory body to the WHO comprised of youth representatives from 25 health and non-health organizations and movements that ensures that youth voices are not only heard but actively shape WHO policy and action. Earlier this month, Kunda attended the WHO Youth Council 2024 Conference in Berlin, Germany, where she shared insights into how governing bodies can effectively engage young people in decision-making processes and policymaking. Kunda and her fellow Youth Council members also met with WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the World Health Summit to launch its first "Youth Declaration on Creating Healthy Societies," which outlines 10 calls to action – informed and developed by young people from around the world – for empowering youth to play a central role in creating healthier and safer societies for all. #YouthLeading4Health #WHOYouthCouncil #Youth4HealthSocieties #MyHealthFutures #playingforlife #GrassrootSoccer

We have officially begun rolling out our integrated curriculum to teachers, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive! In recent months, we have focused on combining the Meharebe manual with Grassroot Soccer's Mindskillz manual to incorporate a mental health perspective, addressing the rising demand for adolescent mental health support in schools. This integration blends Meharebe's emphasis on life skills and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) with the mental health components from Mindskillz. The result is an innovative curriculum that serves as a comprehensive resource for adolescents, covering essential topics.During the rollout, we held highly interactive sessions, including teach-back activities. Teachers showed remarkable engagement and enthusiasm for the material, demonstrating a solid understanding of the concepts. It’s inspiring to see their plans for implementing these lessons in their classrooms, creating a supportive environment for our students. We are excited to see the positive impact this will have on adolescent mental health and well-being!

Running my first marathon in New York this November in support of Grassroot Soccer an incredible charity that uses sport to educate and empower young people across the world, including in my hometown of Johannesburg, South Africa. Training to run 42km is more difficult than I imagined, but doing it for something as close to my heart is getting me through! If you’d like to support, please consider donating through the link below—every contribution makes a difference! As a thank you to my generous supporters, I’ll be sharing a post-marathon documentary featuring the highs and lows along the way :) https://lnkd.in/edPVr7nv

✨We are back with another Action Learning Spotlight!✨ This time we're highlighting Blessed Bukhosi Gumbi, the program support manager for Grassroot Soccer, who is participating in our 8th #ActionLearningCycle, on Capacity Development for Youth Transition. Grassroot Soccer works with an inspiring team of mentors who are dedicated to equipping adolescents with the essential knowledge for a healthy life. Blessed joined the cycle to explore how they can better support these mentors, who are the backbone of their organisation. Through this Action Learning Cycle, they are developing innovative strategies focused on capacity strengthening, recruitment, and retention for their incredible team of mentors. We’re very proud to be contributing to the inspiring work of Grassroot Soccer, and we can’t wait to see their new strategies come to life.🚀💫 #YIELDHub #ActionLearning #YouthEmpowerment #SRHR

On today's #WorldMentalHealthDay, we're celebrating the power of soccer and mentorship to improve adolescent mental health. 💚⚽ Today and every day, our team at Grassroot Soccer is committed to improving the #mentalhealth of ALL young people: helping those who are currently struggling with their mental health, as well as preventing others from experiencing poor mental health in the future. Our MindSKILLZ program uses soccer language, metaphors, and activities to engage young people and draw connections to mental health. The program breaks down stigma and fills a critical care gap by training non-specialists (Coaches) to work with young people and improve their mental health awareness, knowledge, coping skills, and resilience. 17-year-old Nobubele Hobane from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe is one recent MindSKILLZ graduate. Participating in MindSKILLZ changed Nobubele’s perceptions about mental health and gender norms, and also connected her with a psychologist, which she credits for boosting her self-confidence and managing her anger. Read her story here:

Back to where it all started! Thank you to our friends at Highlanders FC for hosting members of our team at yesterday's match in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe (a 2-0 victory!) Highlanders has a special place in the Grassroot Soccer story. While playing for Highlanders, Grassroot Soccer's co-founders saw the power of soccer as a positive force in the community, and the idea that soccer could be used to engage adolescents to stop the spread of HIV — and Grassroot Soccer — was born. Now more than two decades later, we've built upon that founding idea and evolved to take an integrated approach to adolescent health, using fun and innovative approaches to build adolescents’ resiliency and engage them around their most pressing health challenges — including HIV/AIDS, mental health, gender-based violence, and issues around sexual and reproductive health such as teen pregnancy. #PlayingForLife

"Our relationships do not end with graduation. These youth don’t have easy lives but they often say that they approach life situations differently because of the skills they gained through Grassroot Soccer. They often share how strong and independent they have become in the face of peer pressure. They have become solid in their decision making and easily relate to people of different backgrounds. I am forever grateful for these testimonials." We loved reading this reflection from SKILLZ Coach Mats'epo, who has been working with youth in Lesotho since 2017 through Grassroot Soccer's partnership with the Peace Corps.

There is so much more to football !! A powerful development tool transforming the lives of young Nigerian women through Skillz. A huge thank you goes out to our partner Grassroot Soccer sharing their vision, expertise, support and guidance with organisations like ours for more than 2 decades. The development challenges may change but the convening power of football to help address them remains. ⚽

Last Thursday, Grassroot Soccer introduced the Mind SKILLZ programme to the CATCH Team. This impactful initiative, already active in Zimbabwe and Johannesburg, equips young people with vital skills for navigating life's challenges. Through Mind SKILLZ, our youth will be learning to address problems, seek appropriate solutions, and identify who to approach when facing specific issues. The programme also emphasizes self-conduct in difficult situations. We are excited to see how this initiative empowers our team to handle life’s hurdles with confidence and resilience. #GrassrootsSoccer #MindSKILLZ