Sports / Soccer
Grassroot Soccer Zimbabwe partners Arsenal FC
08 Dec 2017 at 06:11hrs | Views
GRASSROOT Soccer Zimbabwe's partnership with The Arsenal Foundation has extended its hand to rural areas in a quest to raise HIV awareness in rural areas among adolescents through soccer.
The Arsenal foundation is a direct affiliate of English football club Arsenal.
Communication officer for Grassroot Soccer Zimbabwe, Nompumelelo Bhebhe, said partnership with The Arsenal foundation served as a motivation to adolescents in rural areas.
"We are more than proud and excited to be collaborating with such a huge brand as The Arsenal Football Foundation. Moreover, the reaction we get from the participants when they see the name Arsenal on the material around. They feel that they are part of a bigger picture in this world," said Bhebhe.
Already Grassroot Soccer and The Arsenal foundation have new programmes targeting adolescents in rural areas who barely get such a chance.
"We have already started working in some rural parts of the country namely Matabeleland North and South. We will be going as far as Manicaland and Mashonaland to reach out to more adolescents," she said.
Bhebhe added that they chose to work with the foundation as its values were aligned with their programmes.
"We are an organisation that uses the power of soccer to influence a certain health practice among adolescents hence we saw it fit to even include football associations and foundations to support the programme," she said.
The programme already has reached out to 541 adolescent boys and girls in Bubi District.
"The adolescents we have reached out to now realise that in order to develop a healthy future it begins at an individual level. The young people receiving this programme are seeing a brighter light to the issues surrounding their health and they are grateful to have been enlightened on issues they had very little knowledge about, for example HIV and STIs," she said.
The Arsenal foundation is a direct affiliate of English football club Arsenal.
Communication officer for Grassroot Soccer Zimbabwe, Nompumelelo Bhebhe, said partnership with The Arsenal foundation served as a motivation to adolescents in rural areas.
"We are more than proud and excited to be collaborating with such a huge brand as The Arsenal Football Foundation. Moreover, the reaction we get from the participants when they see the name Arsenal on the material around. They feel that they are part of a bigger picture in this world," said Bhebhe.
Already Grassroot Soccer and The Arsenal foundation have new programmes targeting adolescents in rural areas who barely get such a chance.
"We have already started working in some rural parts of the country namely Matabeleland North and South. We will be going as far as Manicaland and Mashonaland to reach out to more adolescents," she said.
Bhebhe added that they chose to work with the foundation as its values were aligned with their programmes.
"We are an organisation that uses the power of soccer to influence a certain health practice among adolescents hence we saw it fit to even include football associations and foundations to support the programme," she said.
The programme already has reached out to 541 adolescent boys and girls in Bubi District.
"The adolescents we have reached out to now realise that in order to develop a healthy future it begins at an individual level. The young people receiving this programme are seeing a brighter light to the issues surrounding their health and they are grateful to have been enlightened on issues they had very little knowledge about, for example HIV and STIs," she said.
Source - bmetro
