girls’ football and peer education a way to reduce stigma amongst young people

http://mtgkrg

GIRLS’ FOOTBALL AND PEER EDUCATION: A way to reduce Stigma amongst Young people.

Lydia Kasiwa and Margaret Nzai

MTG PO Box 605 Kilifi 80108 Kenya Tel no + 254 722 823834, 0203509411mtgkilifi@yahoo.com http://mtgk.org

Background

• 66% of the Population of Kilifi district live in poverty (ie on less than $2 a day)

• Gender inequalities: Teenage pregnancies, child labor, domestic chores, early school drop outs, vulnerability to HIV, very few women leaders

Moving the Goalposts (MTG-K)

• Mission: To Improve the Social and Health Status of Girls and Women in Kilifi district

• Our Core Value: Girls’ Participation

Objectives Of MTG-K Peer Education Program

•Reduce early pregnancy and marriage among in and out of school girls•To increase knowledge about girl child rights and gender equality•Reduce girls child school drop out•Increase knowledge about HIV&AIDS & reproductive health among teenage girls•To improve confidence & decision making skills in girls

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HOW we do it

• Promoting football for girls: Football leagues and tournaments

• Developing leadership through football: Run by girls as committee members, referees, First Aiders, Represent the organization in local, National and International meetings

How we do it cont’

• Providing RH and HIV and AIDS information and services

• Providing ecomic opportunities by promoting savings groups

• Providing access: Linking with schools and scholarships – 12 Girls currently in secondary school and 1 in University

Achievements

• Trained 44 girls as Peer Educators

• Trained 22 Adult counselors

• Have out of school 145 teams with 25 girls each

• Have engaged 112 schools for during our tournaments

• Support from Parents and Teachers for the program

Key findings

•HIV and AIDS stigma remains a problem in a rural district such as Kilifi.•During peer education girls have many questions about HIV stigma such as:

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Questions asked

What can you do if your boyfriend is HIV positive and you love him”?

“How can one help a person with AIDS”?

Key findings cont’

• MTG uses these questions to develop peer education sessions, responding to the needs of young women and girls it serves.

• MTG counselors have also come across incidences of stigma amongst young people towards people with HIV.

Lessons learned

•Listening to young people’s concerns and questions means that we can make our programs more relevant to their needs

• Football provides a chance for girls to get involved in a safe activity and it has been a very good way of getting rural girls together for peer education

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Challenges

• Parent don’t let the girls go to the field but rather encourage them to work and earn money for the family

• Girls are scared of playing football when they have the menses

• Peer educators move on after training

• Groups too big for peer sessions

• No conducive places for peer counseling

Recommendations

•Involve young people in reducing stigma because they still have many misconceptions and can discriminate against others

•Listen to young people and respond to their needs

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Recommendations cont;

• Consider football, or other sports, as a way of getting young people, especially girls, together to challenge gender stereotype

Moving the Goalposts mtgk.org

http://mtgk.org