streetfootballworld network members across the globe held events to mark World AIDS Day on December 1st, showing how the power of football can be harnessed to raise awareness of HIV/AIDS.

Promoting positive living and access to HIV/AIDS treatment: Society Empowerment Project in Kenya
Rachuonyo district, Kenya played host to Society Empowerment Project’s (SEP) annual World AIDS Day sport and cultural day. The programme, which included football matches for both girls and boys as well as dance and drama workshops, attracted many members of Rachuonyo’s local community. The football matches, cultural events and a procession addressed a wide variety of AIDS-related issues, including positive living, stigma elimination, and HIV/AIDS care and treatment.

The event, held in conjunction with other local health organisations, succeeded in raising awareness of the benefits of HIV testing and retroviral treatment. By the end of the event over 100 members of the community requested and were referred to local health and counselling services for testing. SEP also reported an increase in the number of children attending the event and hopes to build on this success in the coming years.

Grassroot Soccer’s Ethan Zohn’s dribbles to the finish line
World AIDS Day marked the finale of Ethan Zohn’s 500-mile sponsored football dribble from Boston to Washington DC. The dribble, which kicked off on August 20th, raised both money and awareness for the work of streetfootballworld network member Grassroot Soccer’s work in HIV/AIDS prevention in Africa. Ethan stopped off at dozens of schools and communities along his 3-month journey in order to spread the word about how Grassroot Soccer is harnessing the power of football to educate African young people in Africa about HIV/AIDS.

The ball and Ethan finally arrived at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Park in Washington DC on December 1st, accompanied by celebrity athletes and young footballers. The dribble succeeded both in inspiring members of the public to get involved in Grassroot Soccer’s fight against HIV/AIDS and in raising over $150,000 for the organisation’s work in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia.

For more information on the sponsored dribble, visit the Grassroot Soccer website: www.grassrootsoccer.org.

Written by Erica Callery