kickHIV! – AIDS information through the magic of football
With the donations received for the kickHIV! campaign, Go Ahead! finances the pedagogical football projects of the Umzingisi Foundation. The organisation works in the Eastern Cape province. This is one of the poorest regions in South Africa. Two football camps have already been made possible, in which hundreds of children take part in a “development through soccer” programme during the school holidays.
Since the 2010 kickHIV! campaign, Go Ahead! has supported the "Development Through Soccer" programme in South Africa. The idea behind this sport-pedagogical programme is to use the popularity of football to inform young people about HIV and to teach them life skills. Footballers and football trainers are given the utmost respect in South Africa, above all by young adults. Within the framework of the football training, many young people are much more open and receptive to receiving information about HIV and life skills, than they would be in seminars or in school. Development through Soccer:
- offers HIV/AIDS information by people that enjoy the respect of the children
- teaches life skills and life prospects
- supports health and the physical development of young people though sports activities and
- provides children with a safe environment after school.
This approach, developed by Africans, has been implemented for many years and has been distinguished as effective and culturally-suitable by many studies from different universities. You can find out how this works in practice:
With the donations received for the kickHIV! campaign, Go Ahead! finances the pedagogical football projects of the Umzingisi Foundation. The organisation works in the Eastern Cape province. This is one of the poorest regions in South Africa. Two football camps have already been made possible, in which hundreds of children take part in a "development through soccer" programme during the school holidays.
The 2010 kickHIV! campaign by Go Ahead!
With a campaign marathon from May to July 2010, many young people together with Go Ahead! proved that the football world cup in South Africa meant more to them than just a show and marketing for FIFA. From Kiel to Kempten, in over 40 places around 60 campaigns took place under the motto "kickHIV!". The campaigners combined educational work, charity and entertainment with benefit concerts, football tournaments and theatre performances. Around € 30,000 in donations was collected and it was pointed out by countless fellow citizens that away from the football arenas in South Africa, the AIDS pandemic continues and many young people have no access to educational opportunities.
kickHIV! was financially supported by Continental, NewYorker and RWE. Famous kickHIV! ambassadors were Philipp Lahm, Mesut Özil, Cassandra Steen, Steffen Groth, Bartholomäus Grill and Cosma Shiva Hagen.
More information on kickHIV!: www.kickhiv.de
Final report of the kickHIV! campaign: Download (pdf, in German)