WhizzKids United is a youth

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

prevention, care, treatment and support programme that uses

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

as an educational medium to facilitate healthy behaviour change. The programme is based in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and is run by Africaid, a registered charity in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

(Reg. No. 1045461) and South Africa (Reg. No. 051-379-NPO).

Background

WhizzKids United was created by Marcus McGilvray, a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

HIV nurse specialist who worked with the

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

Department of Health on the ARV roll-out. The programme is rooted in the

Social Cognitive Theory Social cognitive theory (SCT), used in psychology, education, and communication, holds that portions of an individual's knowledge acquisition can be directly related to observing others within the context of social interactions, experiences, and ...

of behaviour and was developed over several years of practical experience working with adolescents in KwaZulu-Natal. Studies have consistently found that KwaZulu-Natal has the highest HIV

prevalence In epidemiology, prevalence is the proportion of a particular population found to be affected by a medical condition (typically a disease or a risk factor such as smoking or seatbelt use) at a specific time. It is derived by comparing the number o ...

of any province in South Africa, with approximately 25% of the population infected in the 15-49 age group. The programme was piloted in Edendale in 2006 and later expanded to

Umlazi Umlazi is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban. Organisationally and administratively it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and its South Municipal Planning Region. It is the fourth largest ...

and Jozini in KwaZulu-Natal as well as

Rustenburg Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a city at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West province, South Africa (549,575 in 2011 and 626,522 in the 2016 census). In 2017 ...

North West Province North West is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Mahikeng. The province is located to the west of the major population centre of Gauteng and south of Botswana. History North West was incorporated after the end of Apartheid in 1994, an ...

and areas of

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

province. The U.K. arm of the organisation also runs programmes in

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, as well as in the

itself at

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

youth clubs in partnership with the

Football Foundation The Football Foundation is the United Kingdom's largest sports charity, channelling funding from the Premier League, The FA and the government (through Sport England) into transforming the landscape of grassroots sport in England. History Launc ...

Programme Overview

WhizzKids United is an HIV prevention programme focusing primarily on Grade 6 and 7 students and consisting of three components. On the Ball is an eight-session curriculum which uses football drills and games to teach

life skills Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable humans to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life. This concept is also termed as psychosocial competency. The subject varies greatly depending on social norm ...

interactively by using the game as a

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wit ...

for life. This course is followed by

peer education Peer education is an approach to health promotion, in which community members are supported to promote health-enhancing change among their peers. Peer education is the teaching or sharing of health information, values and behavior in educating othe ...

workshops focusing on sexual health. The long-term component of the programme is the Health Academy, a holistic adolescent-friendly sexual health clinic which offers free

HIV testing HIV tests are used to detect the presence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), in serum, saliva, or urine. Such tests may detect antibodies, antigens, or RNA. AIDS diagn ...

Antiretroviral treatment The management of HIV/AIDS normally includes the use of multiple antiretroviral drugs as a strategy to control HIV infection. There are several classes of antiretroviral agents that act on different stages of the HIV life-cycle. The use of multiple ...

, Orphans and Vulnerable support and other services, along with recreational and educational activities such as football leagues and computer resource centres. The programme recognises the gendered nature of HIV/AIDS in South Africa and as such includes gender equality as a central theme.

Association with Football for Hope

Since 2007, WhizzKids United has been a member of streetfootballworld, a

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

-based worldwide network of

youth development Positive youth development (PYD) programs are designed to optimize youth developmental progress. ''Youth.gov'' states that "PYD is an intentional, prosocial approach that engages youth within their communities, schools, organizations, peer groups, ...

through football projects. streetfootballworld implements Football for Hope, the social responsibility movement of

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

. In July 2010, WhizzKids United participated in the Football for Hope Festival 2010 in

Alexandra Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "prot ...

, an official part of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

. In August 2010, FIFA announced that as part of the 20 Centres for 2010 campaign, FIFA has selected the WhizzKids United Health Academy in Edendale, KwaZulu-Natal to be one of the 20 Football for Hope Centres across Africa.

Awards and Accolades

* The programme is enthusiastically endorsed by Dr. Bruce Walker of

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

, one of the world's leading HIV/AIDS researchers. *

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Owner John Henry visited and endorsed the programme in July 2009 * In March 2010, WhizzKids United won the award for Best Sport for Health project at the Global Sports Forum in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

. * In June 2010, WhizzKids United was formally endorsed by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in a letter from

Wilfried Lemke Wilfried Lemke (born on 19 August 1946) serves as United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace. He was appointed to the position by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on 18 March 2008. Lemk ...

, Special Advisor to the U.N. Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace. This endorsement was renewed in March 2012.

References

{{reflist, refs= British nurse kickstarts South Africa HIV charity (1 March 2010). Daily Mirror article. http://blogs.mirror.co.uk/developing-world-stories/2010/03/british-nurse-kickstarts-south.html A higher goal (24 April 2007). Mail & Guardian article. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2007/apr/24/voluntarysector Health KwaZulu-Natal. "Edendale Newsletter April–July 2010". http://www.kznhealth.gov.za/edendale/edendaily18.pdf Shishana et al (2009). "South African national HIV prevalence, incidence, behaviour and communication survey, 2008". http://www.hsrcpress.ac.za/product.php?productid=2279 South African Department of Health (2009). "2008 National Antenatal Sentinel HIV and Syphilis Prevalence Survey". http://www.doh.gov.za/docs/reports/2009/nassps/index.html WhizzKids United Sexual Health Programme. Charlton Athletic website. Accessed 17 September 2010. http://www.cact.org.uk/newsitem.php?id=318 Football Foundation - Featured strategic partners. http://www.footballfoundation.org.uk/about-us/our-strategic-partners/whizz-kids/ Accessed 17 September 2010 Football Foundation Onside Newsletter - Issue 25, page 7. http://www.footballfoundation.org.uk/digitalpublications/onside/issue25/index.html Africaid opens Health Academy for KZN teens. (3 June 2010) South Africa - the Good News http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/world_cup_legacy/africaid_opens_health_academy_for_kzn_teens.html Farrar, Thomas. Levelling the Playing Field: WhizzKids United promoting gender equality. (26 February 2010) Gender and Media Diversity Journal, 8th ed. {{ISBN, 978-1-920550-41-7. http://www.genderlinks.org.za/article/levelling-the-playing-field-whizzkids-united-promoting-gender-equality-2010-03-03 Streetfootballworld Website - All Members - Africaid. http://www.streetfootballworld.org/network/all-nwm/africaid. Accessed 17 September 2010 Football for Hope Festival 2010 - African Delegations

Accessed 17 September 2010 Life, on the Soccer Field. Harvard Magazine Online, 19 August 2010. http://harvardmagazine.com/extras/life-on-the-soccer-field WhizzKids United: From HIV Vaccine Development to Soccer. http://www.ragoninstitute.org/newsletter/vol_2/newsletter_vol_2.htm#whizzkid. Accessed 30 September 2010 Global Sports Forum Barcelona Trophies 2010. http://www.globalsportsforum.org/index.aspx?news=1370. Accessed 17 September 2010 Message of Support by Mr. Wilfried Lemke. http://www.whizzkidsunited.org/downloads_content/2012-03-28_Renewed%20Message%20of%20Support_WhizzKids%20United.pdf. Accessed 5 April 2012

External links

Official website of WhizzKids United

Official website of streetfootballworld

HIV/AIDS organizations Medical and health organisations based in South Africa Street football