"Futbol para la Vida" Training of Trainers in Guatemala

Futbol para la Vida (FPV) and Grassroot Soccer (GRS) are collaborating this month with Mercy Corps to conduct a training of new HIV/AIDS educators in Guatemala. The 5-day training will be conducted by Zak Kaufman, FPV co-founder and Director of Research and Advocacy for GRS, and Yanlico Munesi Dusdal, regional coordinator for FPV in the Valverde and Santiago Provinces of the Dominican Republic.

Mercy Corps has previously partnered with Grassroot Soccer to delivered sports-based HIV/AIDS prevention education programs for youth in Liberia and Sudan. This will be their first Spanish-language GRS-inspired program and will support not only an HIV prevention program in Guatemala, but will also result in a new translation of the GRS/FPV coaches manual.

To learn more about Mercy Corps programs on HIV with youth in Guatemala, check out the following video on YouTube:

3rd Annual FPV Program at DREAM Camp

This July marks the third summer that peer educators from our Futbol para la Vida (FPV) program are running an HIV/AIDS prevention education component to the annual Guzman Ariza Summer School and Camp of the Dominican Republic Education and Mentoring (DREAM) Project. This year's peer educators include Milanda and Nico from Batey Libertad, and Fefe from Barrio Saman.

The annual camp is grounded in principles of peace education from the Montessori teaching method, serving 250 youth in the northern coastal town of Cabarete. In this tourist area of the Puerto Plata Province the school drop-out rate is higher than the national average, with an estimated 85% of high school age youth not attending school. Low school participation is one of the main factors contributing to lacking knowledge and inaccurate perceptions about HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases (see blog on FPV research).

The Futbol para la Vida program is modeled after the Grassroot Soccer curriculum, using games, role play, and peer mentors to provide youth with accurate information about HIV/AIDS, prevention strategies, and encourage compassion and caring for the victims of AIDS. FPV programs are run throughout the Valverde and Puerto Plata provinces of the Dominican Republic, with training of trainers run with many partnering non-governmental organizations and local communities.

A newsletter created by camp volunteers and students is available here. For more information on volunteer opportunities or other ways to support the DREAM Project, please see their web page at: http://www.dominicandream.org. Other stories on Futbol para la Vida are available on this blog, as well as general information at: http://www.futbolparalavida.org.