K4L Lesotho strategy
K4L is dedicating its efforts to tackling HIV/AIDS in Lesotho, a nation that has been devastated by the disease. The initial Lesotho strategy will focus on delivering education and health programmes as outlined in the 'K4L Lesotho Delivery Model'.
The education programme consists of the K4L Curriculum and an Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Scholarship Scheme. K4L will focus on developing a nationwide network of trainers to deliver the K4L Curriculum to young people. The internationally recognised curriculum is an activities-based programme that primarily aims to deliver HIV prevention education and to develop critical life skills in young people. K4L will be training school teachers, sports coaches and other community role models to deliver the curriculum. The curriculum delivery will have a specific focus OVC's. The OVC Scholarship Scheme will identify and support severely disadvantaged youth through secondary education and then support them onto employment.
The health programme consists of the 'Test Your Team' and 'Children's Health Day' campaigns. The initiaives are a series of one-day events linking football with HIV education and testing on-site. Those who are found to be positive are linked immidiately to appropriate medical facilities. The 'Test Your Team' campaign, in particular, is the first of it's kind worldwide, and has gained international recognition.
The strategy has been developed in partnership with Architects For Aid, an organisation which specialises in building sustainable projects in the developing world. It has also been backed by Sentebale, a charity set up jointly by Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, which aims to build a better life for children and young people. Prince Harry spent time in Lesotho during his gap year in 2004.
K4L’s UK Director Steve Fleming said: “There is an HIV prevalence of 24% in Lesotho and this is expected to rise to 36% in the next 15 years. We aim to play a part in reversing this trend by using football to engage and educate people throughout the nation about HIV and how to prevent and treat the disease.”
