Ugandan adolescents, generally, do not voluntarily present themselves at healthcare facilities, particularly not for sexual and reproductive health services that require them to speak about sensitive and potentially embarrassing incidents in their sex lives with adult medical staff.
The project’s methodology draws on this fact, and takes the services to where the young people are and want to be, namely: on the football pitch. Instead of intimidating men in white coats, service providers are football coaches, trusted role models for these young people who can engage them through innovative and interactive football games and can deliver information in a youth-friendly, non-judgemental way.
The project mainly targets girls aged 12 to 18 plus 30 adult (female) volunteers as coaches.
SOL’s contribution
TackleAfrica has moved from the pilot stage that Laureus funded in Burkina Faso to secure long-term funding for their work in the region. In a consequence, from 2019 onwards, Laureus planned to support their next pilot in East Africa for one year.
With the support of The SOL Foundation those funds will be matched to allow the pilot to run for two years.