Although I am an Education Volunteer, it is our secondary project to focus on the HIV/AIDS epidemic that is currently plaguing Lesotho. Approximately 25% of Basotho are suffering from HIV/AIDS. Although it is a multifaceted issue, some of the problem is perpetuated from the fear of testing itself. Because the disease is predominantly spread through unsafe sexual activity, and has had a history of homosexual prevalence, to have HIV/AIDS creates certain stigmas and myths that make people choose to remain unaware of their status rather than to seek medicine and counseling.
In my high school, I did a pre-survey just to see how many students knew their status or whether they have ever been tested for HIV/AIDS. Approximately only 5% of the students knew their status or had ever been tested. In a country where the HIV/AIDS rate is so high, this minute fraction is horrifying. I am almost certain that this statistic can be extrapolated to many rural high schools, and diminishes to nothingness in communities without a clinic.
HIV/AIDS can be a very touchy subject, and being an outsider it would be unwise to rush into any testing event without knowing the community’s background. Peace Corps Volunteers are also given intensive training on the ideas of development through sustainability, with a grassroots and cultural awareness focus. It has sometimes been criticized as a slow, and often ineffective form of development, but this Tournament was done in probably the most Peace Corps possible way, and that is what I am most proud, and most happy for. The Peace Corps way is a very challenging approach but after seeing the success of the tournament and its many hopefully long lasting effects, I couldn’t have done it any other way.
I moved to Fobane back in December 2012, and roughly a few months in I met a very inspired man who is a volunteer primary school teacher in pursuit of a full bachelor’s degree in education. He quickly discussed with me his idea of hosting an HIV/AIDS Testing Soccer Tournament. I was quickly intrigued but remained hesitant. Many people have ideas, but if it looks like a host country national is expecting you to do all the work, Peace Corps tells us that the project will most likely fail. Our job here is not to do things, but to do things with people and build the capacity of our counterparts so that they can carry on the work when we leave. What is the point of developing an area and having it fall apart in the years of our absence? I learned this while doing an extensive peer tutoring program between the primary and high school. A certain teacher told me of the great idea and began to implement it with me, but unfortunately left me high and dry. I began to get frustrated, and unable to maintain the program on my own and eventually had to abandon the project because the motivation and dedication didn’t originate in the host country national. It wasn’t a failure, but it certainly wasn’t a success. Therefore, when this bright man, Ntate Mboeane, approached me with his idea of the tournament, I decided to wait until he really wanted to initiate its fruition.
Over the many months we occasionally met dreaming and prophesizing over what the tournament would be like. I kept my ground and gave no inclination that I would do any work unless he was serious. Then suddenly without warning he brought me another person named Peter Mokete who shared the interest, and told me it was time to start the tournament. His exact words were, “Because you are leaving this year, we have to start this tournament now.” And so we began…
We had weekly Wednesday meetings where we each equally divided our jobs. Ntate Peter was the Fobane Soccer Team liaison. He relayed all the information, sent out the invitations, and collected questions and registration fees from the 13 teams that eventually participated. My job was to find ways to raise funds, and coordinate with the testers. Ntate Mboeane was the key player though, as Peace Corps taught me he should be. He was the liaison between Peter and myself. He was also the one, who called all the shots, spoke to the chief, spoke to the clinic, made all the culturally sensitive decisions, spread word with the community, and organized the entirety of the tournament.
Over the course of two months, we fundraised over 2500 Maloti, or about $250. This money was allocated strictly for the prizes, which we decided as,
12 gold medals for getting 1st place in the tournament, 12 silver medals for placing 2nd in the tournament, and most importantly the team that encouraged the largest number of fans to test for HIV/AIDS would receive 13 jerseys. We made the focus of the tournament testing and coincided it with the biggest interest of the community: football. By making the most valuable prize for testing, we predicted that teams would be less resistant to forcing fans to test in their name.
To raise money my counterpart and I ran around our local towns asking small shops for donations. Each shop was willing to give whatever they could spare which ranged from 2 Rand to 50 Rand. I used to bargain a lot with the Chinese here, and I enveloped a reputation (They call me Ntate Chipi) but because I also brought them business from a few other volunteers many gave me large donations during the solicitation. Quick Fact: Basotho don’t generally like the Chinese because they have very cheap prices and can outcompete local shops, but when I was walking around the Chinese shopkeepers seemed almost proud to help out their country. Perhaps things are changing. In addition, I am fortunate to be of Indian descent, because the local Indian people really enjoyed donating to our cause as well. Our favorite place to hang out had also “Kenya Letsoho” (Offered a hand) to our cause by donating about 450 Rand to buy heavy gold medals. The churches in our community of Fobane raised awareness and funds, along with our high school. Although at this point we were still running short, we reached out to our local government where an extremely helpful Minister who was born in our rural village offered help by donating a large sum to our cause without even requiring and asking for recognition. This is an indication that not all the world and governments are corrupt, and that some people just do good to do good.
Everything was shaping up well for the tournament, but Ntate Mboeane and I (I call him Boyane) were certainly getting a bit stressed and anxious. We needed to find a waynot just to bring testing, but more motivation and education on the importance of testing. Therefore we found it absolutely critical to call Sesotho Media who came on April 2nd, just a few days before the tournament, to educate our high school students on testing. For many this was theirfirst time hearing someone openly come out and say that they were HIV positive. It was many of their first time to be educated on the dangers of HIV/AIDS from a Mosotho (trust me I pester enough in class, but having a Mosotho come and explain was superiorly more effective and meaningful). Like wildfire, this information was spread to the primary school, and propogated through the community. Sesotho Media also gave many students magazines/comics on HIV/AIDS where they took home to show their parents and friends.
A few days later the tournament began…
The first of 12 games started at 9:40am (40 minutes late meant we were perfectly on schedule). We were supposed to have 8 testers come at 9:00am, but unfortunately the first day of testing was a bust. We had only 3 testers show at 11:40am, who all left at 2:30am testing only about 52 people. They also refused to test women, or anyone under the age of 18. The demographic they were looking for was something we were unaware. They turned away over 300 people who were very excited to test and to support their team. I have to say, that was our low point. The 6 games went well, and the organization of the games went flawlessly, but the point of the tournament was testing and we wallowed over the wasted 3 months and 2500 Rand on a miserly 52 people to be tested. I am very fortunate to have had other Peace Corps Volunteers there who lifted my spirits in statements such as, “At least you had 52, at ours we had none,” or “That’s 52 more than ever would have tested here,” and even, “At least you tried, I know I wouldn’t have.”
But the story isn’t over – we had a backup plan. We knew that testers can often be unreliable, so we made a deal with the local clinic that if not enough people could test on the Saturdays of the tournament, that we would require the help of the clinic. In the following 5 days, we had around 250 people tested. The clinic was on fire. The information was again sent through the students that if anyone wants to test to go to the clinic. The clinic come to us in the schools where one tester on a Wednesday and a Friday tested 97 and 92 people respectively within 4 hour testing sessions. These nurses were truly miracles. What we had learned at that point was that only local resources really are there to crave development – A Peace Corps Point. Bringing in testers from the outside wasn’t the solution (although I spoke to their boss and our luck turned around for the 2nd Saturday of the tournament).
On the final day, 5 testers showed up at 8:45am (15 minutes early is essentially unheard of, I was still brushing my teeth). They tested about 160 people. The games got very heated as our school team competed against a neighboring village team for the gold. The school team won (I was told not to play because they needed to win). All in all, there were approximately 2000 people within the 2 days of the tournament, and an invaluable 458 people tested. Placing the medals over the player’s heads, and telling the community on its remarkable success at testing while handing the jerseys to our team was the emphatic symbol of success.
The next phase of this tournament, is to see whether my counterpart will replicate it. He now has all the contacts, the know-how, and his motivation and inspiration seem to have even unparalleled vigor. He is the agent of change in Fobane, I can tell. He is the one; he would take the red pill.
Now when I walk around village, everyone really seems to know me. They see my value. They see that I am not just that white volunteer forcing them to see my way. I predict they see me now as a valued member of our community who works with rather than for…to make our livelihood better, brighter, and healthier.
