Grassroots Soccer

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For the last two months, one of my counterparts and I have been going to the local school every Wednesday and Friday to deliver Grassroots Soccer sessions to a group of twenty-one adolescent girls. Since our sessions at the school will be coming to a close when the girls graduate tomorrow, I thought it might not be a bad time to clue you in on what I've been up to.

I ran away to Ghana to become a professional soccer player.

Grassroots Soccer (GRS) is an NGO that partners with Peace Corps in countries around the world. GRS is a method that volunteers can use to deliver education about HIV/AIDS, birth control, and healthy relationships, among other things. Although soccer (or football, as Ghanaians call it) is involved, the focus of GRS is using games and activities to help students talk about difficult subjects, and to help them feel empowered to take action in their homes and communities.

A typical session goes like this: my counterpart, Evelyn, and I arrive at school around 8:00. We spend the first ten minutes or so singing songs and playing games--I taught them a song about a moose, and now, even though they have no idea what a moose actually is, they insist on singing it two or three times a day. After that, we'll pull our desks into a circle and spend the next hour or so engaged in discussions and activities for our topics of the week. One of my favorite weeks was when we talked about saying "no" to unwanted sexual advances. The girls broke up into teams and were given scenarios about when and how someone might try to coerce them into sex. They acted out the scenarios, and practiced saying NO. I was so proud to see how forceful and direct they were!

One of my counterparts talking to the girls about goal-setting.


We also spend a lot of time playing games like "Fact or Nonsense." My counterpart and I will read a scenario, like "HIV/AIDS can only be spread through sexual intercourse," and the girls have to decide if it's fact or nonsense. I feel like this is where the GRS curriculum has made the most difference; we're able to deliver a lot of new material, and it's hopefully being delivered in a memorable way.

After that's done, though, we get to the part the girls like most: soccer! I lead them through some yoga stretches to warm up, and then we hit the fields. Evidence suggests that physical activity is positively correlated with school performance, which I imagine is part of the reason that these activities are included--but it's also just a lot of fun! The girls chose a name for their team--Beauty Ladies--and over the months we've been coming to the school, the Beauty Ladies have turned into some serious footballers.



Action shot!

For the most part, my counterpart takes the lead in GRS. The girls don't speak a lot of English, and there's only so much I can do in Ewe. I am lucky to have a counterpart who is so eager, engaged, and ready to help me. I still feel like I've connected with the girls in a positive way, though. The other day, I was feeling sick, and after school, most of the team dropped by my house to check on me. I still wasn't in great shape, but it was one of the happiest moments I've had in Ghana.

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