Wow - this is super cool. I've been interested to learn more about how media is evolving to be both more accurate but also more educational about the role of sport and how it can shift behavior. It's great to see that you're invovled in that industry.
Are you familiar with WeOwnTV? They are a dynamic organization that conducts capacity building for communities who want to participate in media. Check them out - they do a lot of work in Africa and one of their very own, Black Nature (of the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars) works with them. They are awesome. http://www.weowntv.org/
Can you also tell us about the role of women and your organization? Do you plan to highlight female athletic heroes in order to defy stereotypes about HIV? How do you hope to use them as role models for people in South Africa?
Sport is critical is helping to provide education and a bridge to learning across the world and particularly here in South Africa. There are many awesome projects that do so.
Women form the majority of our board members and stake holders. We work closely with Move! magazine (South Africa's number 1 women's magazine) to convey the stories of women living with HIV, the challenges that they face and how they have responded to them. We don't 'preach' any particular message but rather share testimonies.
Our women's Ultra-marathon team will completely challenge the stero-type of women slowing fading away in silence and disgrace (women as you know already have huge issues including gender discrimination, violence, poverty, lack of education, historical oppression to deal with).
We want to show women living with HIV as the strong capable and enduring people that they are and how that in order to be all that they can they need to manage this condition known as HIV. Our role models will show how they have re-focused on their long term life goals (reaching the end of the marathon) and in order to do that they need to take ARVs, eat well, drink clean water and exercise.
Dealing with HIV is not easy - it is hard work that involves training, education and actively choosing to live (or run the race).
We aim to launch the team within the next few weeks and have been recruiting athletes by running stories in Move! magazine. We are not creating the Positive Heroes - they are already there - we just aim to publicise them and give women hope to balance the huge fear.
Thank you for the heads up on WeOwnTV - I have sent the information to Brooke, who is our creative head. I appreciate your interest and support.
I am very glad to see your project here. It is very inspiring.
Do you think working with role models of women in SA will increase your outreach? If you see an opportunity in that direction, who could be those role models?
Absolutely female role models have a huge outreach due to their central role in South African society, the various South African cultures, NGOs and Government.
Women have a decisive role in influencing other members of their families, communities and in particular children.
We seek our role models from as wide a rage of communities, backgrounds and regions as possible. This is particularly important in South Africa as the country is highly diverse (i.e. the 11 official languages) and divided by deeply rooted social inequalities. This diversity has made it very difficult to carry out HIV awareness campaigns that actually influence people’s behaviour.
Your program is clearly going to have a great impact on many lives. It seems like there could be an opportunity to create some great convening moments with the assistance/promotion from MOVE! - such as running events w/education component or group runs that also function as a support group for the members. Are you all planning anything like that?
Continued success to you and your team...
Kevin Carroll
Changemakers Featured Commentator
Sport for a Better World Competition
Yes we are intending to have events - Move! already have Stokvel events and we are siing how we can arrange events to co-inside with the interests of two other corporate partners who's campaigns we in the process of finalising.
I would like to invite you to join the Women Win group at the competition.
Women Win is the first ever international women’s fund that supports sport and physical activities as instruments for social change and women’s empowerment.
Women Win will use the competition to find a fellow between the ages of 15 and 65 years old that positively change the lives of women and girls in their community through sports.
Thanks for your message and the heads up on joining the Women Win group - I love the concept.
It is really uplifting to come into contact and read about so many wonderful projects using women and sport as a medium for social change and empowerment.
How fabulous to see Evie's smiling face on this page. I'm always struck by how many marathons most African women have to run every day - and the challenges they face can turn those into Ultras. The work Positive Heroes is doing by spreading the message of hope and possibility is beautifully underlined by seeing this slim, smiling, happy woman pulling on her nikes and heading out for a run! In Africa - anything and everything is possible.
I agree there are strong parallels and metaphors between what African women face as challenges and the marathons and Ultras that Evie and Positive Heroes run.
The learning and education is to a large degree unscripted allowing individual connections and learning to be taken, therefore avoiding trying to impose particular worldviews or cultural norms.
Naturally i agree that Evie is a wonderful role model and that her story is incredibly inspiring.
Positive Heroes do not aim to preach but rather to share their stories, elaborating on the challenges that they have faced and how they responded and overcame them. We want women and men to identify with Heroes and by engaging with their stories make their own conclusions and meanings.
We hope that by having our Heroes from as wider a range of communities as possible we will be able to provide someone for everyone to be able to identify with.
The Ultra-marathon team will also provide an educational program providing people with life skills and tools to empower them to life positively setting long and short term life goals and identifying the steps that as you say need to be tackled one at a time.
Naturally i agree that Evie is a wonderful role model and that her story is incredibly inspiring.
Positive Heroes do not aim to preach but rather to share their stories, elaborating on the challenges that they have faced and how they responded and overcame them. We want women and men to identify with Heroes and by engaging with their stories make their own conclusions and meanings.
We hope that by having our Heroes from as wider a range of communities as possible we will be able to provide someone for everyone to be able to identify with.
The Ultra-marathon team will also provide an educational program providing people with life skills and tools to empower them to life positively setting long and short term life goals and identifying the steps that as you say need to be tackled one at a time.
What a fabulous entry! I personally find it hugely inspirational.
It's greta that your focus is on an issue that many avoid, which in turns causes isolation of those indivduals who are ill with the disease. This is such a shame, if only people were more educated on this issue then things would be much better.
Giving these individuals a chance of a better life and to remove any shame and fear from them regarding their illness is tremendous and all involved should be proud of themselves.
Do you not get much response from funders over in sounth africa for a campaign such as this? Especially as it seems you do a lot of media work which should increase awareness within the community?
I look forward to reading your response :)
Holly
Holly Searson
Director
The Football Coaching Company
Nottingham, UK
07980191327
Thank you so much for your comment - it means a lot to know that you find the campaign as inspirational as we do.
We are officially launching the ultra-marathon team, all living with HIV, in the next couple of weeks. They will run the Two Oceans (56km) and Comrades (89km) in April and May this year.
We actually really struggle with sponsorship though how to have a greater effort fund-raising this year. Hopefully as we now have several projects off the ground we can attract some funders.
One of the problems is that we are trying to have an impact on changing the way HIV is viewed and balancing the fear that is out there with some hope. This however is difficult to measure.
Would appreciate any ideas you may have. Also as I see you're involved with football there's a great organisation out here called GrassRootSoccer - maybe check them out - you can get to their website via our links page: http://positiveheroes.org.za/links/
You are very welcome :) It's nice to see that people are making real efforts towards causes such as this.
That's great news on what you are doing. I'd really like it if you would keep in touch and let me know how you are getting on?
You obviously use media already quite successfully. However, what are you methods of targeting particular audiences through the internet, TV and radio? I would suggest that you use all 4 means of media to really push your project - Try to expose yourselves as much as you possibly can!
When you host an event cover all media aspects and make sure you use local newspapers and other magazines etc - try and get them to write articles on you and through this you can get across what you want to say to the audiences you wish to target.
Thank you for that suggestion to get in touch with GrassRootsSoccer - I will have a look at their website and get in touch to see if there are any projects The FCC could do out in South Africa.
All the best,
Holly
Holly Searson
Director
The Football Coaching Company
Nottingham, UK
07980191327
Thanks for your comments and suggestions. We are currently looking at how we can use the internet and social media more. We have a facebook page but need to get more traffic to it and our website. Hopefully we can develop these to make them more interactive.
Also think it is great to use local media (newspapers and radio) more. As we are all volunteers it is hard to cover all the bases at present but we hope to employ by the end of this year, two people who will be able to do all this.
It would be great to see a soccer tournament that included several players living openly with HIV.
Positive Hereos is a wonderful initiative, it addresses a huge problem in our communities about living with HIV/ Aids. Even the most open minded people still cannot get over the stigmas associated with this chronic manageable disease, people still view HIV/Aids as a death sentence, they view people living with HIV as ticking time bombs and delibaratley exclude them from society.
Even though media and government are trying to educate people - it is not enough.
People still do not understand that it is the 'not knowing' and 'not doing' that can shorten your life rather than the virus.
"Ignorance" and fear is one of the major challenges and thanks to organisations such as Positive Heroes, ignorance can be eventually eroded and people both infected and affected can live healthy, fulfilling and positive lifes armed with knowlegde.
I agree entirely with your comments - it is not the medical side that kills but rather the silence and shame that still surround HIV in South Africa.
We hope that by highlighting role models in a variety of methods we can help change the way people engage with and respond to HIV.
An initiative we hope to launch shortly will add an education aspect to our ultra-marathon team in the hope that people will not only have the efficacy but self-efficacy to help themselves.
Perhaps we can have some Heroes play the 3 Tin Game. Also would be neat to work in some gentle forms of education using the tin cans and teams as metaphors. What do you think.
That is a super idea, we actually had our first 3 Tin League tournament on the 1st of December, we used the game to create an awareness about World Aids Day and it was amazing to find that some people didn't even know what world aids day was all about.
Maybe this year we can collaborate another World Aids Day Event.
Comments
Hi Gavin,
Wow - this is super cool. I've been interested to learn more about how media is evolving to be both more accurate but also more educational about the role of sport and how it can shift behavior. It's great to see that you're invovled in that industry.
Are you familiar with WeOwnTV? They are a dynamic organization that conducts capacity building for communities who want to participate in media. Check them out - they do a lot of work in Africa and one of their very own, Black Nature (of the Sierra Leone Refugee All Stars) works with them. They are awesome. http://www.weowntv.org/
Can you also tell us about the role of women and your organization? Do you plan to highlight female athletic heroes in order to defy stereotypes about HIV? How do you hope to use them as role models for people in South Africa?
Thanks for entering!
Stephani
Nike
Dear Stephani,
Thanks so much for your message.
Sport is critical is helping to provide education and a bridge to learning across the world and particularly here in South Africa. There are many awesome projects that do so.
Women form the majority of our board members and stake holders. We work closely with Move! magazine (South Africa's number 1 women's magazine) to convey the stories of women living with HIV, the challenges that they face and how they have responded to them. We don't 'preach' any particular message but rather share testimonies.
Our women's Ultra-marathon team will completely challenge the stero-type of women slowing fading away in silence and disgrace (women as you know already have huge issues including gender discrimination, violence, poverty, lack of education, historical oppression to deal with).
We want to show women living with HIV as the strong capable and enduring people that they are and how that in order to be all that they can they need to manage this condition known as HIV. Our role models will show how they have re-focused on their long term life goals (reaching the end of the marathon) and in order to do that they need to take ARVs, eat well, drink clean water and exercise.
Dealing with HIV is not easy - it is hard work that involves training, education and actively choosing to live (or run the race).
We aim to launch the team within the next few weeks and have been recruiting athletes by running stories in Move! magazine. We are not creating the Positive Heroes - they are already there - we just aim to publicise them and give women hope to balance the huge fear.
Thank you for the heads up on WeOwnTV - I have sent the information to Brooke, who is our creative head. I appreciate your interest and support.
Best regards
Gavin
Hi Gavin,
I am very glad to see your project here. It is very inspiring.
Do you think working with role models of women in SA will increase your outreach? If you see an opportunity in that direction, who could be those role models?
cheers
Aykan
Hi Aykan,
Thank you for your comments and support.
Absolutely female role models have a huge outreach due to their central role in South African society, the various South African cultures, NGOs and Government.
Women have a decisive role in influencing other members of their families, communities and in particular children.
We seek our role models from as wide a rage of communities, backgrounds and regions as possible. This is particularly important in South Africa as the country is highly diverse (i.e. the 11 official languages) and divided by deeply rooted social inequalities. This diversity has made it very difficult to carry out HIV awareness campaigns that actually influence people’s behaviour.
Best wishes
Gavin
Congratulations, Gavin + team!
Your program is clearly going to have a great impact on many lives. It seems like there could be an opportunity to create some great convening moments with the assistance/promotion from MOVE! - such as running events w/education component or group runs that also function as a support group for the members. Are you all planning anything like that?
Continued success to you and your team...
Kevin Carroll
Changemakers Featured Commentator
Sport for a Better World Competition
Dear Kevin,
Thank you for your comments and wishes.
Yes we are intending to have events - Move! already have Stokvel events and we are siing how we can arrange events to co-inside with the interests of two other corporate partners who's campaigns we in the process of finalising.
Thanks again for your encouragement.
Gavin
Hello Gavin!
Finally a cool entry on Running! Congratulations!
I would like to invite you to join the Women Win group at the competition.
Women Win is the first ever international women’s fund that supports sport and physical activities as instruments for social change and women’s empowerment.
Women Win will use the competition to find a fellow between the ages of 15 and 65 years old that positively change the lives of women and girls in their community through sports.
Please go to http://sportforchange.changemakers.com/en-us/group/womenwin and click on join this group. After that go to topics being discussed and create a topic for debate or participate by telling Women Win more about your project!
Good Luck with your entry!
Dear Renata
Thanks for your message and the heads up on joining the Women Win group - I love the concept.
It is really uplifting to come into contact and read about so many wonderful projects using women and sport as a medium for social change and empowerment.
Many thanks
Gavin
How fabulous to see Evie's smiling face on this page. I'm always struck by how many marathons most African women have to run every day - and the challenges they face can turn those into Ultras. The work Positive Heroes is doing by spreading the message of hope and possibility is beautifully underlined by seeing this slim, smiling, happy woman pulling on her nikes and heading out for a run! In Africa - anything and everything is possible.
Dear Sue,
I agree there are strong parallels and metaphors between what African women face as challenges and the marathons and Ultras that Evie and Positive Heroes run.
The learning and education is to a large degree unscripted allowing individual connections and learning to be taken, therefore avoiding trying to impose particular worldviews or cultural norms.
Thanks for your comment.
Gavin
Hi Gavin
OMG, I have been a fan of Evie for ever I think. Her story is so moving and for her to be in this campaign I think is long overdue.
I feel that in a country where HIV and Aids is a reall issue, people such as Evie are there not preach but to lead by example.
For me she represents all that is Mzansi, the feelging that nothing is insurmountable if you take one step at a time.
Dear Zama
Thank you for writing and sharing your comments.
Naturally i agree that Evie is a wonderful role model and that her story is incredibly inspiring.
Positive Heroes do not aim to preach but rather to share their stories, elaborating on the challenges that they have faced and how they responded and overcame them. We want women and men to identify with Heroes and by engaging with their stories make their own conclusions and meanings.
We hope that by having our Heroes from as wider a range of communities as possible we will be able to provide someone for everyone to be able to identify with.
The Ultra-marathon team will also provide an educational program providing people with life skills and tools to empower them to life positively setting long and short term life goals and identifying the steps that as you say need to be tackled one at a time.
Thanks again for your support.
Gavin
Dear Zama
Thank you for writing and sharing your comments.
Naturally i agree that Evie is a wonderful role model and that her story is incredibly inspiring.
Positive Heroes do not aim to preach but rather to share their stories, elaborating on the challenges that they have faced and how they responded and overcame them. We want women and men to identify with Heroes and by engaging with their stories make their own conclusions and meanings.
We hope that by having our Heroes from as wider a range of communities as possible we will be able to provide someone for everyone to be able to identify with.
The Ultra-marathon team will also provide an educational program providing people with life skills and tools to empower them to life positively setting long and short term life goals and identifying the steps that as you say need to be tackled one at a time.
Thanks again for your support.
Gavin
Hi Gavin,
What a fabulous entry! I personally find it hugely inspirational.
It's greta that your focus is on an issue that many avoid, which in turns causes isolation of those indivduals who are ill with the disease. This is such a shame, if only people were more educated on this issue then things would be much better.
Giving these individuals a chance of a better life and to remove any shame and fear from them regarding their illness is tremendous and all involved should be proud of themselves.
Do you not get much response from funders over in sounth africa for a campaign such as this? Especially as it seems you do a lot of media work which should increase awareness within the community?
I look forward to reading your response :)
Holly
Holly Searson
Director
The Football Coaching Company
Nottingham, UK
07980191327
Holly,
Thank you so much for your comment - it means a lot to know that you find the campaign as inspirational as we do.
We are officially launching the ultra-marathon team, all living with HIV, in the next couple of weeks. They will run the Two Oceans (56km) and Comrades (89km) in April and May this year.
We actually really struggle with sponsorship though how to have a greater effort fund-raising this year. Hopefully as we now have several projects off the ground we can attract some funders.
One of the problems is that we are trying to have an impact on changing the way HIV is viewed and balancing the fear that is out there with some hope. This however is difficult to measure.
Would appreciate any ideas you may have. Also as I see you're involved with football there's a great organisation out here called GrassRootSoccer - maybe check them out - you can get to their website via our links page: http://positiveheroes.org.za/links/
Thanks again for your interest and encouragement.
Best wishes
Gavin
You are very welcome :) It's nice to see that people are making real efforts towards causes such as this.
That's great news on what you are doing. I'd really like it if you would keep in touch and let me know how you are getting on?
You obviously use media already quite successfully. However, what are you methods of targeting particular audiences through the internet, TV and radio? I would suggest that you use all 4 means of media to really push your project - Try to expose yourselves as much as you possibly can!
When you host an event cover all media aspects and make sure you use local newspapers and other magazines etc - try and get them to write articles on you and through this you can get across what you want to say to the audiences you wish to target.
Thank you for that suggestion to get in touch with GrassRootsSoccer - I will have a look at their website and get in touch to see if there are any projects The FCC could do out in South Africa.
All the best,
Holly
Holly Searson
Director
The Football Coaching Company
Nottingham, UK
07980191327
Hi Holly
Thanks for your comments and suggestions. We are currently looking at how we can use the internet and social media more. We have a facebook page but need to get more traffic to it and our website. Hopefully we can develop these to make them more interactive.
Also think it is great to use local media (newspapers and radio) more. As we are all volunteers it is hard to cover all the bases at present but we hope to employ by the end of this year, two people who will be able to do all this.
It would be great to see a soccer tournament that included several players living openly with HIV.
Best wishes
Gavin
Hi Gavin
Positive Hereos is a wonderful initiative, it addresses a huge problem in our communities about living with HIV/ Aids. Even the most open minded people still cannot get over the stigmas associated with this chronic manageable disease, people still view HIV/Aids as a death sentence, they view people living with HIV as ticking time bombs and delibaratley exclude them from society.
Even though media and government are trying to educate people - it is not enough.
People still do not understand that it is the 'not knowing' and 'not doing' that can shorten your life rather than the virus.
"Ignorance" and fear is one of the major challenges and thanks to organisations such as Positive Heroes, ignorance can be eventually eroded and people both infected and affected can live healthy, fulfilling and positive lifes armed with knowlegde.
Congratulations!
The 3 Tin League
Hi 3 Tin League
Thank you for your really supportive comments.
I agree entirely with your comments - it is not the medical side that kills but rather the silence and shame that still surround HIV in South Africa.
We hope that by highlighting role models in a variety of methods we can help change the way people engage with and respond to HIV.
An initiative we hope to launch shortly will add an education aspect to our ultra-marathon team in the hope that people will not only have the efficacy but self-efficacy to help themselves.
Perhaps we can have some Heroes play the 3 Tin Game. Also would be neat to work in some gentle forms of education using the tin cans and teams as metaphors. What do you think.
Best wishes
Gavin
Hi Gavin
That is a super idea, we actually had our first 3 Tin League tournament on the 1st of December, we used the game to create an awareness about World Aids Day and it was amazing to find that some people didn't even know what world aids day was all about.
Maybe this year we can collaborate another World Aids Day Event.
Looking foward to hearing from you.
Regards;
Nhlanhla
Hi Nhlanhla,
Great ket me discuss with my Board and I'll be in touch so we can brainstorm how we can organise something fun and effective.
Have a great week.
Gavin