Fit4Work

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Fit4Work

Lesotho
Organization type: 
nonprofit/ngo/citizen sector
Budget: 
$250,000 - $500,000
Website:
http://www.kick4life.org
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Project Summary
Elevator Pitch

Concise Summary: Help us pitch this solution! Provide an explanation within 3-4 short sentences.

Fit4Work is a training course which uses football to equip underpriveleged youth with the skills to continue into further education, training or employment. After completion of the workshop, each participate is assigned a work placement for a minimum of a week to gain invaluable work experience which could ultimately result in full-time employment.

About Project

Problem: What problem is this project trying to address?

Lesotho has the third highest HIV prevalence in the world at 23.2%. HIV and AIDS is the single most immediate contributor to the dramatic increase in orphan hood and vulnerability, and currently there are over 100,000 orphans in Lesotho which equates to 39% of the country’s child population. Vulnerability is sustained as the children grow older, with 30% of them being out of school. Without this protective environment, they are placed at higher risk of resorting for survival to various forms of risky behaviors and hazardous labor, including commercial sex, domestic work, trafficking and herding. The care and protection of this overwhelming number of children deprived of their parent/s and without the nurturing and protective environment of their primary caregivers is a national challenge. They also have no guidance or assistance in direction for life route planning. To further add to the problems, Lesotho has a 45% unemployment rate so the need for professional skills development and for the economy to be developed is very acute.

Solution: What is the proposed solution? Please be specific!

Fit4Work is very unique in its utilization of football to empower high school leavers, in particular orphans and vulnerable youth and children living on the street, with the necessary skills for life route planning. The fun and interactive activities enable the youth to work as a team to solve problems and improve their communication skills and overall confidence. Youth learn best when participating and being constantly active which is what the Fit4Work Program permits the youth to do. The week-long residential program combines a mixture of fun problem solving activities, interactive discussions, team work, presentations, motivational speakers, role plays, mock interviews and computer sessions. The participants leave with a numerous range of skills and knowledge including: career planning, applying for higher education and scholarships, CV writing skills, job hunting, budgeting, interviewing techniques, communications and presentations skills, and basic IT skills. By the end of the program the youth learn how to approach people, how to plan for their future, how to work in a team and appreciate other people’s opinions, how to approach an interview as well as some guidelines on how to be good at work. As one participant put it, “Fit4Work taught me that we don’t just go straight to our goals but sometimes, and for valid reasons, we have to struggle first before we reach out goals.”
Impact: How does it Work

Example: Walk us through a specific example(s) of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities.

To date we have run one Fit4Work workshop for orphans and vulnerable children who completed the Kick4Life High School graduate program. All participants completed the program successfully and were placed in work placements in areas in which they expressed interest, namely banking, social welfare, criminal justice, retail, education and health care. Three of the work placements turned into full time employment and one participant was able to save enough money to go to college.
About You
Organization:
Kick4Life
Visit website
Section 1: About You
First Name

Daniela

Last Name

Gusman

Website

http://www.kick4life.org

Organization

Kick4Life

Country

, MS

Section 2: About Your Organization
Organization Name

Kick4Life

Organization Phone

+266 2231 2150

Organization Address

+266 2231 3141

Organization Country

, MS

Your idea
Country your work focuses on

, MS

Website URL

http://www.kick4life.org/fit4work.htm

Innovation
Do you have a patent for this idea?

Impact
Actions

Kick4Life has adapted the Fit4Work program, developed by Street League in the UK, to fit the unique challenges and needs of the Basotho underprivileged youth in consultation with our coaches and youth. The training course targets an equal gender balance of youth aged 18+.

Once the curriculum was developed, it was tested in a pilot program which allowed for some adjustments in the program content and structure. The trainers who deliver the program were involved in the curriculum development as well as the trial program, giving them a sense of ownership and accountability.

The first Fit4Work program took place in January 2010. The participants were orphans and vulnerable children, who had just graduated from High School thanks to the Kick4Life scholarship program.

We are about to launch a second Fit4Work program. Places will be awarded to children living on the street, orphans and vulnerable children who have shown commitment to the Kick4Life program by volunteering their time or participating in Kick4Life’s HIV / AIDS prevention education program.

Results

The Fit4Work Program will:
1. Create a stronger community with young leaders who will also act as positive peer models within their communities.
2. Accelerate Development by giving the youth the tools they need to find employment and add to the productivity of the country.
3. Drive Social Change by giving the underprivileged youth direction to a better future other than the destitute future they would otherwise be faced with.

What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.

2010: source enough funding to run the Fit4Work program on an on-going basis throughout the year and recruit a full time project manager.
2011: train more instructors to be able to roll out the program country-wide.
2012: ultimately we envisage being able to set up a job placement service as a social enterprise project which would generate income for the program to become self-sustained.

The Fit4Work program lends itself very easily to large-scale expansion and can be applied to other countries, not just in Africa, but also in the USA and other developed countries where there is youth with little guidance or assistance with life planning and work experience.

What would prevent your project from being a success?

Lack of funding would prevent us from running future Fit4Work programs, as well as lack of support from organizations willing to offer work placements for the participants.
However experience from the first Fit4Work program we ran earlier this year, as well as further discussions with various organizations indicated that there is a lot of interest from both the private and public sector to offer the youth work experience opportunities.

How many people will your project serve annually?

101‐1000

What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?

$50 - 100

Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?

Sustainability
What stage is your project in?

Operating for less than a year

In what country?

, MS

Is your initiative connected to an established organization?

Yes

If yes, provide organization name.

Kick4Life

How long has this organization been operating?

1‐5 years

Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?

Yes

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?

Yes

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?

Yes

Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?

Yes

Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.

Partnership is integral to the success and sustainability of Kick4Life where we work with local and national organizations, as well as many other smaller community groups.

These partnerships are crucial in maximizing utilization of resources to have maximum possible impact.

Support and buy-in from local government ensures the sustainability of our work and support from businesses is crucial in order to generate job opportunities for the youth graduating from the Fit4Work program.

What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?

In order for the Fit4Work program to grow we need:
1. Funding so that the program can be delivered on an on-going basis.
2. Good instructors to deliver the program.
3. Co-operation from local businesses and organizations to continue to offer work placements for the participants once they have completed the course.

The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?

One of Kick4Life's programs is a high school scholarship scheme for orphans and vulnerable children effected by HIV and AIDS. Once the scholars graduated from high school it was very evident that there was nowhere for our orphaned scholars to turn to for guidance about their future. So the idea of setting up a Fit4Work Training program came about.

This training is of particular importance to orphans who lack direction and role models in their lives to guide them for their future.

Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.

In 2005, brothers Steve and Pete Fleming embarked on a challenge to raise awareness and funds for children effected by HIV and AIDS in Africa. The challenge was for them to kick a football through Malawi covering the equivalent distance of 10 marathons in just 9 days - which they successfully completed.

Having experienced the incredible power of football in bringing together the youth from many communities, they decided to set up a charity called Kick4Life which uses the power of football to transform the lives of some of the most disadvantaged children in the world.

How did you first hear about Changemakers?

Through another organization or company

If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company

Nike and Ashoka at the Sport for Social Change Network in April