14th May, 2010 (Iringa, Tanzania) – It’s a cool and breezy afternoon here in Iringa and after two straight days in the car from Kigali, Rwanda, we are excited to visit the Zinduka Kapetia Soka Program (Wake Up Through Soccer). Thirty boys and girls, ages 10-14, gather for a little warm-up game before moving into the HIV/AIDS awareness games. They come from the Mkwawa area here in urban Iringa twice a week to learn about HIV/AIDS through the Grassroot Soccer curriculum administered by local coaches. The games are familiar to us. They are the same as we had seen in Nairobi; a testament to the Grassroot Soccer training. 

 

The Zinduka project is one of many in an organization called Iringa Development of Youth, Disabled and Children Care (IDYDC). Established in 1991, IDYDC’s first focus was on providing education, shelter, medical care, and food for orphans, street children, and disadvantaged youth. Support and drop out centers were quickly established in all seven districts of Iringa. Four vocational training schools provide children who fail or drop out of school with skills in carpentry, tailoring, masonry, batik making, gardening, beekeeping, and small farming. 

 

 

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