A different sort of graduation

This past Saturday we had our first big graduation/testing event and it was a complete whirlwind of excitement, terror, passion, dance and fun. Before I go into detailing the actual event, I should preface all of this with a little explanation of what we're up to that kids are graduating from. Grassroot Soccer in Zambia implements a 10 session-long curriculum in schools, community centres and refugee camps focused on HIV education and prevention using soccer and sport as a medium. It's an activities-based program (or as they spell it here, programME - it's tough to get used to!) that relies on the power of soccer to establish self-efficacy in youth through the use of local peers and mentors who act as coaches for the GRS Skillz (yes, with a Z) curriculum. After these 10 sessions there's a graduation for the kids. Since we finished a cycle in four different compounds (like townships in Cape Town) around Lusaka, we decided to have a big graduation with all the kids together. GRS also organizes VCT (voluntary counseling and testing) events where people can come and get HIV tests for free. For the first time we incorporated this into our big graduation, so it was a little bit chaotic but really cool and totally new too.

Because it was at the UN urban refugee transit center (where refugees stay for about a month before being placed somewhere else), and since it is walled-in and (relatively) secure, we were able to go with all our coaches the day prior to begin setting up. I expected it to take the larger part of the day, but again here is an example of one of the many illogical processes here: we went with all the coaches around 10 AM, but the big truck carrying the 300 chairs and poles for tents only showed up several hours later. Typical, and I'm learning to anticipate the need for flexibility at all times, not only in certain situations.

The next morning we were up bright and early at 6:30 (on a Saturday! Better get used to it for these types of things) and headed to the location to finish setting up and welcome the busses full of children and parents. It's so funny and foreign to me that the kids and parents actually made it there in the first place. At home, people would need not only a formal invitation - which the parents here actually did get during home visits - but a plan of action, a definite arrival/departure time, schedule for the day, etc. etc. With incentives like chitengues (fabric wrapped around as a skirt) for parents and lunch provided, that was enough to make them come.

I knew that the day would never go by without any hitches and that the game plan was in reality just a rough outline, but I think that we handled the speed bumps really well: a few tents fell down/weren't put up at all because of missing parts which messed up the organization of the testing partners a bit, then the lunch/drink distribution was slightly messy, consent forms that had been signed previously had no means of organization by which to get them back to the kids, and we almost ran out of blank consent forms, but somehow everything worked out in the end.

Everything aside though, I had a total and utter blast. Bustling around and making sure things were running as best as possible, I felt like I finally had a minor grasp on the way things function in Zam. Speaking and interacting with coaches I saw friendships being fostered, jocular attitudes cultivated. And observing kids taking this graduation seriously, proud of finishing the curriculum, I could see the impact that GRS has on their attitudes and their lives. As a mzungu (white person) with translucent skin, red hair and blue eyes, I felt welcomed, giddy and energized when I danced in front of 300+ people, surrounded by kids as young as 6 and as old as 18, booty-poppin', shaking and moving to strong thumping beats, totally sober in the midday African sun. Completely invigorating.

Another first for me, I also got an HIV test! It wasn't exactly nerve-wracking, but there's always that minuscule element of "what if...?" The 10-15 waiting period is like a built-in anxiety ticking time bomb waiting to be detonated or deactivated, you're not sure which. At our whole event with over 300 people and about 150ish tested, only 4 kids were found to be HIV positive, all from the same family. I can't even wrap my head around how soul-shaking it must be to receive that information as a parent...They'll receive support, counseling, ARTs, etc from our partner organization Tiny Tim and Friends, but still...

The last thing I'll mention for now is that most of the accompanying parents and guardians were female, but there were a select few particularly gung-ho males (fathers? uncles? grandfathers?) present too, who were adamant about having their children tested. I can only imagine what they've gone through to make it to that point of pushing a role that's often associated here with the feminine, but it genuinely warmed the cockles of my heart (as my mother would say) to witness that kind of care, dedication and support.

So summary: first graduation = great success!