Meet SKILLZ

I’m going to take this opportunity to introduce you to the SKILLZ curriculum. We also call the curriculum the SKILLZ core, which is different from SKILLZ Holiday or SKILLZ Street, but both of those are based off of the core. So everyone: this is SKILLZ. It is a culture, mindset, and toolkit for coaches and other educators to use when teaching young people about HIV/AIDS. We use soccer as the tool to facilitate necessary discussions about life, learn to be resilient and bounce back when faced with challenges, and most importantly protect people from HIV and AIDS. The coaches’ job sort of reminds me of when I was a peer counselor in high school if that helps you understand their position. In the first SKILLZ session the kids will sign the SKILLZ contract, which is an agreement the kids make to be respectful, to take part in the activities while having fun, and to then become a role model of healthy choices and behaviors. Furthermore, the SKILLZ core is built around the 3 SKILLZ to win and those are to “Know the Game,” “Build your Team,” and “Make your Move” so on occasion you will hear me reference these 3 ideas when I am explaining parts of the curriculum or passing on key messages.

Knowing the game refers to first of all knowing yourself, your strengths, weaknesses, goals for the future, etc. For all of us who recently graduated or are getting ready for interviews should know exactly what I am referring too. It also means that everyone should know their own rights and responsibilities and what puts their lives in danger and on top of that how to avoid risk. Building your team refers to the types of people you surround yourself with, the importance of building healthy strong relationships with people you can count on, and finding people who can help you bounce back when you are faced with different challenges. Making your move is exactly what it sounds like; it is getting up off your couch and doing something. It refers to seeking out opportunity, dealing with challenges, reaching for your goals, and then giving back to your community and teaching others what you have learned. In this situation it specifically refers to protecting yourself from HIV and AIDS and teaching others in the community about HIV/AIDS, sort that passing on knowledge idea. Overall they are kind of cool messages and things that whether or not you are dealing with HIV and AIDS in your community you can relate to and they are definitely skillz to live by.

There are a few more things aside from the games and discussion that are special to the SKILLZ core. Around the second or third practice the coaches get an opportunity to share their story. All of the coaches have some sort of personal story or reason they got involved in the program and so it makes the participants more comfortable when they hear that the coaches real experiences with it and it creates a safe place for the kids to go to talk about a difficult issue. I am hoping some of the coaches will be willing to share their stories on video for me, so I can put together a short movie for all of you peeps at home. It will definitely help you be able to relate to what is going on over here. Some of these stories are so extremely powerful. Also we use something called a “kilo” to praise people and sometimes just to celebrate. For the basic kilo someone will yell out kiiii-looo in a deep voice (tone is necessary) and everyone in unison will clap three times, pause, clap three more times, then shout “whooooh” while pointing at the person being praised. The celebratory kilo will normally look a little different and have a specific name, like for example the Coco-Cola kilo, which is 3 claps, pause, 3 claps, and then a “whooooo” with a shimmy. We came up with the Evolution of the Butterfly kilo and the Bambucha kilo at orientation and those will have to be performed on video sometime for you too see. They are too crazy to explain. I will put together a kilo learning video as well. The last thing that we use in the curriculum that is a little different is the term “yebo” in place of “yes.” Pronounced “yea-bo,” this is the response when people are asked are you with me, do you want to do this, etc.

I think for the most part this should be a good introduction to the curriculum and will hopefully help you better understand some of the things I may refer to later. Sorry if this was another boring blog. Just trying to catch you all up to speed on terms and vocab so we can all be on the same page.