OUTDOOR GAMES
Football has become much more than recreation. Through participation, girls build friendships, teamwork, leadership skills, resilience and self-confidence. Sporting activities are integrated with counselling, peer support, HIV treatment literacy, adherence promotion, mentorship and life-skills education. These activities create safe spaces where girls can interact, discuss challenges and support one another. Most importantly, participants are recognized not simply by their HIV status but as young people with talents and aspirations.
For more than two decades, Youth and Women Empowerment (YAWE) Foundation Uganda has supported children, adolescents, young people, women and vulnerable families in Western Uganda, with particular attention to children and young people living with HIV. Through YAWE Medical Centre and community-based programmes, the Foundation has learned that successful HIV care must go beyond medicines and clinical services. Young people also require psychosocial support, education, life skills, supportive relationships, livelihood opportunities and freedom from stigma and discrimination.
Adolescent girls living with HIV often experience multiple challenges, including HIV-related stigma, gender inequality, economic vulnerability, social isolation and low self-confidence. In response, YAWE Foundation developed a holistic approach combining HIV care and treatment, psychosocial support, education, livelihoods, life skills, gender equality and sports.
One of YAWE Foundation’s most innovative approaches has been encouraging girls living with HIV to participate in football and other sports traditionally considered male-dominated. In communities where football is often associated with boys and men, creating opportunities for girls to play challenges gender stereotypes while providing a safe environment for personal development.
The initiative also contributes to changing community perceptions about gender. When girls confidently participate and lead in football, parents, caregivers, boys, community leaders and other young people begin to see what girls can achieve when given equal opportunities.
However, significant challenges remain. HIV continues to be a major public-health and social concern in Western Uganda, including among adolescents and young people. Poverty, stigma, gender inequality, unemployment, school dropout and limited livelihood opportunities can increase vulnerability and undermine positive health outcomes.
YAWE Foundation therefore seeks to expand its model by strengthening girls’ sports, psychosocial support, peer mentorship, HIV treatment literacy, educational assistance, life-skills development and livelihood opportunities. The Foundation also aims to strengthen collaboration with families, schools, health facilities, community leaders, government institutions and development partners.
YAWE Foundation invites development partners, foundations, sports organisations, health institutions, researchers and gender-equality advocates to support the expansion and documentation of this approach.
Our experience demonstrates that innovation does not always require sophisticated technology. Sometimes transformation begins by creating opportunities for people who have historically been excluded. Every girl living with HIV deserves more than treatment she deserves dignity, opportunity, confidence and the freedom to achieve her full potential.
