| Scrutinize and Footballers 4 Life get more zing |
|
Footballers 4 Life have recently completed a three-day edutainment training programme with Dramaide (Drama in Aids Education), who provide extensive life-skills training for teachers, community workers and peer educators using dramatic tools such as plays, songs and choreography.
The training, which took place between the 28th and 30th of July 2009, represented a long-overdue cross-fertilisation of strategic partners in peer education as both organisations are sponsored by John Hopkins Health and Education South Africa (JHHESA). The programme aimed to better equip the footballers in their outreach efforts by teaching them dynamic social interactions that act as teaching aids, such as icebreakers and other strategic physical games. The course also covered aspects like co-facilitation, planning, effective delivery of content and the introduction, evaluation and assessment of outcomes. “The idea here was to give them a taste of what edutainment is, and by so doing, give Scrutinize more zing,” said Thulani Grenville-Grey, a curriculum developer and trainer with Footballers 4 Life. Footballers 4 Life also works with the Scrutinize curriculum, which sees the footballers conduct outreach-based programmes at schools, youth centres, correctional facilities and universities. For Grenville-Grey, the training provided another milestone in the battle to continuously optimize the proficiency level of the players and their finesse with the course material, likening it to a rigorous, if repetitive pre-game regimen. The usual problem he said, is the slippage in terms of the players retention levels, which happens between the actual training workshop and their own peer-education efforts. Confident of his squad’s abilities and the handy reference material, head wellness coach Silver Shabalala said that the guiding notes, which had examples of sketches and other handy techniques they could continue to incorporate would prove invaluable in the long run. |
