‘YEDI is Kicking Against Malaria’
As the World Malaria Day is marked tomorrow with a wide range of activities across the globe, the Youth Empowerment and Development Initiative (YEDI), a Nigerian-run Non-Governmental Organisation that creates awareness on malaria and HIV/AIDS, is joining the
Why do you focus on tournament as one of the major channels of driving your message?
Our model is using methods that have been tried and tested. The grassroots soccer is done in over 18 countries and we are the implementing partner in Nigeria for the grassroots soccer programme and one of the reasons we do that is because football is one of the biggest sports in Nigeria and it is a sure way to mobilise people and also get a large crowd of people to come together and for us, football has just been a hub for us to get people to gather so that we can pass on our message and it has been well received by participants in school and all the places we work in. And it is through that that we are able to communicate
other things after we have been able to get them to come together in large number.
Our model is using methods that have been tried and tested. The grassroots soccer is done in over 18 countries and we are the implementing partner in Nigeria for the grassroots soccer programme and one of the reasons we do that is because football is one of the biggest sports in Nigeria and it is a sure way to mobilise people and also get a large crowd of people to come together and for us, football has just been a hub for us to get people to gather so that we can pass on our message and it has been well received by participants in school and all the places we work in. And it is through that that we are able to communicate
other things after we have been able to get them to come together in large number.
When was YEDI established in Nigeria?
YEDI was founded in November 2011 to pilot the first West Africa Grassroots Soccer model, which was developed more than ten years ago in Southern Africa to reduce HIV incidence rates and stigma. Nigerian youths wanted results in their communities using development through sports; the pilot was an immediate success. The YEDI was started first because all the founders have worked at different level on development and one thing you would notice in working in development abroad or even at home is that there are a lot of very good models.
YEDI was founded in November 2011 to pilot the first West Africa Grassroots Soccer model, which was developed more than ten years ago in Southern Africa to reduce HIV incidence rates and stigma. Nigerian youths wanted results in their communities using development through sports; the pilot was an immediate success. The YEDI was started first because all the founders have worked at different level on development and one thing you would notice in working in development abroad or even at home is that there are a lot of very good models.
If you go to somewhere like Uganda, you would find a very good public
model that are used in small village and this model is working and
achieving a lot of things but it does not leave that village; there is
no replication, there no expansion and yet this is something that has
been proven to work. So the idea behind YEDI is that we don’t intend to
reinvent the wheel; but if we can take that model and see how we can
apply it to a particular community and of course minding the cultural
setting, we can do with it. So one of the things that we do is the
grassroots model programme, a mode that has been around for years and it
has been tried in 18 countries. There have been research around it and
it has been shown as an effective tool to work to deliver information to
young people and communicate about HIV/AIDs and malaria.
about HIV/AIDs and malaria.
Can you expatiate on your activities at YEDI?
Youth Empowerment and Development Initiative (YEDI) with headquarters in Lagos and offices in Akwa Ibom and Ogun, is a Nigerian NGO committed to introducing effective and innovative approaches to mobilising, educating, empowering and inspiring young people and communities in Nigeria. We have two major programmes and one of which is the Grassroots Soccer and the other is the Urban Achievers. The grassroots soccer is about using football, as tool to teach about health. Right now the two focus areas that we have is malaria and HIV/AIDS. And the model that we use is the community-based model where we get young people from the community to service as vehicles to deliver the message to young people in the communities. So we get young volunteers between the ages of 18 and 28 within the communities we want to work in and they in turn deliver it to younger people between the ages of 11-16 for our in-school programme.
Youth Empowerment and Development Initiative (YEDI) with headquarters in Lagos and offices in Akwa Ibom and Ogun, is a Nigerian NGO committed to introducing effective and innovative approaches to mobilising, educating, empowering and inspiring young people and communities in Nigeria. We have two major programmes and one of which is the Grassroots Soccer and the other is the Urban Achievers. The grassroots soccer is about using football, as tool to teach about health. Right now the two focus areas that we have is malaria and HIV/AIDS. And the model that we use is the community-based model where we get young people from the community to service as vehicles to deliver the message to young people in the communities. So we get young volunteers between the ages of 18 and 28 within the communities we want to work in and they in turn deliver it to younger people between the ages of 11-16 for our in-school programme.
And for our girls programme, it is for girls between the ages of 14-19.
The whole idea behind that is that we want to create more awareness
about malaria and how to properly treat and test for malaria and how to
prevent malaria. And also to educate people about HIV and sexually
transmitted diseases so that they can make more informed decision. That
is why one of the models we use is getting someone that is still young
in which the younger ones can look up to and can relate to, to be the
vehicle to pass the message. So far we have been able to reach over
30,000 young people between the ages of 11 and 16 with information on
HIV/AIDs, malaria, behavioral change information on HIV/AIDs and
malaria, using football as a key tool to driving these messages.
One of the other things that we do is that we organise community tournaments, which we call the testing tournaments and the idea is to create opportunity for people to have access to malaria testing and treatment, so that people can see that it is best to see a doctor
rather that do self-medication. We preach against self-meditation
because if you really think about it, it will cost you less to do a test
and know if there is a malaria or not, comparing to you taking
something and finding out that it is not malaria and then you have to go
back. So you end up spending double the amount of money.
So one of the things that we do at our community event is that when we
create awareness about malaria and HIV/AIDs, we also usually have a mini
clinic on the side and at that mini clinic, we off access to basic
things like malaria testing and we also offer access to HIV/AIDs
counseling and testing. We also do basic health screening and normally
we would have a doctor or nurse on sight that would provide basic health
screening for anybody that comes in for the tournament and then the
clinic. It is a way of giving back to the community and also for the
people that have participated in our programmes during the school year
and also out of the school year, so that they can come with their
parents for them to see what they have learnt in school and they can
also have access to those health services that we offer on that day. So
it is usually a fun event and we also do bed net demonstration and
distribution on that same day too.
Through its various programmes, YEDI equips young people with basic and relevant life-coping skills, and provides them a platform to have important discussions about life, take guided steps to achieve their goals, stay strong when faced with challenges, and protect themselves and others from diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Malaria. With support from its partners, YEDI through its Grassroots Soccer programme has carried out interventions for more than 40,000 children in over 400 schools in Lagos, Akwa Ibom and Ogun States with plans to extend operations to Abuja and Rivers State.
Are you only restricted to the three states you in which you operate in Nigeria now?
We are not restricted to those states but first we started of in Lagos, the pilot state and then we moved to Akwa Ibom and one of the reasons why we moved to Aka Ibom was that Akwa Ibom at that particular time we started off had the second highest HIV rate in the country and there was definitely a need for us to be there. And in Ogun State, we are working with one of our partners, which is SOS Children Village, and one of our plans is to go into communities in which they are so that we can reach vulnerable children. We do plan to expand to other states but it is a gradual process.
We are not restricted to those states but first we started of in Lagos, the pilot state and then we moved to Akwa Ibom and one of the reasons why we moved to Aka Ibom was that Akwa Ibom at that particular time we started off had the second highest HIV rate in the country and there was definitely a need for us to be there. And in Ogun State, we are working with one of our partners, which is SOS Children Village, and one of our plans is to go into communities in which they are so that we can reach vulnerable children. We do plan to expand to other states but it is a gradual process.
What has been the impact of your activities in the states you operate?
So far, it has been well received and we work in three local governments areas in Akwa Ibom State, and going to the fourth now. We are at Uyo, Eket, Ibono and going to Unna. We are able to do this because we have partners that help make things possible. One thing we are always very mindful of is that we try to do need assessment before we go into a place because we cannot assume that because this is a problem here that it is also going to be a problem in another area. So we try to be mindful of the communities that we work in and that is why we have partners in every where we work because we values the fact that there are people who have been doing these longer than us and know the culture and environment more than we do. So we ensure that we work with them so that when we go there, we are delivering quality programmes.
So far, it has been well received and we work in three local governments areas in Akwa Ibom State, and going to the fourth now. We are at Uyo, Eket, Ibono and going to Unna. We are able to do this because we have partners that help make things possible. One thing we are always very mindful of is that we try to do need assessment before we go into a place because we cannot assume that because this is a problem here that it is also going to be a problem in another area. So we try to be mindful of the communities that we work in and that is why we have partners in every where we work because we values the fact that there are people who have been doing these longer than us and know the culture and environment more than we do. So we ensure that we work with them so that when we go there, we are delivering quality programmes.
And I think one of the great impact our activities have had is that we emphasis more on monitoring and evaluation. We actually have tools that we use to measure progress. So we can say that these programmes are actually having some form of impacts because we actually measure the outcomes of our programmes. One other that we do is talking to participants by organising stakeholders workshops as well as talking to some of the participants and we have discovered that it is something that is very beneficial to the participants and that is the rewarding part because the people that actually volunteered to give their time are also learning and being impacted by the programme. You now have young people who are becoming role models in their communities, making change and being listened to in their communities.
Your prgrammes are based only on health issues. Right?
Right now we do public health and one of the other programmes that we do is the Urban Achievers. It is relatively new. Our Urban Achievers programme works closely with private sector employers to develop a cadre of youth skills and attitudes that meet the needs of private sector, and pursue economic opportunities and careers, and serve as role models for peers in their communities.
What are your lined up of activities for this year’s World Malaria Day?Right now we do public health and one of the other programmes that we do is the Urban Achievers. It is relatively new. Our Urban Achievers programme works closely with private sector employers to develop a cadre of youth skills and attitudes that meet the needs of private sector, and pursue economic opportunities
and careers, and serve as role models for peers in their communities.The world Malaria day is on the April 25 and it creates awareness about the prevention and treatment of malaria. So what we normally do on World Malaria day is to organise community tournaments, which is themed “Kick Against Malaria Tournament” and this year we have two tournaments coming up, one in Akwa Ibom and another in Lagos. We would be working with community members to organise the tournaments and these tournaments would be avenues where we would use to create awareness about malaria and also to offer malaria testing and treatment to the communities as well as other health services. The people that are participating in the tournaments are those who have benefited from the grassroots soccer programme, so they have benefited at the school levels and now we are inviting them to come and play at the tournaments and of course there is going to be a trophy and other prizes to be won. So they get to have fun, while we offer information about malaria and the prevention of it.
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