Some say, knowledge is power and indeed knowledge is power this can be shown through how people around the world acquire knowledge through certain educational programs which teach them certain aspects of life, and CSPRO Academy is no exception. Our Head Coach is currently at a workshop being held by the National AIDS Council (NAC) in Chitungwiza which is currently running from Monday 30 May to Wednesday 1 June 2022.
The National AIDS Council (NAC) is an organization established through the act of parliament of 1999 to coordinate and facilitate the national multi-sectoral response to HIV and AIDS. It is mandated to administer the National AIDS Trust Funds (NATF) which are collected through the AIDS levy for instance the 3% collected from every worker’s taxable income (PAYE) and cooperate tax.
This workshop is teaching and advocating for adolescents and young people within Zimbabwe, it is also campaigning, commemorating, and exhibiting to inform the public on the state of the national response. Adolescents and young people are much of the target because they constitute 40% of Zimbabwe’s population and they remain a major priority towards the country achieving an AIDS-free generation by 2030 as well as an integral part of the HIV and AIDS national response in relation to the National Youth Program. The National Youth Program was established for adolescents and young people and continues to be instrumental in countering their HIV and AIDS-related challenges and lived experiences.
CSPRO Academy has taken the initiative to send its coaches to the National AIDS Council (NAC) workshop because the workshop is focusing on Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH), Meaningful and Inclusive Youth Participation (MIYP), and it continues to be part and center of the National AIDS Council’s (NAC’s) principles and core values. The standard has been upheld and sustained through convening in young people’s network on Sexual Reproductive Health, HIV and AIDS network since 2007 through support from the United Nations family, Ministry of Health and Child Care, Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation, Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, Zimbabwe National Family Planning Council and other stakeholders.
The benefits associated with this workshop for the CSPRO Academy’s coach and for the boys are that it will result in risk reduction, economic empowerment, and education, and it will give the boys a negative impression of sexually related activities as they can cause damage to their future and well-being as well as the demand generation for service uptake using peer-led interpersonal communication approaches. Furthermore, it is also significant towards the national cause through the Zimbabwe National AIDS Strategic Plan IV which invests in adolescents and young people as well as how such an investment feeds into the broader national development agenda to reach an upper-middle-income society by 2030 and Agenda 2063.
As such, this National AIDS Council workshop proves to be fundamental to the lives of youth in Zimbabwe, particularly in Chitungwiza drawn from sectors that include; youths in and out of school, youths in sports, youths living with HIV, youths with a disability, youths in rehabilitation centers to mention but a few. The Coaches of our academy are thus far acquiring the knowledge to educate the boys and grasp practices that support youths in the above-mentioned sectors. Thereby showcasing that indeed knowledge is power.