Grassroot Soccer and (RED) Come Together to Win at the World Cup

This may sound silly, but I have been patiently awaiting this moment since May 15, 2004, when FIFA announced that the 2010 World Cup would be played on the continent of Africa. Now that it’s here and I’m here, literally, on the streets of Cape Town blending in with all the caffeinated and slightly drunk soccer fans — I’m so happy it hurts. My soul is bursting with fresh cut grass and bouncing soccer balls.

I’m not sure if everyone realizes the magnitude of this situation. The four weeks of competition will bring to fruition the hopes and dreams of so many in South Africa and around the globe. The world's largest gathering of soccer talent, with billions of people watching, will leave a lasting legacy across Africa. This is the greatest exhibition of athleticism, pride, nationalism, emotion, creativity and competition our planet has ever seen.

The World Cup in South Africa is an incredible opportunity for the world to celebrate all the beautiful aspects of this country – landscapes, music, art and friendship. But it’s also the perfect time to raise awareness of one of the most devastating epidemics facing this country and continent. In the same month that the World Cup takes place, nearly 23,000 South Africans will die from AIDS. And the crazy thing is, AIDS is a preventable and treatable disease. People are dying of a preventable disease. This is not OK.

I have been mesmerized by the images pouring out of South Africa — passionate dancing soccer fans, vibrant painted faces, buzzing Vuvuzelas. But more importantly, I’ve been comforted by the funds pouring in.

This past week I have had the honor to participate in the Grassroot Soccer (RED) Holiday Skillz Program. The schools are closed for nearly six weeks during the World Cup and that puts youth at great risk and families under pressure. Grassroot Soccer (GRS) will relieve this burden by running Holiday Programs designed to keep kids healthy, safe and learning during the long break. With support from (RED) and its partners Bugaboo, Converse and Beats by Dr. Dre, GRS is running 57 Skillz Holiday Programs for over 5,500 youth in South Africa. Bottom line: these programs are life changing and include GRS interventions, soccer matches and a safe place for kids to watch World Cup games. Two great organizations have come together to build upon the work we do on a regular basis around Africa and create an even stronger impact during this time.

To date, (RED) partners and events have generated more than $150 million to help finance Global Fund AIDS grants throughout Africa and have supported programs that have reached more than 5 million people with testing, counseling, treatment and support services.

Just standing on the field watching these kids experience a new way to learn almost brought me to tears. Soccer is everywhere; soccer is a universal language; and soccer is an effective way to provide eager youth with the knowledge, life-skills and support to live HIV-free. GRS provides hope to the future generation of Africans.

What gets me though, is that I have been to other places where there is no hope, where mothers watch their children become ill, where teenage sons have to act as head of the household in their orphaned families. For the first time, I walked through a Global Fund AIDS clinic in Khayelitsha, South Africa. I gave money to a starving kid on the city streets in Cape Town. When you live in the epicenters of the global AIDS epidemic for a sustained period of time like I have, you come into contact on a daily basis with matters of life and death. And when human experience is stripped down to these two extremes, as it has been by AIDS, there tends to be no gray areas. Suffering is suffering. Loss is loss. Dignity is dignity. Compassion is real, or it doesn’t exist at all. The unfortunate thing is that at no one point in time does the world turn to him or her. We tend to react to situations when we need to respond to them.

Don’t get me wrong, HIV and AIDS sadden me, but I wish there were those that would continue the good fight all the time. And let's be honest; if the World Cup was not being played on African soil, the world would not stop and look. That is what we need — just a bunch of people who will stop and look. A giant concerted effort to help all children in all places. But the harsh realities of these human tragedies in the world are redeemed by the fact that there are so many people, like those who work with Grassroot Soccer and (RED), who are able to stop, look and face the truth and then move on to the only thing we have left ... HOPE.

"Hope," wrote St. Augustine, "has two beautiful daughters. Anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain that way."

So, I want to say thank you to those of you who stop and look today and every day. You represent the best hope we have.

Photos courtesy of Ethan Zohn.