“I put the condoms in the covers cos that’s where I hit the ball most often”
This statement, accompanied by a hoot of laugher and high fives, brought the first day of the “Screen, Know, Act” Cricket project to an appropriate conclusion. A day which saw 18 community coaches from Hammanskraal became the very first cohort of cricket coaches to be trained in how to raise awareness of HIV Self-Screening and what to do once you know your HIV status.
An action-packed day full of new ideas and information, the group were challenged from the get-go with an introduction to some CWB classics – Team Targets, Myth Busters, and Rapid Fire. As usual with CWB coach education, and coaching in general, this was accompanied by some integrated learning; establishing what the coaches wanted to get out of the day, some of their questions about HIV, some local myths about HIV, and an early snapshot on their awareness of ways to prevent the spread of the virus.
This information helped the CWB and Ezintsha (Wits RHI) teams shape the day, making sure the key information delivered in the HIV Self-Screening classroom sessions matched up to the expectations and questions of the group. The first classroom session introduced the Screen – Know – Act concept; to promote HIV Self-Screening but also to emphasise the importance of doing something once you know your status. The team then covered how to use a HIV Self-Screening kit, with a live demonstration, and information including who can use it, where kits can be picked up, and the rationale behind the development of this technology. Lots of great questions were asked by the coaching team, who were interested in understanding a lot of the practicalities of HIV self-screening, the benefits and the drawbacks.
We then headed back into the heat to have a quick go at applying the Screen – Know – Act message to cricket coaching. Starting off with a basic close catching practice, a competition between two teams – catching snakes – was rebranded as a way to “Screen” their catching skills. Once as a group we “Know” the team who was fastest as well as their separate times, the two teams were then encouraged to “Act” to figure out how they could get better, or retain their status of winner (‘stick to the basics!’). A second round of “Screening” and the teams could see the improvement as a result of their action – with both teams reducing the time it took them to complete the race.
A short lunch followed, and then another classroom session from Athini from Ezintsha covering the options available for people to “Act” on once they know their HIV status. Again, there was more great discussion as the team investigated the pros and cons of each option, when they could be used, and who could use it. There was a lot of interest in PrEP and PEP, two versions of ARVs that can be used either in an emergency to prevent the HIV virus establishing itself in the body, or on an ongoing basis to prevent the virus establishing itself in the body, ideal if you are regularly involved in risky sex.
The final session of the day put the onus on the coaches to plan and develop their own games, based on the flash cards provided as part of the coaches’ pack, and linked to one of Screen, Know and Act. Each group developed a fun and original idea, from an adapted version of relay races adding a mini quiz using the HIV myths and facts information, to a catching game about creating a safe and comfortable space to screen, culminating in a field placements game where each fielding position was a way to “act” once you know your status, and you had to shout your action every time you touch the ball – taking us back to those condoms at cover.
These coaches are now going to have a go at trying to implement some new games, and drip feed a few messages about Screen – Know – Act, into their school, club and hub coaching. We’ll be reconnecting over the next week for some mentoring, as well as at the planned cricket festivals, to see how they’re getting on and get their thoughts and feedback on how we could strengthen and improve the project.
From our own perspective, a few lessons were learnt about how we could tighten up the timings for the workshop, making sure it exactly hit the needs of the coaches taking part, and the great news is that we’ll have a chance to put those changes in to place straight away, as we go again tomorrow with a new group of coaches in Mamelodi.
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