Photographers Without Borders | Tanzania
Photographers without Borders assignment in Tanzania was a humanitarian photo-documentary reportage on behalf of PWB and Tackle Africa focused on helping the local community in Tanzania combat the HIV epidemic. My project involved making a photo and video reportage documenting the program’s impact on the prevention of HIV infections in rural Tanzania through the establishment of educational soccer camps. The program was initiated and implemented by the Tackle Africa organization. PWB “Aga Szydlik was situated in the southern part of the country for about three weeks in September 2015, and due to her remarkable talent, she could pick up Swahili, the local dialect in Tanzania (PWB)”.
Written by Andrew Malcolm, Photographed byAga Szydlik
Based in Tanzania, NGO Tackle Africa’s s purpose is to educate youth and young adults on sexual health with a focus on HIV; ten million young adults in the fifteen to twenty-four age group live with HIV worldwide, and they also account for forty percent of new infections. What makes the sex education program at Tackle Africa so successful is that they use football (soccer), a popular sport in many parts of Africa, to encourage, inspire, and engage youth in the importance of sexual health. “By combining sex education with physical training, their prevention message is better remembered, understood, and practiced.” Four hundred and sixty-five coaches combine football drills with sex education for over a thousand at-risk youth between the ages of twelve and eighteen, providing HIV testing as well. By combining sex education with physical training, their prevention message is better remembered, understood, and practiced. Along with Tanzania, Tackle Africa also runs programs in Kenya and Uganda.
Tackle Africa
TackleAfrica uses the power and popularity of football to deliver sexual health education to young people on football pitches across the continent. We train African coaches to use fun, interactive football drills with built-in health messaging for young people in their clubs and communities. Tackle Africa programs target HIV and related sexual and reproductive health rights issues – including contraception, family planning, gender-based violence (including FGM and child marriage), and girls’ empowerment. Building resilience to HIV often requires a holistic approach that helps young people overcome challenges in their communities, and our programs aim to give young people the tools to take control of their own sexual health.
About the Photographer:
Aga Szydlik interviewed Yianny Ioannou about Tackle Africa and documented the charity’s work for Photographers Without Borders while in Tanzania. She’s a philanthropist with a diverse skillset that allows her to engage with African communities. Aga Szydlik was situated in the southern part of the country for about three weeks in September 2015, and due to her remarkable talent, she picked up Swahili, the local dialect in Tanzania (PWB). Photographers without the Border assignment was a collaborative effort with the Tackle Africa organization.
Memories
Links | Publications
https://www.photographerswithoutborders.org/latest-projects-posts/tackle-africa-tanzania
http://www.blurb.com/b/6871244-photographers-without-borders-issue-5