The Olympafrica Youth Ambassador Programme (OYAP) is the youth Volunteer Organization, which I, Reitumetse Lethunya volunteer in here in Lesotho. I was told about Kicking AIDS Out and afterwards I attended the Peer Leader training. These are where I grew my knowledge on issues about HIV/AIDS and that it was then I knew that I am affected in different ways by the pandemic.

In my life as a Peer Leader I began to use sport to pass information about HIV/AIDS and Kicking AIDS Out activities not only the Games that we use in OYAP in Lesotho but also the Games from Other African countries. After Peer Leader training I facilitated Kicking AIDS Out at sports and recreation event and in different High Schools at a Softball Tournament   and Primary Schools marathon. I realized the importance of using Sport to deliver HIV/AIDS message.

I was later trained as a Kicking AIDS Out Leader Level 1 and after the training I felt that I am responsible and aware of how to approach sensitive issues concerning HIV/AIDS and Kicking AIDS Out Movement Games. Now even in my community I am responsible and I can bring change. I created my own Kicking AIDS Out games for the OYAP program. During the trainings I have received a lot of information about HIV and AIDS issues also in the view from using Sport as a tool. I used this approach when I facilitated the Kicking AIDS Out Peer Leader workshop for High Schools students and teachers.

Nthona Tso’anyane

Ever since I have been a peer leader I have facilitated Kicking AIDS Out workshops for OYAP ambassadors and to the Primary school teachers. I facilitated three days workshop for OYAP and three days workshop for the primary School teachers. As one of the committee members I have been trying to increase the ambassador’s attendance to the programs and introduce concepts of Kicking AIDS Out. We are now supervising the programs and Kicking Aids Out activities! Are part of the programs. The committee are planning to mobilize and supervise the OYAP Ambassadors to facilitate and host a Kicking AIDS Out festivals every year.

We are also assisting OYAP Kicking AIDS Out Peer leaders to facilitate Kicking AIDS Out Activities in special events Organized by Sports Organizations and in OYAP special events as well as Lesotho National Olympic Committee special events. Since I have been trained I ensure effective implementation of Kicking AIDS Out in my branch hence the enhancement of OYAPs ability to grow and expand in its services of empowering youth in our community, for example now in December (2009) we are working on increasing /boosting the morale of our Peer Leaders through a refresher course.

Tebello Francis Sekantsi

Since I am in Olympafrica Youth ambassadors Programme (OYAP) my life has changed, because I have gained a high self-esteem, high self confidence. I know how to pass HIV/AIDS messages through sport. I have enhanced life skills through sport and I first started to feel a change in the way I think, the way I consider other people, the way I approach sensitive issues concerning our lives and HIV/AIDS. I went through OYAP training pathway training until I became a Peer Leader.

After being trained as a Peer Leader I was facing the challenges such as how to facilitate a workshop and how to be in front of the participants and facilitate Kicking AIDS Out movement games as well as how to debrief the games. But now I am confident enough to deliver the Kicking AIDS Out concepts among the youth in my community and other Sports Organization. After I have maintain my responsibilities of being a Peer Leader  I attended Leader Level 1 which I take it as a big Chance for me to increase my capacity to facilitate sensitive issues concerning HIV/AIDS. Now I have even increased my skills as now I have a task to monitor the Peer Leader and draw plan to how I support them.

I would like to thank my fellow Leader level 2 with the skills they gave me and the support they gave me by pushing to do reports on what I did on behalf of Kicking AIDS Out; I would like to thank Mr. David Thaisa Hlapane with fully support he gave me. Now I am what I am because of Kicking AIDS Out concepts and support from Kicking AIDS Out network.

I am a good Leader fully with high self esteem. I am Proud about myself because of Kicking AIDS Out network with the care for us, we held Leader Level 1 and a refresher course that empowered us more and more. I am a role model now, no more a drunkard or a Street guy. I am a Leader fully with responsibility. I have gained the Knowledge of HIV/ AIDS.

I am who I am Because of Kicking AIDS Out Concepts

Ramokhorong Boloetse (Dawid)

I am Ramokhorong David Boloetse I was born in 1984/12/14 in Lesotho. I am glad and proud of to have joined OYAP since 2004.There has been a lot happening while I was still at School, for example, not being involved in programmes that can build oneself but ever since I joined OYAP I am now an active Person. Youth who is fully involved in Sports and HIV/AIDS programmes with the experience that I have gained from This Organization called OYAP.

I started to volunteer to my community district to enhance HIV/AIDS life skills to youth in and Out of School and I attended different level s of workshop offered in OYAP. From Peer Leader, leader level 1 Kicking Aids Out and I am now trained to in future become certified as a Kicking Aids out Leader Level 2 of which I am very excited about it due to the experience and involvement in the programmes of OYAP. My life has changed a lot. I am able to facilitate different levels of people.

I thank you OYAP ambassadors and other Leader Level 2 for their support that I have never paid for, rather I am in the National Executive Committee of OYAP as a president I am proud of You Kicking AIDS Out!

Khotso Mahloko

First of all I will like to extend my sincere and heartfelt gratitude for this golden opportunity granted to me and my whole life by the Olympafrica Youth Ambassador Programme (OYAP) and the gracious Kicking AIDS Out network. I will like to commence here with the positive impact that the afore-mentioned entities have played in my life through Kicking AIDS Out activities since I became involved in 2007. Initially, I could say I was leading my life like a headless chicken and feared challenges and opportunities life was throwing to me. But after I became part of Kicking AIDS Out and OYAP, by using Sport as vehicle to transport life Skills and HIV/AIDS messages I have learned that there is always a learning cave in everything one is involved in.

Furthermore, I wish to express the affable wishes on the Action Learning Circle I have been engaged in which has helped me a great deal in planning my daily life activities and my future. Which is also empowered by the wise man’s saying that states, I quote: “If you fail to plan you plan to fail” hence this has immensely led me in influencing a positive change in the lives of youth in my community and in my Organization which is why I now refer to challenges as opportunities in disguise whereas I used to take them as unmovable rocks in my path of life. Above all, I will lead myself in the difference I have put in Various Children’s life I have facilitated in Youth inside and Outside OYAP about their decision making.

In conclusion I extensively throwing myself into Voluntarism which at first I took it as an act of an insane man. But now I am able to stand tall and facilitate in front of thousand lives about how voluntarism has changed my life and the lives of millions others.  In fact, people’s lives have been altered to better through voluntarism.

 Kicking AIDS Out Network and Olympafrica Youth Ambassador Programme according to my point of view I could say is what every youth needs endlessly in their lives.

I will like to seal herewith the experience I gained in facilitating the Kicking AIDS Out workshops as well as its activities. It first commenced with the Kicking AIDS Out High School Peer Leaders which I nearly fled when I heard I am one of the facilitators. And it then came to the OYAP Peer Leaders and the Primary school Teachers in introducing the Kicking AIDS Out Activities on how they run. However, I was then encouraged by my Leader Level 2 facilitators being Mr. Thaisa Hlapane and Mrs. Maboitelo Mokhehle-Jobo. I therefore highly regard their assistance to the extreme. Moreover, I once more akin to the Kicking AIDS Out activities that I facilitated in my Organization’s programmes being 15-21 plus, Girls on the Move, Meraka and Mafube OVC’s as well as Sports rallies in my country, using sport to enhance lifeskills. Hence, this has granted me a decent chance in facilitating in their activities inside their Organizations.  

Ramphoma Makhele

This serves as an opportunity to tell the story of a young man born and raised in the mountainous kingdom of Lesotho.  Born December 4^th 1986, and raised in Maseru, Lesotho. Through all this years I’ve been doing quite well in my school work, from primary to tertiary and completed my emergency medical technicians basics certificate. After completing the certificate I volunteered as an intern at a local clinic as a paramedic, this was 2007. After the internship there were no more jobs to take me in, this was now 2008, the year I first joined the Olympafrica Youth Ambassadors Programme (OYAP).

It was in the interest of a friend to join the organization, not for peer pressure but for the love of sports and at first it didn’t click in my head how I could be empowered through sports to change the lives of others, but I had to stay and notice because I always believed when I’m involved. Through this year I took a lot of opportunities that lead me to stay within OYAP, nor was it the company of other youths but the opportunity to learn to facilitate. It took me not a long time I was able to facilitate HIV/AIDS Basic facts and life skills at OYAP events, activities and later to the national events.

In November 2008, I was invited to attend the OYAP sports volunteer workshop at which it improved the levels of my facilitation skills and the interest of playing sports, where I started volunteering for the Lepereng Olympafrica Centre where I assisted with the developing of table tennis basic skill to the youth of the communities that are neighbouring the centre. In OYAP I facilitated at the Girls on the move programmes and at the 15-21years programme, implementing the HIV/AIDS basic facts and life skills. The very same year in December I was invited yet to another workshop of which at first I did not have the interest to attend, but thanks to my friends that always keep tracking me in the right direction. This was the Kicking AIDS Out Peer Leader, the training that completely changed my life, not only my life but the life of others too. As I was introduced to the Kicking AIDS Out concept at this level and now was made to believe that sports can empower the life of others by delivering the HIV/AIDS basics facts and life skills in every game. Then later was introduced to the life skills and facilitation workshops.

With all the trainings I felt confident enough to fulfil the OYAP mission Hand in hand with the Kicking AIDS Out mission which both include the concept of changing lives through sports. I’m not well equipped with many sports skills but with this level of training and the help of friends, I’ve been able to facilitate life skills and HIV/AIDS based games in the national level. I enjoy every moment of facilitating the movement games within the programmes in OYAP, of which are the Girls on the move and the 15-21 years old programme, and facilitating at community level and doing Kicking AIDS Out activities at neighbouring primary and high schools.

April 2009, this seemed not like a new road to me but the road seemed to be getting broad. This is the time I was nominated to attend the Kicking AIDS Out Leader Level 1 workshop which was facilitated by Mrs. ‘Mahae Mokhehle-Jobo, Mr. Thaisa Hlapane, Mr. Ramokhorong Boloetse (national Leader Level 2’s), and Mr. Edwin Wasonga from Kenya. The training had smoothed my paths in so many ways, by helping in the improvement of implementing the Kicking AIDS Out activities and creating new movement games. And I was able to do trainings for Peer Leaders within the organization, Peer Leaders at primary and high school levels and doing activities at the juvenile training centres and the orphans and vulnerable children centres. With all the experience and hard work, the road has taken me to a better place of which I’ve been nominated District coordinator of OYAP, and would like to thank the Kicking AIDS Out Leader level 2’s that helped me through.

When I take a moment and take a look back at where I’ve travelled through the Kicking AIDS Out-OYAP activities/events, I realize I’ve been leaving trails of bread crump’s everywhere I’ve been, not only to find my way back, but for other volunteers to get to where I am. But it has not been an easy road for me implementing the Kicking AIDS Out activities, for I live in Maseru, the capital city, where every youth has got his own way of entertainment regardless of what you bring along, and they thought only the activities would work best in the rural areas, but with the skills, I’ve been able to convince them to the activities of which now they want to get to my level.

I would like to thank OYAP in introducing me to the concept of the Kicking AIDS Out, which I’ve been able to change the lives of many in a positive way and have become a role model to many a few,  within the programme and at the communities.

Moitaoli Ntholeng

I am Mr. Moitaoli Ntholeng from Berea Branch in the Olympafrica Youth Ambassador Programme. Currently, I joined OYAP in 2006 and my first Peer Leader workshop was in May 2007 and that’s when I started implementing Kicking AIDS Out activities up until the present time.

As for now, I have a big change than before. Because for the first time before I became an ambassador I was a guy with a bad temper and doing bad things to my community just because of the lack of information and challenges we as youth, we are facing to get ready to service our life’s and this pandemic diseases. If I am HIV positive I currently have things to do to keep my body healthy than Staying everywhere without doing or taking part in sport as a key message of HIV/AIDS.

As a Leader Level 1 and being appointed to be a district coordinator of OYAP branch in Berea I have a challenge of getting responsibility of working under a hard situation. I recruit youth through Sports so that they can avoid the challenges they are facing all along to parenthood. My mission or my aim is to promote the development of young people in achieving their full physical, intellectual, social and spiritual potentials, responsible citizens and members of their local, national and international communities. What is more, it may not be easy to see at first what something like Sporting, for instance, has to do with physical, social and intellectual development Skills to avoid their challenges that they are facing.

By June 2008 I went to the Boxing International coaching level 1 just because of OYAP and September 2008 I represent OYAP on the workshop of cricket coaching and mini cricket coaching and Netball Safari. Early2009 I became a Kicking AIDS Out Leader Level 1 facilitator and I am busy pervades my wings all over Kicking AIDS Out concepts just to make a way forward of my pathway up  until I have Master Trainer. That is why I am having a little stretch of time and living on the little stretch of corner, So that I will be able to manage the risk of 99.9% of my life.

“I have the greatest impact on the epidemic for consistent of applying ABC and fewer sexual partners of practicing the multi-Concurrent Sexual partners in Africa”.

Atanase Mohapi

My name is Atanase Mohapi. I live at Teyateyaneng (Berea) in Lesotho. OYAP started in 2003 in Berea branch, and I started to Join OYAP in 2006 to become a Peer Leader in Berea branch. I attended the entire OYAP workshop pathway and now I am a Kicking AIDS Out Leader Level 1.

I am a leader level 1 and it changed my life a lot. Now I can face the world without hesitation. As Leader level 1 I have changed lives of other youth and made them and make a big impact responsible to their life. I am a Lesotho cricket player and now I am motivated as now I am able to work with developing youth and deliver Kicking Aids Out activities better than before. Kicking AIDS Out concepts has given me more strength on the field of Sports.

As a leader Level 1, I have being appointed to be a secretary so that I can be able take action to the wrong and good things that can happen to our district.

My aim is to develop group centre for the Youth so that they can share their views freely without hesitation. As we know our mission says that we should empower youth to positively influence lives and lives of others by actively enhancing life skills through sports. My aim is again is to help youth with life skills to develop them physically and intellectually so as to avoid the challenges they come across in their daily lives.