Teaching Youths English Literacy Through Football

With the new normal way of conducting programs taking shape in our communities, the first monitoring and evaluation meeting of coaches was held at VAP offices. The meeting which was held in turns with a minimal number of coaches in attendance focused on strategic and innovative ways of conducting programs through various channels including: home based interventions, setting up of toll-free numbers for pyscho-social and mental health support for program participants and other online programming for vocational training participants and placements for apprenticeship participants.

Home-Based Interventions

 With Covid-19 having slowed down many activities across the globe, innovation is creeping in in different ways.VAP’s program interventions have taken a new dimension with the adaptation of Home-based interventions. Coaches are tasked to handle a sizeable number of participants from their respective neighborhoods while adhering and observing the guidelines of Covid-19. As a bonus to the focused program information, participants are taught about the awareness and preventive measures of Covid-19.

Pyscho-Social Support

 As one way of making sure that participants continue receiving vital information concerning health issues including: mental health support, family planning, and a full psycho social support, VAP has established Toll-Free numbers for participants to call. This will curb the rising cases of teen pregnancies and women violence as a result of Covid-19 pandemic restrictions. The lines have been created due to the absence of enough spaces for conversations surrounding, reproductive health topics, contraceptives, sexual debut, etc. Part of the conversations with the participants surround covid-19 prevention information.

The eruption of covid-19 pandemic is and still continues to be a challenge globally with many people getting infected every day and lives getting lost every minute and hours. Since the first detection of covid-19 in Kenya, its spread has been on the rise with many communities struggling with ways of curbing the virus. However, many of the communities that VAP serve which are slum areas of Nairobi, have been facing a great challenge of basic necessities which include: inadequate water supply which is very key towards preventing covid-19 virus, congestions of houses and people, inadequate soap and sanitizers, masks and other items.

It’s out of the covid-19 breakout that Vijana Amani Pamoja initiated a ‘VAP Cares,Covid-19 Response’ initiative that aims at creating awareness of covid-19 in the slum areas, targeting its youth participants and the entire communities.VAP Cares initiative has been on the frontline making a door to door community visits distributing soaps, and teaching communities on the importance of social distancing, proper hand washing of hands by using soaps, staying At Home  and  reporting to the nearest health facility in case of any symptoms of covid-19 .” Am happy to have received soap and more information of covid-19 awareness, me and my young family are going to stay at home to prevent the disease.” Said 19 year old Jacinta a young mother of 18 months old baby. As VAP Cares covid-19 campaigns continue, we would appreciate any kind of donation that would go towards supporting and spreading the awareness of covid-19 in all the slum areas of Nairobi.