From Survivor to Poverty-Fighter
NetAid Global Action Award judge and winner of "Survivor: Africa" Ethan Zohn talks to us about growing up, the inspiration that led to his non-profit organization, Grassroot Soccer, and the small things that everyone can do to fight global poverty.
Can you tell us about where you grew up and what your high school experience was like?
I grew up in Lexington, Massachusetts – the shot heard around the world, Paul Revere, the British are coming. It was a very upper-middle class kind of town. I had a great childhood and I loved my high school experience. There were about 1000 to 1200 people in my high school and our school was fairly good in sports but we were also very well-rounded.
Did it influence you in any way to get involved with global issues such as HIV/AIDS?
I'll be honest. I don't think it did at that stage in my life. I can remember the switch from high school to college being the big one for me in terms of diversity and meeting new people. There was a good mix of kids in my high school, but we didn't have classes on diversity or human geography.
Can you tell us a little about the work you do with youth in Africa and HIV education through Grassroot Soccer?
Grassroot Soccer educates professional soccer players in Africa about HIV/AIDS and trains them to go into the schools and teach youth about AIDS prevention. We based our model on Albert Bandura who created a learning theory, in which he basically found that kids learn better from following and modeling themselves after positive role models in their communities.
The curriculum is pretty progressive. It's activity-based, game-based and in addition to soccer games we have poetry, role playing and drama. And the people delivering the message are their heroes.
How did you choose to focus on working with youth?
My personal belief is that the youth are the future. I want to create an HIV negative community and a community that's aware of how to live a healthy lifestyle. If you really want to make an impact, then I think it's about changing behaviors, the way people think, and giving them the information they need to make the decision to live a healthy lifestyle.
We can't go in and preach. We have to give them all the information they need and then it's their choice. But before this they didn't have the information or what they did have was wrong.
And you also work in the U.S.?
Here in America we launched a program called KickAIDS, which is a US-based awareness and fundraising component to Grassroot Soccer. We visit high schools throughout America and teach the kids about the global AIDS pandemic and they go out and advocate on our behalf and raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in the world. We show them that they have the ability and power to save lives in Africa by performing a juggle-a-thon, lay-up-a-thon or swim-a-thon, and getting pledges. The kids feel empowered to save lives by playing sports and they love it.
Are there any particular experiences that helped you make the decision to co-found Grassroot Soccer?
I had two in particular. The first was when I arrived in Africa and I was going on road trips while playing professional soccer. I have strong memories of all the graveyards there. Some of the headstones were perfectly organized and in other areas there were these wooden crosses piled up. When I asked why some people were buried differently, one man told me that the ones with the crosses are where they buried people that died of AIDS. At that point in my life I didn't do anything about it because I didn't know what to do without the means.
Fast forward to the "Survivor" show, and while I was on that show I ended up playing hackey-sack with all these HIV positive children. I got back and had some notoriety and a big check in my pocket and that's when I came together with a couple of my buddies and started Grassroot Soccer.
Who are the people who inspire you everyday?
I've always been a big fan of Bono. Here's a guy who uses his celebrity to create change and he has this one quote that I like: "Celebrity is a bit ridiculous. We all know that. But it is currency." I feel very lucky because I was given a gift and I was put in a situation where for some crazy reason people listen to me. I want to use that to my advantage because the window is short.
As a NetAid Global Action Award judge, your role will be to select youth leaders who have made an impact on global poverty. What are the characteristics that you feel make a great leader?
I would say someone who is selfless, someone who is part of a community, someone driven and determined and who won't take no as an answer, and someone who has a good character so that people will respect and follow you.
As a person who has combined several of his passions into a commitment to effect social change, what advice would you give to youth who want to get involved in global issues but don't know where to start?
I always say, "Start small. You don't have to change the world tomorrow." You don't have to be Bill Gates and have massive amounts of money to go out there and make a difference. There are plenty of things that everyone can do on a smaller scale. It could be dropping balloons off in a hospital, reading to kids in school or donating blood. People always think they have to make a giant dent in the world but it's through the small actions that things get done. Find something that makes sense to you and something that you're passionate about and start or find an organization that does it.
Deadline November 30: Apply for a NetAid Global Action Award today!
