Watumishi kicks off HIV/AIDS awareness
From the Marquette Tribune
by Molly Newman
Watumishi and the men’s soccer team are working toward the same goal with “Lose the Shoes,” a three-on-three barefoot soccer tournament to raise HIV/AIDS awareness this Wednesday.
Patrick Duffey, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences, worked with assistant men’s soccer coach Khaled El-Ahmad to start the tournament at Marquette this year soon after he joined Watumishi, an HIV/AIDS awareness group on campus.
Dartmouth College senior Zak Kaufman started the tournament — which has now spread to seven high schools and 12 colleges — last fall in conjunction with College Kick AIDS Week. The soccer tournament raises awareness of HIV/AIDS on college and high school campuses, Kaufman said.
The $10 registration fee for the tournament raises money for Grassroot Soccer, an organization that provides after-school soccer programs and HIV/AIDS education to children in sub-Saharan Africa, Duffey said.
Alicia Fleming, a senior in the College of Health Sciences and co-chair of Watumishi, said the group started planning “Lose the Shoes” after Duffey suggested it in early September.
“Anything people get excited about, that’s what we do for the year,” Fleming said.
The tournament will take place Wednesday at Valley Fields, with registration beginning at 5:15 p.m. and games beginning at 5:30 in round robin format, Duffey said. Teams will be divided into groups of four, and the top two teams from each group will continue in single elimination. The championship game will be played during halftime of the men’s soccer game, which begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Duffey said.
El-Ahmad said Duffey took the lead in planning the event, and combined the soccer team’s resources and Watumishi’s knowledge.
“You go to have fun, and the bonus is you spend money on a great cause,” El-Ahmad said.
Kaufman said “Lose the Shoes” brings athletes and activists together to support AIDS awareness.
“It’s a great event that can bring in a lot of folks that might not otherwise participate in an AIDS awareness event,” Kaufman said.
Fleming said Watumishi aims to have 36 teams participate to reach the fundraising goal of $1,000 for Grassroot Soccer.
Fleming said she realized the importance of activities that keep children out of trouble and provide them with a sense of community after working in an after-school program in South Africa, .
“If they can find something in their daily life that makes them happy, that will keep them going,” Fleming said.
Students who participate in the tournament will receive a T-shirt. Additional T-shirts will be available for sale to raise money for the effort. There also will be informational tables at the event to raise students’ awareness of HIV/AIDS, Duffey said.
“(The event) gets people to think about poverty as well as HIV and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa,” Duffey said.