Winner of “Survivor Africa” Returns to FDU to Pass On His Message
From fduknights.collegesports.com
Ethan Zohn, winner of “Survivor Africa”, and former Fairleigh Dickinson University assistant men’s and women’s soccer coach returned to the University to talk to Knights’ student-athletes about Grassroot Soccer, an organization he helped found. Approximately 60 student-athletes from the Fairleigh Dickinson University men’s and women’s soccer teams gathered to hear Zohn educate about HIV/AIDS and the actions he is taking to raise awareness in Africa.
Grassroot Soccer is an international non-profit organization dedicated to training Africa’s strongest role models, professional soccer players, to teach African children and teenagers about HIV/AIDS prevention. The basic premise is to teach professional soccer players in Africa about HIV/AIDS and then send them into the classroom to teach students how to change their behaviors and lead healthy lifestyles.
Grassroot Soccer runs Kick AIDS in the United States, an educational and fundraising initiative that teaches American junior high, high school and college students about the global HIV epidemic and encourages those students to get personally involved in the solution. More than 50,000 students at 150 high schools, 20 colleges and 30 summer camps will participate in the Kick AIDS Team Challenge 2005.
Kick AIDS follows the motto “educate, advocate and donate”. In conjunction with that, schools are currently running juggle-a-thons where they teach students about HIV/AIDS and urge them to raise money with pledge sheets. Hummel, an international soccer apparel company, gives out prizes based on money raised.
“I think that the whole organization presents an interesting counteractive measure,” said senior women’s soccer student-athlete Jennifer Tarvin. “Taking soccer, such a widely-accepted and respected thing throughout the population, to try and deal with the problem makes a lasting impression.”
“Fairleigh Dickinson has been a fantastic resource for me,” said Zohn. “Knowing that I have access to these student-athletes and these programs to help with something that I’m passionate about is great. It is nice to come back. I am always well-received with a warm welcome and it keeps me grounded.”
Zohn first saw the effects of AIDS in Africa when he lived and played soccer in Zimbabwe for the Highlanders. He recalled vast areas of disarrayed tombstones set aside for AIDS victims to the student-athletes gathered in the room.
After winning “Survivor Africa”, Zohn became a founding member of Grassroot Soccer after being moved by his time playing for the Highlanders and a visit to a local hospital where his one item of choice to bring to the competition, his Hacky Sack, affected the sick children. Zohn quoted Martin Luther King, Jr. to drive home his point to the Division I athletes in attendance, “The time is always right to do what is right.”