Zimbabwean cricket star visits Jamaican youth centre

Following an aggressive knock of 67 runs against Ireland in a match that ended a thrilling tie at Jamaica's Sabina Park, Vusimuzi Sibanda, Zimbabwe's 23 year old opening batsman, took time off to do what he enjoys doing - helping children.

Young people at UNICEF-supported Portmore's Youth Information Centre (YIC) in Jamaica's St. Catherine Parish welcomed the visit by the cricketer who was very at ease this afternoon participating in a candid empowerment session on HIV and AIDS.

Sibanda's visit is one many others which have been made by cricketers all week throughout the Caribbean. They are an important component of the partnership between the International Cricket Council, UNICEF, UNAIDS and the Caribbean Broadcast Media Partnership on HIV/AIDS.

During an interactive session led by Tanya Richards, the Centre Manager, boys and girls, aged between 10 and 18 openly discussed the issue AIDS, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and protection.

"How do you prevent yourself from getting AIDS"? asks Richards. "Use a condom", is the immediate response from a girl in the front. And then the issue bounces back and forth facilitated by visual aids, until all areas are covered and everyone in the room is equipped with the knowledge to protect themselves from STIs.

The message articulated by Richards to the youth: "Sex comes with consequences - STIs and babies. If you can't be good be careful". And if this is not enough, photographs on the wall bring this message home for those who may not quite have gotten it.

Richards said that obviously abstinence is recommended but if this is not possible then the Centre distributes both male and female condoms to youth, but only after the issue is discussed with the recipients. "Whatever is discussed stays here and is treated with the strictest confidence", she said.

Sibanda is warm, relaxed and gentle. These qualities and his youth help him to reach children easily. He is like a big brother. "I want to play cricket for the next 20 years. But If I have unsafe sex I'll cut my career short. If you can't abstain, then stick to one partner and do the right thing". He reminds them to value their lives and focus on important goals and dreams because they can come true. "I always dreamed about being the best in my career and to represent my country and now look", he tells them.

Stephanie Watson, a UNAIDS Monitoring Specialist is upbeat about the visit by Sibanda. "This is exactly what the UNAIDS/UNICEF partnership needs. What we are trying to do is to get the story about children and AIDS out there and this is one way of doing it".

The UNICEF supported and evaluated YIC network was set up in 1998 by the Ministry of Education and Culture. It provides youth friendly sites for accessing information on a wide range of issues that are of interest to young people..

UNICEF's representative in Jamaica , Bertrand Bainvel sees these YICS as key projects to be supported. "They offer programmes to empower youth and provide skills while helping to protect young people against AIDS, he notes. "But they will only be successful if we start with the needs of youth, listen to them and deliver prevention measures as part of wider services".