Civic education trophies hailed in Aids fight

Pressure is mounting on the National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) Trust in Mulanje and Phalombe to introduce football and netball bonanzas to save the youth from contracting HIV and Aids.

Nice once used football and netball trophies during the voter registration campaign to woo Malawians to register and vote in elections.

The trophies were competed for by schools and clubs before the voter registration exercise which began on August 26 2013.

Village Head Lolo of Traditional Authority (T/A) Nazombe in Phalombe lauded Nice for the trophies, saying they helped in reducing the spread of HIV and Aids in the district.

Lolo said the bonanzas were an important pastime for people in the area, thereby preventing them from engaging in risky sexual activities.

Group Village Head Soza of T/A Njema in Mulanje echoed Lolo’s sentiments.

Soza appealed to Nice to re-introduce the trophies.

“Since they phased out, most people, especially the youth, do not have many forms of entertainment. Our fear as chiefs is that they will turn to premarital sex to fill the gap,” he said.

Nice regional civic education officer Christopher Naphiyo acknowledged that sporting activities command a large following of both the old and the youth.

Naphiyo said this is why his orgnaisation uses sports to disseminate electoral messages.