Grassroot Soccer Tommy Clark, MD Fellowship Awarded 2006 
Grassroot Soccer grew out of three powerful forces in the life of Dr. Thomas Clark: his love and concern for Africa, his training as a physician, and the game of soccer.
Dr. Clark spent part of his childhood in Zimbabwe, a country where life expectancy has dropped to 30 years of age, and later returned to play professional soccer for The Bulawayo Highlanders. Clark witnessed first-hand the devastating impact that AIDS was having in Africa, while also experiencing the power that soccer had to engage people across the continent. Young people in particular looked to soccer players as role models, even heroes. Grassroot Soccer educates African adolescents about HIV in a unique and effective way. By sharing their curriculum, collaborating with other groups and training trainers, Grassroot Soccer is poised to reach very large numbers of youth. Soccer is the magic ingredient. The staff's enthusiasm for and ability to play soccer allow them to win the trust of communities through a shared passion. By using local professional players as educators, Grassroot Soccer attracts youth and provides culturally appropriate role models. The game-based curriculum incorporates soccer drills and makes participation fun. As a result of the Grassroot Soccer program, today, in dusty townships across Africa, tens of thousands of young people are talking about HIV. In countries where up to one-quarter of the population is HIV-positive, the importance of these conversations cannot be overstated. Dr. Clark serves as the Executive Director of Grassroot Soccer. He has received numerous awards including All-American honors as a soccer player, two-time Resident Teacher of the Year at the University of New Mexico, and the Annie Dyson Child Advocacy Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics. In 2005 he was a Research Fellow at University of California at San Francisco focusing on implementation and evaluation techniques for Grassroot Soccer. In 2005, Tommy was the recipient of a Social Justice Award from Dartmouth College, and, in 2007, Tommy received the Peace Abbey's Courage of Conscience Award. Learn more about Grassroot Soccer at www.grassrootsoccer.org |
