Soul Buddyz Clubs

The Soul Buddyz clubs were inspired by the Soul Buddyz television programme, also produced by Soul City. Children watching the show, in which children were part of a fictional Soul Buddyz club, wanted to have a similar club of their own. The clubs were formed as a vehicle to mobilise children, provide a space for ongoing learning with peer and intergenerational support, and provide a positive, fun, alternative forum for children’s needs and voices to be heard.

The specific objectives of the Soul Buddyz Club are to:

• sustain a vehicle through which children between the ages of 8-12 years can become accredited Buddyz members
• use this vehicle to mobilise children to participate in taking responsible action to shape their lives and that of the community, now and in the future
• create an environment for ongoing learning with peer and intergenerational support
• create a forum where children’s needs and voices can be heard
• provide a positive alternative for young people
• to encourage young children to have fun and be creative
• support young people as agents for change
• to provide young people with vital health information, especially around HIV/AIDS and sexuality in order to shift social norms and promote delaying the onset of sexual activity

The Buddyz Clubs seeks to promote:

• children as proactive, valuable and productive members of the community
• non-discrimination and gender sensitivity
• the best interests of all children
• respect for the right to life, survival and development
• alternate values to the dominant individual, consumerist set of values
• respect for the views of all children, and
• respect for , exploration and interaction with the environment
• problem solving, encouraging active learning

The clubs activities are structured and influenced by the overall vision and objectives of the project. Some activities and materials are standard, and some are linked to yearly themes, which are also related to the focus theme of the Soul Buddyz television series, which changes from series to series. Themes that have been addressed include: HIV/AIDS and child grants, caring for the environment, food gardens and soup kitchens, alcohol free schools, and dealing with bullying, among others. The clubs undertake a number of different strategies and approaches, but the principle of child participation is integral.

The clubs function by using the following strategies:

Facilitators
The Clubs are convened by facilitators who are trained through a 5-day accredited course by Soul City. Although Clubs are for children, by children, teachers and librarians have a critical role to play in supporting the development of Clubs, providing a facilitative and supportive role for children. "The primary objective being that children have an adequate level of supervision, support, and safety." The facilitattrs are also responsible for communication between Clubs and the Soul Buddyz Club Management Team. The management team, and field workers, help to support and encourage clubs throughout the year.

Club meetings and activities
Clubs meet regularly and are encouraged to work through the Soul Buddyz Club materials. Clubs meet on average about once a week in schools or in libraries. Where Clubs are highly active and integrated into the school, they meet as often as three times a week. The frequency of Club meetings and activity also depends on whether the Club is busy with projects, whether they are involved in other club driven activities, and whether there are school projects or exams. During a meeting, the members discuss and debate issues raised in the Soul Buddyz Club newsletter and plan their activities and projects. This may include doing research in the community about issues affecting children, identifying vulnerable children and families and assisting them in various ways, and preparing dramas and presenting these within their schools. Outside of the schools, the Buddyz also network with local organisations, i.e clinics, community radio stations, etc. and host monthly and quarterly competitions.

Materials
Resources are provided by Soul City to help the clubs explore issues and plan activities. These include: Club Zone magazines, unit guides, facilitator guides, fun 'n games booklets, magazines for grown-ups, posters, newsletters, and club reports.

• The thematic unit guides provide information and activities relating to the specific themes being covered by the Soul Buddyz programme at the time. There are two or three units a year that focus indepth on particular topics, and each unit culminates in a project where clubs decide on actions to take to address an aspect of the topic.
• Club Zone is a quarterly 24-page magazine designed to promote general knowledge and a love for learning and exploring. It also provides tools for doing school work, such as research projects, speeches, and story-writing. Ideas for articles are gathered formally and informally, including from children during field trips and meetings, and through projects, letters, drawings, poems, stories and other mail that clubs send in.
• Bi-monthly newsletter and posters are filled with information about general club activities, national and international health campaigns and fun competitions which children can enter. The posters are more theme specific and are more interactive, encouraging children to take some action in their school or community.

Club Grading
To encourage active clubs and recognise those that are most dynamic, clubs activities are monitored and Clubs are graded according to their level of activity and successful completion of projects and activities. There are four levels of Club Grading: bronze, silver, gold and platinum. New clubs begin as Bronze Buddyz and are able to move up to Silver, Gold and then aim for Platinum. The clubs receive points for different kinds of activities, and these are calculated at the end of the year to determine their grading for the following year.

Parental Interventions
Parents and community are encouraged to support facilitators who are supporting clubs. A variety of marketing campaigns and advertisements were implemented to raise awareness of the Soul Buddyz Club and to rally support and involvement among communities. Soul Buddyz also seeks to extend its reach beyond children, into the family by offering a parenting support group for families involved in Soul Buddyz Clubs, which involves working with parents and providing parenting skills, information, and assistance. The intervention consists of 11 training sessions with an average of 25 parents per session. "Parents become more skilled and equipped to deal with parenting issues. The parenting intervention focuses on parents as individuals, their behaviours and things that affect how children behave. Participants are encouraged to learn new skills to help children grow, develop and reach their potential."

Children.

The Buddyz Clubs recognise children as proactive, valuable, and productive members of the community. As of November 2014, there are over 8 642 Soul Buddyz Clubs across South Africa and the clubs have 147 628 young members.