Alumni Focus

Tommy Clark is Using the Power of Sport to Battle HIV/AIDS

THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD JOSEPH Ndebele, a student in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, is growing up much too fast. Since his father's death from AIDS, his mother has been urging him to give up his two passions-school and soccer-to find full-time work to support their family.

It is a harsh reality to face for one so young, but it is no different than that of many other teenage boys and girls living in sub-Saharan Africa, a region that currently hosts 76 percent of the world's AIDS cases. Of the 29.4 million people living with HIV/AIDS in southern Africa, 10 million are aged 15-24 and 3 million are below age 15. Without intervention, Joseph may suffer the same fate as his father.

REVERSING A PANDEMIC

Now, thanks to an AIDS awareness and prevention organization called Grassroot Soccer, at-risk youth like Joseph may have a fighting chance. The brainchild of former Hanover High and Dartmouth College soccer standout Dr. Thomas Clark, Grassroot Soccer is mobilizing the global soccer community to combat the AIDS pandemic in Africa.

Specifically, the program trains Africa's most popular role models, professional soccer players, to be HIV educators to work with adolescents. The curriculum, which is interactive and game based, has been evaluated by the independent group from Stanford University and the six-month follow up data show that lessons are being learned and remembered. That's good news, considering that approximately 200 children go through the program each week in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.

"The results of the evaluation have really encouraged us and our goal is to expand the basic program throughout Zimbabwe and also to start programs in Zambia, Botswana, and South Africa," says Clark. "We recognized that we can't be everywhere and so are disseminating our program using other organizations. Currently, we are working with Johns Hopkins in Ethiopia, and several other organizations have adopted our curriculum and are using it in Kenya, Zambia and soon, Uganda."

THE DARTMOUTH CONNECTION

Dr. Clark conceived of the idea for Grassroot Soccer while attending Dartmouth Medical School (DMS). "Before I started medical school, I had played professional soccer and taught English in Zimbabwe," he explains. "While at DMS, a lot of friends and even students from Zimbabwe died. Naturally, I wanted to be part of the solution."

He understood the cachet that soccer held in Africa, especially for its youth. "It's similar to the way American kids idolize sports heroes here, but over there it's even more powerful because of the poverty and lack of other sports," Clark says. "In this country, athletes are used to sell products all the time. I thought, 'Why not apply the same concept to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS?'"

In 2002, during his medical residency at the University of New Mexico, he decided to launch the program- with encouragement from his residency director Dr. Ben Hoffman. Clark is quick to point out that he has had a lot of help. "Most of the recognition needs to go to Kirk Friedrich, our managing director, who is the heart and soul of Grassroot Soccer. He's tenacious, passionate, and knows Africa from his days there as a professional player."

In addition to Friedrich and Clark, Methembe Ndlovu-a Dartmouth graduate and former captain of the Zimbabwe soccer team-and Ethan Zohn, winner of CBS' Survivor Africa, have been instrumental to the program. Zohn will represent Grassroot Soccer when it is awarded the 2004 International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care Award in Washington, DC on November 1.

Clark is currently a research fellow at the University of California at San Francisco, learning program implementation and evaluation techniques that he will need to continue his work. In addition, he is teaching medical students and will also earn his Masters in Public Health from the University of California at Berkeley next year.

INAUGURAL GLOBAL HEALTH SYMPOSIUM

Dr. Clark will be one of several featured speakers at the first annual Great Issues in Medicine and Global Health Symposium, to be held November 17- 19 on the campuses of Dartmouth- Hitchcock Medical Center and Dartmouth College.

This year's topic is the global HIV/AIDS crisis. "Symposium speakers will engage our community in a discussion about the AIDS pandemic-with particular focus on Africa-using their first-hand experience in Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ghana and Tanzania," explains Mary Turco, director of the Center for Continuing Education in the Health Sciences and Continuing Medical Education.

The presentations will take place in several forums and will include high school and college students, healthcare providers and outreach workers, patients, and the general public. "Building on the theme, 'Desperation and Inspiration,' the program will provide examples of exceptional humanitarian and research work that is being performed by individuals and groups affiliated with Dartmouth, our community, and others," says Turco, who is co-initiator of the event along with Dr. Mark Israel, director of Norris Cotton Cancer Center.

Among the featured speakers will be: Dr. Bill Rankin, president of Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance, a non-profit organization for preventing HIV/AIDS; Dr. Bepi Raviola, a Dartmouth College '94 graduate and former Dartmouth soccer teammate of Clark's who is a researcher on the demoralization of physicians in public medical practice and the psychosocial impact of HIV/AIDS on children; Dr. Joyce Sackey, a Dartmouth College '85 and DMS '89 graduate who is now a professor at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of the Foundation for African Relief- a non-profit organization dedicated to alleviating suffering caused by HIV/AIDS in Africa; and Dr. C. Fordham von Reyn, section chief of infectious disease and international health at DHMC who is leading an international effort to increase knowledge and enhance research skills and capacity in Tanzania to reduce deaths from HIV and tuberculosis.

"AIDS has developed into the dominant global health issue of our time, so it's important that we consider the pandemic from many perspectives- including prevention and treatment, basic and clinical research, and a consideration of its economic, and social impact," says von Reyn. "The symposium will provide a unique opportunity for members of the Dartmouth community to learn first hand about the epidemic in Africa and the diverse efforts of DMS alumni, DMS faculty, and others in the international campaign to control HIV/AIDS."

KIDS HELPING KIDS

The symposium will begin with a community schools event-at Dartmouth College's Leverone Field House-where Clark, Raviola, Ndlovu, Friedrich and Grassroot Soccer associates will present the Grassroot Soccer and "KickAIDS" programs to local students.

KickAIDS, an educational fundraising initiative targeting American middle and high school students, was successfully piloted in 2003 in New England, Pennsylvania, and New Mexico. "The emphasis of KickAIDS is on raising awareness and motivating youth to get off the sideline and do something to help," says Clark. This fall, Grassroot Soccer is inviting over 400 teams to participate in the KickAIDS Team Challenge, giving American kids the chance to help African kids by collecting contributions from soccer juggle-a-thons.

"To really make a dent in this enormous problem, we need to expand our program to reach millions, not thousands of African kids," Clark says. "Thanks to key supporters like the Gates Foundation, Dartmouth College, hummel america, Rotary International, and Upper Valley Lightning Soccer Club-and the countless individuals who have contributed in ways both large and small-we're on our way."

This article appeared in the Fall 2004 issue of Skylight.

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