I’m at a workshop put on by GivingSpace.org, Tom Munneke’s group. Many interesting people are here, some of whom don’t even have easy URLs (Hi Iz).
Anyway, one of the participants is Ethan Zohn, AKA as he freely admits, as “Ethan From Survivor.” Ethan won Survivor:Africa, as any Google search can tell you. He’s also a “Survivor Hunk”, “Reality TV Hunk” etc.
Basically, his google search is filled with interesting triva, but nothing that points to the Grassroot Soccer foundation he has set up to help teach kids in Africa how to avoid getting HIV/AIDS. Some serious folks including the Bill and Melida Gates foundation are supporters of Ethan’s efforts. Ethan and the group get Pro Footballers (soccer players for us Americans) to go to villages and teach kids about both the game of Soccer, and also about the game of life- or how to keep their lives going by avoiding behaviors that might lead to HIV/AIDS. The messaging seems to be targeted to avoiding the lecture (which doesn’t work on teens anywhere in the world, I’m told) and targeted to giving kids the info they need to make informed decisions. It also empowers kids who graduate from these seminars to be peer educators,complete with certificates to show they’re qualified. Ethan described it as “getting Michael Jordan to go to Harlem to explain how drugs affect teens.” People would pay attention. In these countries, Football stars are hugely famous and locally recognizable – the appearance becomes an event, and a dialog can start on a topic that might usually have stigma or societal barriers against the discussion. A worthwhile effort, IMHO.
So this post, as well as others I’m encouraging everyone I know to make, is intended to help Ethan and his organization gain some rank in search engines by pointing the search terms Ethan Zohn and Ethan From Survivor to the Grassroot Soccer site. This is not a “google bomb” in the same way that people tried to point “miserable failure” towards a political candidate. This is trying to help someone gain the connection they deserve for their own name, reputation and foundation.
So pitch in a minute, and pass on some link-capital of your own, please. Link Ethan to GrassRoots Soccer. Get some awareness of this excellent effort out into the world.