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December 3, 2004/Kislev 20 5765, Vol. 57, No. 14
Jewish 'Survivor' returns to Africa
LOGAN C. RITCHIE
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
BOSTON - When Ethan Zohn returned to Africa to mark World AIDS Day, his first priority was to visit the future site of a soccer field.
"We want to break down stereotypes and build community," said Zohn, winner of the CBS reality show "Survivor: Africa" and vice chairman of Grassroot Soccer, a nonprofit organization that strengthens communities through recreation and AIDS education.
"By building this soccer field, we're making a safe place for people to come and learn about each other," he said.
Zohn will travel to Uganda - followed by People Magazine - to see the youth of Namuwongo Zone B and students at Kiwuliriza Primary School, where plans for the fields will be unveiled.
The project is made possible through Grassroot Soccer and Project Namuwongo Zone B, whose founder and executive director, Jeremy Goldberg, 24, is on the American Jewish Committee's Goldman Fellowship program, which focuses on leadership development.
"Sports serves as an outlet to this community, and to communities around the world," Goldberg said. "It builds morale, teamwork, leadership skills, and it eliminates stigma by breaking down barriers between tribes and between genders."
Goldberg describes Namuwongo as an "urban slum."
Its Zone B sector is a make-shift community, populated largely by orphans who fled Uganda's war-ridden northern region. The community lacks a sewer system, piped water, paved roads and electricity.
"We want to act as a catalyst for the community, mobilizing and delivering resources," he said.
Zohn previously played goalie for soccer teams in Zimbabwe, Hawaii and Massachusetts, and with the U.S. soccer team in the 1997 Maccabiah Games.
Visit www.whatiszoneb.org.
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