Star for Life (previously known as Star School) is a Swedish

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

school programme that was created in

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

to prevent

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

from spreading. The idea was formed by the Swedish entrepreneur

Dan Olofsson Dan Olof Olofsson (born 24 September 1950 in Ekenäs, Finland) is a Swedish entrepreneur, business leader and philanthropist. Biography Dan Olofsson was born as the second oldest of five siblings in Ekenäs, Finland, where his father was em ...

and his wife Christin. Their goal was to help young African people actualize their dreams and to support them to live an AIDS-free life by refraining from having unsafe sex. Over 60,000 youths are educated in the prevention of HIV/AIDS by Star for Life in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

. These youths are students at the 62 schools run by Star for Life there. The first school was started in the autumn of 2005 in the South African province

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

. Olofsson paid for the expenses (15 million kronor) of this school by himself; the rest of the schools were paid for by sponsors. A fund was created for the programme and, as of 2008, 55 million kronor had been raised from donations by various Swedish company leaders such as Stefan Persson ( H&M) and

Volvo The Volvo Group (; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distribution and sale of truck ...

. Alf Svensson, one of the people behind Star for Life, has commented on the advice given to youths by the programme: "It's either safe sex or no sex at all. The results have been fantastic. We have lowered the amount of teen pregnancies significantly." The school programme lasts three years and uses colours, art, music, and sports as important parts of the education. They also work with strengthening the school children's self-esteem through coaching and support. Many South African youths have been given the opportunity to travel to Sweden to perform at concerts to raise money for the programme. These concerts help the youths to strengthen their esteem. The Swedish band

Triple & Touch Triple & Touch is a Swedish pop duo formed in Gothenburg in 1983. Earlier, Lasse Kronér (born 1962 in Gothenburg) was also a member until 1999, when he succeeded Leif Olsson for the leadership for the TV gameshow ''Bingolotto''. History 1 ...

has done several concerts with African youths to support Star for Life. In addition to music, several football teams have been created in Africa. Star for Life has received support from

Mandla Mandela Zwelivelile "Mandla" Mandela, National Assembly of South Africa, MP (born 21 June 1974) is the tribal chief of the Mvezo Traditional Council and the grandson of Nelson Mandela. He graduated from Rhodes University with a degree in Politics in 20 ...

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

's grandson, who helped raise money for the project when he came to Sweden in late 2009. The Star for Life logo appeared on the front of the professional football club

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening (), commonly known simply as Malmö FF or MFF, is a Swedish professional football club based in Malmö, Scania. They compete in the Allsvenskan, the top division of Swedish football, and play home matches at the Eleda S ...

's shirts during the 2009

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; ), also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan (, ) is a professional association football league in Sweden and the highest level of the Swedish football league system. Founded in 1924, it operates on a system of promotion and relegatio ...

season. Olofsson received a Global Business Coalition award in 2008 for Star for Life. Among the 700 guests at the award ceremony were Secretary-General of the United Nations

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was the South Korean minister ...

, who praised the programme. Star for Life Germany is the independent arm of the Star for Life Foundation in Germany. Entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr Jörg Mosolf established Star for Life Germany as a charitable foundation in October 2021 to provide targeted coaching to students in disadvantaged regions of Southern Africa.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Star For Life HIV/AIDS prevention organizations Educational organisations based in Namibia Medical and health organisations based in South Africa