Dan Olofsson and his wife Christin talking to students at a Star for Life school
Star for Life (previously known as Star School[1]) is a Swedishnon-profit[2] school programme that was created inSouthern Africa to preventHIV/AIDS from spreading.[3][4][5] The idea was formed by the Swedish entrepreneurDan Olofsson[6][7][8] and his wife Christin.[9] 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.[10]
Over 60,000 youths are educated in the prevention of HIV/AIDS by Star for Life inSouth Africa andNamibia.[2][11] These youths are students at the 62 schools run by Star for Life there.[1] The first school was started in the autumn of 2005 in the South African provinceKwaZulu-Natal. Olofsson paid for the expenses (15 millionkronor[12]) of this school by himself; the rest of the schools were paid for by sponsors.[9] 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 asStefan Persson (H&M) andVolvo.[12]
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."[11]
The school programme lasts three years and uses colours, art, music, and sports as important parts of the education.[citation needed] They also work with strengthening the school children's self-esteem through coaching and support.[3] 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.[4][13] The Swedish bandTriple & Touch has done several concerts with African youths to support Star for Life.[6][14] In addition to music, several football teams have been created in Africa.[1][15]
Star for Life has received support fromMandla Mandela,Nelson Mandela's grandson, who helped raise money for the project when he came to Sweden in late 2009.[16] The Star for Life logo appeared on the front of the professional football clubMalmö FF's shirts during the 2009Allsvenskan season.[1]
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 NationsBan Ki-moon, who praised the programme.[12][17]
Star for Life Germany is the independent arm of the Star for Life Foundation in Germany. Entrepreneur and philanthropistDr 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.[18][19]
