Star for Life 

Long-term commitment – our brightest shining star.

Star for Life is a non-profit organisation that works to strengthen young people's self-esteem, motivate them to invest in their education, take care of their health and make wise life decisions. The idea for Star for Life was born in 2005 when Christin and Dan Olofsson started a business project in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Here they saw how the staff and their children were affected by HIV and AIDS.

The devastating consequences of the virus led the Olofssons to start a programme at the local school, Siphosabadletshe High School. The students were given the tools and support to avoid infection, encouraged to take their health seriously and invest in their studies and entrepreneurship. It is this idea and this method that still drives Star for Life today.

Today, we are active in 91 schools in South Africa, Namibia and Tanzania, where our coaches follow the students throughout their schooling. In South Africa and Namibia our mobile health clinics do outreach, offering sampling, care, and advice. Our Daughters of Africa Girls' Clubs, where tomorrow's female leaders and entrepreneurs are formed, can be found in 65 schools in southern Africa. In total, over 500,000 students have taken part in the Star for Life programme in these countries.

Over the years, the organisation has grown and spread to other countries. In Sweden, Motivationslyftet by Star for Life has existed since 2013, and in 2022 Star for Life Ukraine and Star for Life Jerusalem were launched. In Sweden, Norway and Germany, our fundraising foundations work tirelessly to engage more sponsors and develop our partnerships. Together we cooperate through our umbrella organisation SFL International, which is led by a management team under Secretary General Jessica Grundström Ahldin, Deputy Secretary General, Philip de Croy and chaired by our founder, Dan Olofsson.

Star for Life South Africa

In 2023, we initiated a five-year rejuvenation strategy focusing on our programmes, monitoring and evaluation and internal culture of the organisation. This year, the emphasis has been on our coaches, who are our key players, meeting the students and offering psychosocial support in the schools.

A significant number of students have extremely high needs. As a result, our coaches encounter many vulnerable students with major social problems, which obviously affects their own mental well-being. We have therefore taken initiatives to help them reduce stress and emotional exhaustion through courses in neuroleadership, neurocommunication and personal sustainability.

The coaches are the foundation of our programme and we are keen to give them tools to develop and feel good in their role. Our coaches and health team do a fantastic job and their efforts in the classrooms are appreciated not only by students, teachers and principals but also by employees of the Ministry of Health and the Department of Education.

Star for Life Namibia

Our teams in Namibia made significant progress in 2024. In particular, we would like to highlight our mobile health clinic which, in partnership with the Namibia Planned Parenthood Association, offered HIV testing, family planning information and other essential health services to over 1,000 students in several schools. In addition, “Grassroots Soccer” was introduced; a Peace Corps programme that, through soccer, works to strengthen young people’s self-esteem and independence, and promote a healthier and more productive lifestyle.

Jana Richardson, a Peace Corps volunteer, has joined the Star for Life team. She is an experienced programme manager and certified social worker from the USA who will work closely with our teams in Namibia, South Africa, and Sweden. The REACH II programme which endeavours to counter gender-based violence through counselling was successfully implemented, reaching 298 girls during the year. Overall, 2024 was characterised by successful teamwork and positive feedback from both teachers and students.

Star for Life Tanzania

In 2023, the Star for Life programme was launched on Mafia Island in the Indian Ocean off Tanzania. In its first two years, the programme has reached 2,070 students in eight schools, exceeding our initial expectations for the pilot phase. Given the challenges of extreme poverty, deep-rooted religious traditions and a widespread culture of impunity for those in positions of power on the island, the coaches have made an outstanding breakthrough. Through a series of workshops and counselling sessions, the coaches have worked tirelessly to change students’ attitudes, to support and motivate them to realise their dreams. This year, these sessions have been expanded to include parents as well, further promoting positive societal change.

We offer our coaches continuous training to help them adapt to the island’s unique environment and cultural context. In May, two coaches travelled to South Africa for an observation trip where they had the opportunity to shadow our experienced coaches and leaders.

Star for Life Jerusalem

Our school programme SFL Education has expanded to ten schools, and we now reach 2,309 students and 300 teachers. We have developed three manuals, three student journals and “Najoom”, a children’s book that addresses trauma, was printed in 37,500 copies and distributed to school students. In addition, 400 food packages were distributed in collaboration with World Food Programme.

Through SFL Sigma Labs, we have been involved in enabling over 150 jobs in hi-tech during 2024. We have supported 1,500 jobseekers, 25 startups and 50 interns have been placed in leading multinational companies. Our work has also contributed to 200 students enrolling in various technical education programmes.

Our employment programme SFL Job Hub has, in cooperation with more than 45 companies, mediated over 105 jobs. We have also supported more than 40 small and medium-sized companies and 17 women’s craft companies in their business development.

starforlifejerusalem.org

Star for Life Ukraine

Our commitment to Ukrainian youth has never been clearer. This year alone, over 15,000 children took part in our programmes. We started 2024 by offering innovative courses in Java programming for grades 5-11, combined with English lessons and our “Mental Boost” programme. With 2,156 participants – of which 716 were young girls and 1,007 came from less privileged backgrounds – our programmes continue to broaden horizons and promote inclusion. We also made a fresh start with our pilot course in Python for grades 7–9.

Our commitment to empowering young women in IT continues and in collaboration with the Nexer Group we launched our second Girls in Tech programme. Here we brought together 100 young girls from all over Ukraine with inspiring female leaders in IT. This initiative has created a vibrant community and new invaluable contacts.

Finally, our Global Kids Club, a collaborative project with SFL Jerusalem, succeeded in bringing together 30 children from Ukraine and Jerusalem, creating opportunities for cultural exchange and new friendships.

sflua.org

Motivationslyftet by Star for Life

It is safe to say that today’s young people will face a world with a high rate of change, demanding the ability to adapt. Motivationslyftet by Star for Life aims to contribute to sustainable school development where students are prepared for exactly this. Therefore, we are happy that we now offer programmes for all ages and through the entire educational chain. By highlighting research-based results and proven examples of success, our long-term ambition is to ensure that all students in Sweden receive training in self-leadership.

Today, 65–70 Swedish schools and two sports associations use our programmes and during the year we have adapted materials to respond to current societal challenges. At the same time, we continue to deepen and spread our work in youth sports.

To further consolidate cooperation between our countries and organisations, we have successfully completed a pilot project involving Swedish and Namibian schools and produced a manual for future partnerships between Star for Life schools around the world.

motivationslyftet.se

Interview with Nadeen Siam

Education is a wonderful thing, and for Star for Life, which expanded to Jerusalem in 2022, this may be their most important...

Star for Life 

Star for Life is a non-profit organisation that works to strengthen young people’s self-esteem, motivate them to invest in their education, take care of their health and make wise life decisions. The idea for Star for Life was born in 2005 when Christin and Dan Olofsson started a business project in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Here they saw how the staff and their children were affected by HIV and AIDS.

The devastating consequences of the virus led the Olofssons to start a programme at the local school, Siphosabadletshe High School. The students were given the tools and support to avoid infection, encouraged to take their health seriously and invest in their studies and entrepreneurship. It is this idea and this method that still drives Star for Life today.

Today, we are active in 91 schools in South Africa, Namibia and Tanzania, where our coaches follow the students throughout their schooling. In South Africa and Namibia our mobile health clinics do outreach, offering sampling, care, and advice. Our Daughters of Africa Girls’ Clubs, where tomorrow’s female leaders and entrepreneurs are formed, can be found in 65 schools in southern Africa. In total, over 500,000 students have taken part in the Star for Life programme in these countries.

Over the years, the organisation has grown and spread to other countries. In Sweden, Motivationslyftet by Star for Life has existed since 2013, and in 2022 Star for Life Ukraine and Star for Life Jerusalem were launched. In Sweden, Norway and Germany, our fundraising foundations work tirelessly to engage more sponsors and develop our partnerships. Together we cooperate through our umbrella organisation SFL International, which is led by a management team under Secretary General Jessica Grundström Ahldin, Deputy Secretary General, Philip de Croy and chaired by our founder, Dan Olofsson.

Yearbook 2024 /Involvement /Star for Life 

Yearbook 2024 /Involvement /Star for Life