GlobalGiving.org: Boxgirls International

Independent Women – Microbusinesses

lim — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:35:20 GMT

Boxgirls' goal is the empowerment of girls & women. Inspiring them to take on an active role in their community and participate in the much needed structural social changes, that not only ensures the basic human rights to all girls and women but also give them a true equal chance for success and happiness all over the world. As women and girls are still challenged by discrimination and gender based violence in far too many places, Boxgirls' started to aim to encourage what we believe the very basis for freedom: the trust, that you deserve to be indepent, free and happy, the trust in yourself.

Over the years we developed our progammes and went from sports to other empowering methods such as presentation and media trainings, first aid and pc skills trainings and from after school gym times to school and social work projects as well as afternoon and weekend trainings in self-defense, boxing, running, fitness and very recently yoga.

Despite all the success we had, we too often found ourselves lost in front of the big challenges these girls and women have to face: What do you do, when one women you know, loses her child because she cannot afford the medicine? How can you compensate, when the girls are all inspired and motivated, but can't afford schooling anymore? We found, that we can always find a way to help individual women, just by investing more of our time, effort and money on top of our regular work. We worked harder, bugged our friends and acqaintances more, got more funders. But we came to know very soon, that there is a basic problem at hand, we just had to find a way to solve, if we will ever want to have a chance to get on top of all this issues.

The basic problem? Money. Money equals independence. So, how do you combine a body based learning programme with a business training? And what could we really provide? Our experience with pc workshops, from which the internet café and learning institute from Boxgirls Nairobi arose, gave us an idea as well as the girls, who went through our programmes and found a job afterwards, because they could impress their future employers with their clear-headedness and soveregnity despite their lack of formal education.

So we spent 2010 thinking about curriculas and workshops to create a basis, from which Boxgirls can offer workshops in microbusinesses alongside our regular offers.

Prof. Dr. Heather Cameron gave an insight of this project already last September, at the International Conference for Sport and Development at the UWC in Cape Town "Beyond 2010".

In November and March/April, Prof. Cameron spent time in Cape Town again, to bring the last bits together and start the new project, which is set up to train women and girls to become entrepreneurs and get a good economical basis knowledge. Aim is: Only a women who can earn, administer and protect her own money has a chance to be her own women.

First Aid for Cape Town

lim — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 20:29:08 GMT

First Aid Boxgirls & family

On the weekend of the national holiday "Women‘s Day“ on the 09. of August the first Boxgirls Cape Town tournament took place including a broad range of workshops as presentation and media trainings as well as first aid courses and a parents workshop, for which the girls themselves did all the preparation. Themes for that workshop were health, economic empowerment and security and safety. The parents also welcomed the opportunity to meet or renew the acquaintance with Boxgirls founder and director Prof. Dr. Heather Cameron, who led all of the workshops herself aside from the first aid courses, which was hosted by the committed Boxgirls volunteer, paramedic and sport science graduate Heidi.

The parents clearly enjoyed the information and discussion – to such a degree, that only a week later another first aid course took place in the informal settlement of Withstand, this time outspokenly for Boxgirls and family.

CPR

first aid course girls

Boxgirls Cape Town: School Reach Out

lim — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 20:22:11 GMT

To reach more girls in the violent settlements in Atlantis and Khaylitcha, Boxgirls Cape Town started its school reach out programme.

Read here, what Boxgirls local associate Ntsikie experienced during one of the first school visits:

Boxgirls International made a name for itself in the township of Khayelitsha in Capetown, South Africa:
”On the 13. of September the Vuzamanzi Primary school was overcrowded, students were observing behind the windows, teachers were excited motivating girls.
The coach Andiswa Madikane was well occupied with 60 girls on the first day, who were eager to learn how to throw a jab. She finally ended up training the girls outside the classrooms.
All the girls were very talented and energetic, so teaching them we had as much fun as them. Already after the first training, they stated, that they want to train now everyday. Their new motto since then is “no more tears“. They valued, that with the boxing training they are not scared of bullies at school anymore.
I was not the only one being impressed by this crowd of amazing and brilliant girls, that shared their stories with no fear.”

Links:

More about the girls from Cape Town

Boxgirls Founder becomes Ashoka Fellow

lim — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:38:51 GMT

Ashoka Induction Cameron

Creativity, innovation and a good sense for business with a readiness for risk taking – that are the skills an Ashoka fellow needs. All that for one goal: overcoming social problems and creating social change – worldwide, for his/her model is also transferable.

On the 24. of November, the Ashoka Foundation presented eight of these change makers, one of them Prof. Dr. Heather Cameron, founder and executive director of Boxgirls International. That makes Boxgirls part of the global Ashoka network, with people as the Peace Nobel prize winner Muhammad Yunus as company.

Background:
Cameron studied Political and Social Thought at the York University in Toronto and besides being a social entrepreneur she is a assistant professor for psychology and educational science at the Free University of Berlin, Germany, and Professor Extraordinarius at the UWC.

As a scholar, she creates new forms of teaching and learning and explores social innovation and participation.
Her lab is real life itself: In 2005 she founded Boxgirls International in the district of Kreuzberg in Berlin-Germany. Meanwhile an international organisation, Cameron combines theory with practice and supports socially challenged girls to become the strong, independent and participating woman, that every girl has in herself and therefore create a generation of changemakers – in Berlin as well as in Nairobi and since last year also in Cape Town, in the districts of Atlantis and Khayelishta.

Corresponding her theory, that innovative teaching can only be achieved through the principle of participative inclusion, all her students have the opportunity to become an active part in these urban research facilities for social change.

It is no wonder, that she picked boxing to be the tool for that kind of change: In a Boxgirls training strategy, discipline, willpower and stamina are on the schedule. And the sport is just the door opener: presentation and media trainings are as much part of the Boxgirls programmes as first aid courses and workshops for economic empowerment, being true to the main principle of the organisation that is female empowerment.
To aid the development of these skills, Boxgirls does not wait for the girls to come, but lunches into action. With school outreach programmes and community work, Cameron found a way to meet the girls where they are. More and more people and institutions see the virtue of this approach and recognise the catalyst effect of the Boxgirls programmes.

Heather Cameron realised her vision, to bring critical thought and social entrepreneurship together, against all odds. The ever growing success proves her right: The granting of the fellowship is preceded by the nomination as "Professor of the Year 2010“ by the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers and the winning the competition start social with the "special prize of the chancellor“ awarded by the German chancellor herself, Dr. Angela Merkel.

Links:

MISSION Japan

lim — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 19:01:52 GMT

MISSION Japan

"Mission" is a documentary format of the Japanese broadcast NHK. It presents social projects and portraits the people behind them.
"Mission" shows the various forms of social engagement and wants to inspire the viewers to develop their own ideas to make change happen.

In summer 2010 the crew of director Yasuko Sakamoto accompanied BOXGIRLS founder and new Ashoka fellow Prof. Dr. Heather Cameron and her team during their stay in Cape Town, South Africa, to introduce the „Mission“ of BOXGIRLS by example of the newest project of the organization, BOXGIRLS Cape Town, that was founded only year ago in 2009: To help girls become strong leaders in strong community through boxing and self defense training.

In the documentary, the girls of the violent settlements in Atlantis and Khaylitcha talk about their challenges and plan to overcome them.

http://www.nhk.or.jp/mission-blog/missions/66653.html

See the new japans sites her:

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Boxgirls-International-ri-ben-yu/171610579525831?v=photos#!/pages/Boxgirls-International-ri-ben-yu/171610579525831?v=wall

Mixi (japanese social media site):
http://mixi.jp/view_community.pl?id=5365626

Boxgirls in Japanese
http://www.boxgirls.org/about-us/japanese.html

MISSION Japan: Bongiswa

Courage Wins - Boxgirls Founder Prof. Dr. Heather Cameron becomes Ashoka Fellow

lim — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 19:53:03 GMT

Ashoka

Heather Cameron, founder of Boxgirls International, has been named an Ashoka fellow in Germany. The fellowship will allow Cameron access to more social innovators to grow the Boxgirls projects all over the world.

Creativity, innovation and a good sense for business with a readiness for risktaking - that are the skills an Ashoka fellow needs. All that for one goal: overcoming social problems and creating social change - worldwide, for his/her model is also transferable.

On Wednesday, the 24. November 2010, the Ashoka Foundation presented eight of these changemakers.

One of them was Prof. Dr. Heather Cameron, founder and executive director of Boxgirls International.
Cameron studied Political and Social Thought at the York University in Toronto, wrote her dissertation about Sigmund Freud und Theodor W. Adorno and now teaches a Assistant Professor for psychology and educational science at the Freien Universität Berlin and Professor Honorarius at the UWC.

Heather Cameron realised her vision, to bring critical thought and social entrepreneurship together, against all odds. The ever growing success proves her right: The granting of the fellowship is preceded by the nomination as "Professor of the Year 2010" by the German Association of University Professors and Lecturers and the winning the competition startsocial with the "special prize of the chancellor" awarded by the German chancellor herself, Dr. Angela Merkel.

Award Ceremony

Links:

www.boxgirls.org

Boxgirls Videos on new YouTube channel

Heather Cameron — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:49:45 GMT

Hi friends of boxgirls We have created a new youtube channel where you can see all the videos created by girls in Nairobi, cape Town and Berlin. Take a look at what they have to say about why they love boxing, how they want to make their communities safer and what it is like to grow up where they live.

go to: http://www.youtube.com/wwwBOXGIRLSorg

I look forward to your comments.

Links:

Boxgirls Honoured by German Chancellor Merkel

Heather Cameron — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:45:51 GMT

Boxgirls is creating change in girls' lives around the world! In addition to opening a new site in Cape Town, Boxgirls also works in challenged areas of Berlin. 2 weeks ago the girls of Boxgirls Berlin received an extra special invitation to meet the German Chancello Angela Merkel and do a performance for her at the German Chancellery - it was like being invited to the White House.

See the movie here http://www.youtube.com/user/wwwBOXGIRLSorg#p/u/1/pBXHCYDfhXk

Links:

Here is our website and link to more videos

Project Update

Heather Cameron — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:30:39 GMT

Boxgirls International hosted a box coaching workshop from July 31st to August 3 in Nairobi, Kenya with young women from Nairobi and Kilifi. The girls reported that: “I now feel more ready to coach kids.”, “I learned a lot about stretching that I did not know”, “I don’t feel so scared saying my opinions”, “I can talk in front of people now and they will listen since I have the knowledge”. The girls from Boxgirls Nairobi and Moving the Goalposts Kilifi learned practical skills of gender sensitive coaching, strength training, tactics and how to teach amateur boxing and self defense to girls in the community. At the end of the course the girls organized and hosted a coaching session with girls and boys from the neighbourhood. The next steps are for the girls to earn money to support themselves and the project by offering afterwork training to professional women in downtown Nairobi in addition to the regular afternoon sessions with local schools.

Check out some of our pictures below of our Boxgirls in the gym and new trainer Lenah showing the girls what she learned at the Boxgirls Coaching Workshop in Kilifi, Kenya