OUR STORY
Boxgirls began in 2001 to offer self-defense training to young girls in Berlin’s inner city neighborhoods of Kreuzberg and Neukölln. Over time, the program has developed into a community organization that offer a safe space for women and girls in Berlin to train, learn, and grow.
In 2005, Boxgirls was selected as a model project by the United Nations International Year of Sports and Physical Education. The success of the program soon led to an international effort resulting in the creation of a partnership between Boxgirls and local activists in Kenya. Together, we created Boxgirls Kenya which serves underprivileged girls and women living in some of Nairobi’s toughest neighborhoods.
Boxgirls South Africa began in 2009 when we were invited to work with primary schools in the township of Khayelitsha in Cape Town, South Africa. Since then, we have expanded our work from operating in 19 primary schools to having 20 active partnerships entering into 2018.
Our leaders in Germany have supported the organisational development of Boxgirls South Africa, Germany, and Kenya from the beginning up until today through trainings, consultancy, and a curriculum developed with input from the South African team.
Boxgirls International facilitated workshops at the UNOSDP youth leadership camps prior and is continuing to advocate for the empowerment of women and girls with the expansion of Boxgirls International worldwide.
BOXGIRLS
,Strong girls
Safe communities
OUR LEADERS
NWABISA QALANTO
EVALUATION & ADMINISTRATION, SOUTH AFRICA
“I learned a lot about evaluation & data collection at Boxgirls. I am happy to teach the Evaluation assistants now.”
MRS. WINNIE MBATHA
BOARD MEMBER, SOUTH AFRICA
Mrs. Mbatha serves as the organization's Legal Administrator. She has served on many local school boards.
GLYNIS CLACHERTY
BOARD MEMBER, SOUTH AFRICA
Ms. Clacherty is a Research Fellow at the African Centre for Migration and Society University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. She Advises ECD Programmes such as CARE Mozambique and is an expert in curriculum, program development, and child-centred research.
MR. MNCEDISI MBATHA
ADVISOR, SOUTH AFRICA
Mr. Mbatha also serves as an NGO Programme Manager, a School Governing Board Member, and a Xenophobia & Migration Expert Community Leader. He is a community manager for the violence prevention through urban upgrading in Khayelitsha.
MS. INGA MAFENUKA
ADVISOR, SOUTH AFRICA
Ms. Mafekuna is also an Information Communications Technology student at Cape Peninsula University of Technology. She is a member of the UNOSDP alumni association.
LISA OPEL
PROGRAM LEADER, BOXGIRLS INTERNATIONAL, GERMANY
“I am passionate about supporting girls and young women to reach their dreams. Providing girls with a safe space where they are valued and supported opens opportunities to develop their skills and unique talents. Empowering and inspiring girls and young women does not only make a change within their lifes, but also affects those around them.”
DR. HEATHER CAMERON FOUNDER
Dr. Heather Cameron is the founder of Boxgirls International and The Camp Group “Think Tank and Do Lab.” In 2010, she was honored by the German Association of University Professors with the prize ‘University Professor of the Year’ for her work in education at the Freie Universität Berlin. She was also selected as an Ashoka Fellow by the Ashoka: Social Innovators for the Public and received the Young Leaders Award from the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt. She leads projects for refugee children in German cities, designs girls’ primary school leadership programs in the townships of Cape Town and, as an international gender and education expert for the German Development Cooperation, runs workshops and creates curriculum tools for the Ministry of Education in Afghanistan. Cameron also consults with leading foundations and organizations on social impact assessment strategies. She teaches at the masters and doctoral level as the Michael B. Kaufman Professor of Practice in Social Entrepreneurship at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work and Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis.
ANDISWA MADIKANE
COMMUNITY AMBASSADOR, SOUTH AFRICA
“I am a person who loves helping people and children. I am very passionate about empowering women and community development in general. I started working for Boxgirls in 2009 as head coach with 2 schools.”