FairFight is a Dutch non-¬profit organisation established in 2015 and based in Rotterdam. Their goal is to empower girls and women from challenging backgrounds in Zimbabwe, Zambia and India through the mental and physical benefits of martial arts training, while also strengthening local communities.
Back in 2015 the HE Space Children’s Foundation contributed to the starting funds which allowed FairFight to get up and running and purchase their first mats and other martial arts gear. At the event we provided a dozen smartphones which will help facilitate day-to-day communication with the girls and volunteers on the ground.
We were delighted to join FairFight at their special event on International Women's Day and to see how the foundation has kept on growing and now also supports Rotterdam children with a migrant background. At the event, we met the first FairFight Rotterdam children, a group of 10-year-olds from five different schools of Rotterdam Zuid who, after the documentary's screening, enthusiastically took part in a short self-defence demonstration with FairFight sensei, Mary.
The documentary "Empty Hand" took over a year to film and was produced by a former student of Ginie free of charge. It clearly shows how karate (and martial arts in general) can also provide psychological help to process trauma as it teaches girls self confidence and self worth.
