Project overview
FairFight set up its first project in Marondera, Zimbabwe, in January 2015. This project has been run in collaboration with the students and staff of Nagle House Girls High. The classes are run by Sensei Gerald Muusha, 4th Dan Shitoryu Karate from the Kofukan Association, and his Senpai Prichard Zishumba. We are also supported by the Peterhouse group of schools, which provides our team with accommodation during our impact visits, and where Sensei Gerald also teaches karate.
Number of Girls |
16 regular girls |
Local Trainer |
Gerald Muusha |
Local Partner |
Nagle House Girls High |
Impact Visits |
January 2015, 2016 & 2017 |
Project Stage |
Stage 2 |
Impact Visits
Impact Visit 2015
2015 was the start of it all: ten students alongside two staff members of Erasmus University College Rotterdam set out to start FairFight. This impact visit revolved around setting the stage: teaching the first groups of girls at Nagle House and supporting our Gerald Muusha. Our team managed to create a sustainable environment in which the girls of Nagle House could explore three martial arts and selfdefense systems: Karate, Tang Soo Do and kickboxing. At the end of this first project, around thirty girls signed up for Gerald’s class at Nagle House. FairFight also explored the possibility of setting up a collaboration with Monte Cassino school but due to the remoteness of the school, this became unfeasible.
Impact Visit 2016
In 2016, we professionalized, bringing not one but five black belts to Zimbabwe to support Gerald and his students (Ginie Servant, Mark Caddy, Emma Bouterse, Pearla Papiernik and Floris Eland). The goal of this project was to reach out to more schools, strengthen our ties with the local community and reach out to the Old Hararian martial arts network in the capital city Harare in order to build a stronger relationship within the martial arts community in Zimbabwe. Several important achievements were made during this trip:
Impact Visit 2017
In 2017, due to an unstable political situation in Zimbabwe, we sent a small delegation to maintain the project at Stage 2. Mark Caddy and Nivedita Sarveswaran came back to Nagle House to teach the girls and engage with the staff, renewed our ties with Marondera Karate Club and the Old Hararians, explored a new initiative to build a community dojo in Ruwa, and organised the transfer of Marondera Karate Club's training ground to the Ida Wekwako Old Age Home.
2015 was the start of it all: ten students alongside two staff members of Erasmus University College Rotterdam set out to start FairFight. This impact visit revolved around setting the stage: teaching the first groups of girls at Nagle House and supporting our Gerald Muusha. Our team managed to create a sustainable environment in which the girls of Nagle House could explore three martial arts and selfdefense systems: Karate, Tang Soo Do and kickboxing. At the end of this first project, around thirty girls signed up for Gerald’s class at Nagle House. FairFight also explored the possibility of setting up a collaboration with Monte Cassino school but due to the remoteness of the school, this became unfeasible.
Impact Visit 2016
In 2016, we professionalized, bringing not one but five black belts to Zimbabwe to support Gerald and his students (Ginie Servant, Mark Caddy, Emma Bouterse, Pearla Papiernik and Floris Eland). The goal of this project was to reach out to more schools, strengthen our ties with the local community and reach out to the Old Hararian martial arts network in the capital city Harare in order to build a stronger relationship within the martial arts community in Zimbabwe. Several important achievements were made during this trip:
- We engaged with girls from two more schools; Monte Cassino and St Francis. They were not able to join the FairFight programme, but visiting them made us better known in the community.
- We helped Gerald get a full-time job as karate teacher in different locations;
- A meeting and training session with the Old Hararians;
- Belt exams were conducted for the girls at Nagle House;
- Gerald and our other instructors from Marondera Karate Club developed a training format that would be useful for all schools he teaches at, no matter how big a group would be;
- Not only the girls joined in our karate training, but so did parents, teachers and even the school’s nun
Impact Visit 2017
In 2017, due to an unstable political situation in Zimbabwe, we sent a small delegation to maintain the project at Stage 2. Mark Caddy and Nivedita Sarveswaran came back to Nagle House to teach the girls and engage with the staff, renewed our ties with Marondera Karate Club and the Old Hararians, explored a new initiative to build a community dojo in Ruwa, and organised the transfer of Marondera Karate Club's training ground to the Ida Wekwako Old Age Home.
The Girls
Here are some of the regular FairFight students from Nagle House. These are the girls who grade and come to competitions. More will be uploaded soon.