“We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided” – J.K. Rowling
Cathy is an ambassador for The Lotus Flower Charity on a project called Boxing Sisters. The Lotus Flower Charity supports women and girls impacted by conflict and displacement.
During the 2014 conflict in Iraq with IS, a lot of women were exposed to rape, slavery, trafficking, forced marriage and sexual violence. Cathy visited the camps in Iraq in April 2019 to work with Yazidi children and women who have been through these atrocities. There are so many heart breaking stories, one of the girls she worked with was sold 6 times between the age of 7 and 10 to IS for sex and endured abuse that is not imaginable, she is unable to walk properly now! They have all seen unimaginable murder of their families and they have also lost their homes and education and now live in a camp in the mountains, which is 40 minutes away from the nearest town and they have nothing.
PHOTO Annelise Mecca
Cathy is hugely passionate about the powerful positive effects of boxing especially that it helped her through extremely hard times and to cope with childhood events. So, she stayed in Iraq for 10 days, in which her and her husband worked with as many children and women as possible to teach them boxing. They also ran Boxology® Courses (courses they run in the UK for sports coaches/personal trainers to teach them how to coach boxing) to three women so when they left they can teach boxing and carry on this effective therapy to the girls that need help, whilst also earning a living so they can feed their families. Click on DONATE to help us help those with no hope or click on button below.
“Boxing helps me, not only when I’m inside that room, but to have more courage in other situations. That’s why I really need it” – Nadifa