Each month, ELBA shines a spotlight on one of our community partners. Fight for Peace is an international NGO committed to supporting young people to realise their potential. Through their innovative approach of bringing together boxing and martial arts with education and personal development, they provide the support and access to opportunities for people to create positive futures for themselves.

For this month’s Community Spotlight, we caught up with Jacob Whittingham Vigors, Head of Programmes at the Fight for Peace London Academy, to learn more about the organisation’s transformative work.

Hi Jacob. Can you tell us about Fight for Peace?
Fight for Peace is an international NGO which supports young people to realise their potential and works with young people to prevent violence in their communities. The organisation was founded in the Complexo da Maré favelas, Rio de Janeiro, in 2000, and today we are present in 25 countries worldwide, working with young people through Academies, Safer Community Programmes and an alliance of local partner organisations trained in the Fight for Peace methodology.

Fight for Peace invests in the personal development of young people, offering integrated and holistic programmes in safe environments. Through our Five Pillars methodology, we offer education and employability programmes, combat sports training, holistic support services and youth leadership opportunities.

To date, we have reached 250,000 young people around the world in search of peace and a fairer society.

What challenges do your service users face?
Young people living in communities served by Fight for Peace typically have less access to the support and opportunities that we all need to thrive in life. For instance, Newham, where the Fight for Peace London Academy is located, suffers from high unemployment, low educational attainment, and very high rates of poverty and crime and violence. These things all act as barriers to young people improving their lives, and this is why Fight for Peace invests in young people in these essential areas.

Do you have any stories that you would like to share?
Fight for Peace has been working in partnership with Stratford Circus Arts centre and writer Libby Liburd, on Fighter, a theatre production about the legacy of female boxing. The production will not only raise awareness of the sport for girls and women, but will feature a number of Fight for Peace members, who will be gaining a level 1 Arts Award for their involvement. The young people, who have been attending workshops with Libby, will be helping with promotion and outreach around the production. For more information about Fighter, and to buy tickets, please click here.

What are the current challenges that your organisation is facing?
There are a number of challenges facing the London Academy in 2019. One such challenge is around the expansion of our facilities. Fight for Peace has been working hard to raise funds to build a new hub area on site. This space is a safe and friendly place for young people and youth workers to meet and carry out a range of activities. The building work commenced in March, however the funds raised to date will not extend to the interior furnishing of this space, for which Fight for Peace are still looking for donations.

In addition, from August onwards, there will be a number of smaller refurbishment projects taking place. Fight for Peace will be looking for both funders and volunteers who can help us to renovate our space. To find out how you can get involved in supporting Fight for Peace, please get in touch with Jonathan Tait via jonathan.tait@elba-1.org.uk.

To learn more about the important work that Fight for Peace does, take a look at their website and follow them on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter @fightforpeace.