INSPIRING GREATNESS

The EMS Foundation has proudly supported the founder of the Overstrand Boxing Club, Mzi Damesi, and the children and youth that have attended the club since 2019.

Against all odds and despite his humble beginnings and the present-day rudimentary club-house, Mzi Damesi has managed to produce South African national champion boxers.

Mzi Damesi plays an important role in the community, children who would otherwise be on the streets in the afternoon after school attend his boxing gym. They are inspired to train, to do well at the gym and in the classroom.

At its simplest, community empowerment refers to measures designed to increase the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities in order to enable them to represent their interests in a self-determined way while acting on their own authority.

The EMS Foundation is launching an extensive project in 2022 which will empower the children and the youth living in Zwelihle in Hermanus, a seaside town situated south-east of Cape Town in South Africa.

The EMS Foundation will be funding the construction of a new premises for the Overstrand Whale Boxing Club and the construction of the first classrooms and adjoining cloak rooms for the brand new Hermanus Waldorf High School.

The short film commissioned by the EMS Foundation serves as an introduction to both these exciting projects

Nicola du Pisanie founded the award-winning architectural practise called Stonewood Design, based in the United Kingdom, in 2010.

Nicola du Pisanie, a principal member of the company and her team have generously undertaken to envision a new space for the OWBC. These images are their vision for the new Overstrand Whale Boxing Club premises.

Simon Pfotenhauer, the Director of Stage 5 Architects, based in Cape Town, South Africa, is currently translating these incredible designs into workable plans.

Supporters of the EMS Foundation in the United Kingdom have expressed an interest in supporting these projects and the members of the Overstrand Whale Boxing Club.

Saving our planet, empowering people, advancing economic growth these are one and the same fight. We must connect the dots between climate change, water scarcity, energy shortages, global health, food security and the empowerment of communities. Solutions to one problem must be a solution to all. (Ban Ki-Moon).