Taekwondo Empowers Refugee Girls in Kenya's Kakuma Camp

Taekwondo Training in Kakuma Camp

• 🥋 Over 80 teenage girls in Kenya's Kakuma refugee camp participate in taekwondo classes twice a week.
• 💡 Caroline Amani, a taekwondo black belt, has been teaching the Korean martial art for three years, focusing on discipline, calmness, focus, and situational assessment.

Personal Transformation and Safety

• 🗣️ The martial art provides a safe space in the often chaotic settlement, helping girls learn to defend themselves.
• 👧 For girls like Sala, who was born deaf and mute, taekwondo has helped her stop being bullied and stand up for herself.
• ⚠️ Kakuma camp, home to over 300,000 people, is known for its chaotic environment and high vulnerability to gender-based violence, especially among adolescent girls.

Program Impact and Future Concerns

• 📈 The taekwondo project was initiated based on data showing high vulnerability to GBV among adolescent girls, with significant positive results achieved in three years.
• 😥 Despite the program's success, it is facing the possibility of ending due to a lack of funding.
• ✨ Many girls express a strong desire to continue practicing taekwondo and aspire to become black belts themselves.