'Our aim is to create champions in the ring and champions in life'
asserted
aim → create → life
“I had no interest in sports and was extremely unfit,” says the 25-year-old.
asserted
old → have → sports
“I could not do a single burpee and running for the bus would leave me breathless.
uncertain
running → do → me
I had no intention of attending more than one session.”
asserted
I → have → session
But to Luna’s surprise, she went back.
asserted
she → go → surprise
“As a Muslim, I liked the fact that the class was for women only, how social it was, and the structure of the sessions appealed to me — so I kept showing up.
asserted
I → like → me
I had never laced up a glove or picked up a weight before, but I especially fell in love with the fitness classes and the weightlifting.”
asserted
I → lace → classes
That TikTok video two years ago would turn out to have a profound effect on Luna’s life.
asserted
video → turn → life
At the time, she was anxious, lacked self-belief, avoided stretch challenges, had few friends and “barely a social life”.
asserted
she → lack → friends
But at Fight for Peace, she met people she connected with and began to take risks.
asserted
she → meet → risks
She also gained coaching qualifications that would change the direction of her working life.
asserted
that → gain → life
“The work I was doing made me feel a lot more confident to go into male-dominated spaces and to try new things without worrying about whether I would make a fool of myself,” she says.
asserted
she → do → myself
“I started training with several coaches.
asserted
I → start → coaches
One helped me tackle my weaknesses as a boxer, such as my footwork; another saw potential in me beyond what I saw in myself — and it inspired me to go for more in my life.”
asserted
it → help → life
Fight for Peace is one of five charities we have backed as part of our £500,000 Sporting Chance campaign, which champions sports coaching and mentoring to transform the lives of marginalised young Londoners.
asserted
which → back → Londoners
Alongside Carney’s Community, Laburnum Boat Club and Bloomsbury Football Foundation, it has received a £62,500 grant from the Standard’s Dispossessed Fund, which is administered by The London Community Foundation.
asserted
which → receive → Foundation
A further £250,000 from the Dispossessed Fund has been pledged to fund school sports programmes in London delivered by our campaign partner, Greenhouse Sports.
asserted
250,000 → pledge → partner
Fight for Peace by numbers
1,300 People supported last year (aged 7 – 25)
228 People supported last year on their journey towards employment
70% Staff with lived experience or who live locally
35% Female participants
25% Participants living in North Woolwich
Founded in Rio de Janeiro in 2000 and brought to London in 2007, Fight for Peace uses sport as a hook to engage more than 1,300 young people aged 7 to 25 each year.
asserted
Fight → support → people
It offers combat sports — including boxing, mixed martial arts (MMA), Muay Thai, and Capoeira — alongside trauma-informed mentoring, employment and education support, and leadership training to help young people achieve their potential.
asserted
people → offer → potential
Situated in North Woolwich, one of London’s poorest and most isolated neighbourhoods, and hemmed in by London City Airport, the River Thames and post-war council estates, the charity is one of the few community resources in the area.
asserted
charity → situate → area
CEO Lee Hemmings says: “To say the area is under-served is a huge understatement.
asserted
area → say → ?
There is a Pupil Referral Unit down the road, but aside from that, every child who lives in the area has to get on a train to go to school.”
asserted
who → be → school
He adds: “We have an open-door policy and increasing demand for our services.
asserted
We → add → services
Some people come to us to get fit and compete; others are more interested in youth leadership and employability.
asserted
others → come → leadership
We use combat sports to get young people through the door.
asserted
We → use → door
Once they’re here, we help them realise what they are capable of.
asserted
they → ’re → what
Our aim is to create champions in the ring and champions in life.
asserted
aim → create → life
How your money can help Greenhouse Sports
£15 Could enable a young person to access their programme for a week
uncertain
money → help → week
£65 Could provide 4 weeks of sports coaching and mentoring, helping a young person build confidence, resilience and a sense of belonging
£165 Could provide coaching and mentoring during school holidays
£800 Could provide a full year of coaching and mentoring, ensuring they stay engaged with school and develop the life skills to fulfil their potential
One of the things Lee is proudest of is that more than a third of participants are female — above average for combat sports.
uncertain
third → provide → sports
“We have been commissioned by Sport England to look at women’s engagement in male dominated sports because of our success in attracting and retaining women,” he says.
asserted
he → commission → women
Fight for Peace also co-founded the Newham Youth Partnership — a 63-strong consortium of borough-based organisations spanning youth services, mental health provision, education and community development — with the aim of sharing learning and training.
asserted
- → co → learning
It has also trained 450 coaches as mentors, some of whom work for the charity, with many others working across the wider Sport England network.
asserted
others → train → network
He arrived in the UK aged 16 as an unaccompanied minor asylum seeker from Angola, knowing nobody and with little English.
asserted
He → arrive → English
He was housed in West Sussex, attended an English centre, worked hard, and won a place at Queen Mary University in Mile End, east London, to study biomedical engineering.
asserted
He → house → engineering
It was a significant achievement — but it also meant starting again in a new city and having to find a new community.
asserted
it → mean → community
One day, while walking through North Woolwich, he spotted a bright blue box-shaped building bearing the words “Fight for Peace Academy”, standing out among the surrounding council estates.
asserted
he → walk → estates
“Boxing had been my refuge in West Sussex — the place I felt I could go without people looking at me strangely or having to justify why I was there — so I decided to go in and have a look,” he says.
uncertain
he → feel → look
“I couldn’t believe the facilities they offered, and that it was all free.”
asserted
it → believe → facilities
He adds: “It took me by surprise.
asserted
It → add → surprise
I thought I was just going to train, but the coach also started mentoring me.
asserted
coach → think → me
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
