Country: UK
Launched: 2006
Partners: Nike UK, Waterloo Arts Network; London Sport Action Zone; Laban; London SAZ; Arts & Business
Objectives: To develop a dance program for socially and economically excluded women
Program Highlights:

• Empowering young, disadvantaged women through access to dance
• More than 2500 young women given the opportunity to attend dance sessions
• Introduced National Dance Teacher Accreditation standards

Girls want to dance. That is the message that came across loud and clear from the Nike Rockstar Workout Live weekend.

Dance is a form of self expression, a way to release feelings and tell a story. It keeps girls active, motivated and inspired. Dance is their sport.

Nike believes that sport can empower and change the lives of women. And every woman has the right to play sport. Due to social and economical factors many women are excluded from this opportunity. Through the Nike Dance project for women, Nike hope to give those women, that opportunity.

Kymberlee Jay, Nike Athlete and Professional Hip Hop dancer, is a big part of the Nike project, helping to teach dance to socially excluded girls. Not your stereotypical athlete, Kymberlee, has been a leading light in the project.

The Nike dance ad campaign has Kymberlee saying, “I won’t make the cover of a sports magazine, or make play of the day. I won’t sell posters or boost ratings and my haircut will not start a craze. So go ahead - tell me I am not an athlete.” The campaign has had a huge impact on real women who realise they too can dance.

Mandy Ayres, Corporate Responsibility Manager for Nike UK and Ireland said it all started with the Nike Rockstar Workout Live; a dance weekend which attracted 2,500 women. The weekend, hosted by Kymberlee, introduced women to different types of dance and got them dancing for 3 hours. The weekend focussed purely on women’s talent and was a phenomenal success.

Given the popularity of the weekend Nike wanted to help more girls, so they began offering free community dance classes. This proved to be the catalyst for a year long project that focussed on dance and young women’s thoughts and feelings towards dance.

Mandy says, “It’s always been about the boys who are causing trouble and this was a great opportunity for Nike to say, ‘This is about the girls’ something which really helped raise the girls’ self esteem.”

Top dance academy Laban, supported by Nike held an open day, introducing the girls to lots of classes including the Nike Rockstar Workout. The Open Day had real impact and many girls have now become Laban dance students.

Sarah Cretch, Project Director of the Waterloo Arts & Events Network says, “The past year we’ve had over 250 young women dancing consistently. They have attended, are committed and now one of our problems is that they’re getting to such a high level that we don’t know where to take them next. They want to keep dancing and we need to help them do that.”

To see the video, learn more about this program, and to vote for UK – Dance LA Workout as a grant recipient, visit www.nikewomen.com.

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Country: Morocco, Casablanca
Launched: 2006
Partners: Nike, L’Heure Joyeuse
Objectives: Develop the artistic and physical skills of youth (especially girls) living in poor areas of Casablanca
Program Highlights:

• Transmitting useful values such as commitment, discipline, fair play and team spirit
• Helping 28 young talented girls develop their skills under the instruction of professional dancers

The power of sport to educate is nothing new to Nike. So when the Moroccan L’Heure Joyeuse organization approached Nike seeking a way to reach socially excluded children, the answer was obvious; through dance.

L’Heure Joyeuse is a social organization who tackles children’s problems such as education, health and poverty. They wanted to set up a fun program for children that also dealt with health care, vaccination and education. Given the great success of the Moroccan Hip Hop culture, together with Nike it was decided dance would be the best way to reach these children.

The result was the Dancing Shanty Towns program (DST). Through artistic expression and sporting activities this program offered children the opportunity to express themselves, exchange ideas with peers and enjoy themselves, while simultaneously receiving education.

The program provides regular dance lessons to socially excluded groups of children. The children are not only taught dance but also learn about discipline, respect and punctuality. Educational sessions are regularly organized to teach the children about hygiene, health and behaviour. Within the framework of the dance classes medical professionals make visits to spot diseases.

The children love attending the classes. They enjoy being creative, social, active and expressing themselves through dance.

Throughout the year the children learn and build up to performing a show, teaching them to strive for and achieve goals.

But the program doesn’t come without its fair share of challenges. Rokaya El Boudrari, L’Heure Joyeuse Project Chief, says great disparities still exist between girls and boys, “In Morocco, being a traditional Muslim country, girls are still often deprived of many things. They are less free than their brothers and they don’t have many opportunities to have fun.

“We also noticed that some of the girls were wearing the veil. At first we thought they wouldn’t be interested in dancing lessons but we quickly realized that under the veil they are still little girls who want to play, run and dance and for them the veil isn’t an obstacle to their will.”

To see the video, learn more about this program, and to vote for Morocco – Dancing Shanty Town as a grant recipient, visit www.nikewomen.com.

To learn more about the L’Heure Joyeuse, visit the site here.

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Country: Netherlands
Launched: 2005
Partners: Nike Northern Europe, Be InterACTive
Objectives: Empowering women from ethnic minority groups through sport
Program Highlights:

• Providing 130 migrant women with the opportunity for growth and empowerment through running
• 14 women have learnt to train other women and are currently leading their own running groups
• Nike donated a total of €40,000 in cash and product to enable the successful continuation of the project

“I’d always wanted to start running; for about 18 years but I never started because I didn’t know women like me could. Until once I was walking outside and I saw some Moroccan neighbours running, wearing Nike shoes and Arabic clothing and they told me I could join them. So I did.

Nike gave me the opportunity when I never thought it was possible. And for me it’s very important that I can make other women more enthusiastic. Now they have less fear because they see us and we can explain to them in Arabic about our experience so it’s less scary.” - Zainab, a successful participant of the Nike Be InterACTive project.

Upon migrating to the Netherlands many women experience difficulties integrating into Dutch society. Often they feel depressed, isolated and contend with health problems because they think there is no other option.

In 2005 the Be InterACTive Start to Run program was born. The project uses sport as a tool for social inclusion for females from ethnic minority groups. Nike Netherlands has been a supporter of the Start to Run project since 2006 and continues to play an active role in changing women’s lives and creating new dreams through fitness.

“Everybody has the right to play sport and to experience its positive benefits. Unfortunately though, not everyone has the same opportunity, education, environment and access to sport. Nike’s partnership with Be InterACTive encourages these girls and women to extend themselves and supports them to create better futures for themselves via sport.

The Start to Run project enables Dutch Islamic women easier access to running. They offer a 6 week running project which creates enthusiasm for running and teaches them about health and nutrition. After the 6 weeks training women are encouraged to complete a 3km or 6km run.

Once the initial training is over these women also have the chance to become trainers and teach other women to run. To date 14 women have completed the Train the Trainer course, have received their certificates and are now leading their own running groups.

The greatest victory of the project isn’t that more Islamic women are running, but rather it’s the new found confidence these women have.

Women who once thought it impossible to run are realising that it is possible. This also filters into other aspects of their lives, as they start to realise that other things they once never thought possible, are.

Visit www.nikewomen.com and vote for Netherlands – Start To Run if you think this program deserves a grant from Nike.

To learn more about the Be InterACTive, visit the site here.

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Country: Morocco, Casablanca
Launched: 1993
Partners: Nike, Marocaine Sport & Développement (AMSD)
Objectives: To use running as a tool for gender equality and empowerment of women within Muslim society
Program Highlights:

• 25k+ Moroccan women uniting to run the 2007 Courir pour le Plaisir – a 10km race
• Smiling faces and sense of sheer elation as the women completed the run
• Annual Nike Gender Equity in Sport Summit promoting equality for African, Muslim & Arab women

Nawal El Moutawakel, is not only the first Muslim and African female Olympic champion, but she is also a modern day hero in her own right. Humble in nature, she is not one to sit back and feed off her success, instead this woman has dedicated her life to inspiring and empowering other women to do the same as she.

The Association Marocaine Sport et Développement (AMSD) was developed by Nawal with the hope of empowering women and youth through sport.

She explains, “Growing up as an athlete, I realized just how much of an impact sport had in my life and in shaping who I became. I wanted to give that opportunity to young people and women in Morocco.”

Using sport as social and professional tool, Nawal promotes health and well being, and uses sport to educate and promote respect, dignity and women’s rights.

The AMSD program encompasses the Courir pour le Plaisir (Run for Fun), an annual women’s 10km run in Casablanca. It is one of the largest sporting events for African women.

”I started the event in order to showcase the spirit, power and solidarity of women participating in sport. I wanted to give women a day to be able to freely participate in sport together and this run was a perfect way to do that,” says Nawal.

The first race in 1993 attracted about 1,500 women and by the 9th race, participation numbers grew to more than 25,000 with women ranging from 15-to-75 years old.

Nike supported the race for the first time in 2005, through cash and product donation. In 2006 Nike held their first Gender Equity in Sport summit in Casablanca to coincide with the race. The summit aims to bring together gender equity in sport organizations to help discuss and fight the inequality that African, Muslim and Arab women still face each day.

The work Nawal does is quite progressive, especially in Africa, where girls and women don’t have the same opportunities as boys and men, especially in sport.

Both Nike and Nawal believe if African women and girls are given more opportunity to participate in sport, the benefits will be beyond measure. Sport not only improves physical and mental well-being but also develops self-esteem, character, confidence, personality and serves as a way to communicate with, educate and empower women.

Visit www.nikewomen.com and vote for Morocco – Casablanca Women’s Run if you think this program deserves a grant from Nike.

To learn more about the Association Marocaine Sport et Développement (AMSD), visit the site here.

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Country: Rwanda, Kigali
Launched: 2001
Partners: Nike, Association of Kigali Women in Sports (AKWOS)
Objectives: Empowering women in Rwanda through sports and education
Program Highlights:

• Registration of 15 provincial women’s soccer teams (with over 400 girls) at the previously male dominated national soccer federation FERWAFA
• Set-up of a network of professionally trained female soccer coaches
• Training of 100 primary school teachers that are now teaching over 5000 girls at 50 schools
• Nike proudly contributed €50,000 p.a.

Question. What does your husband think about you playing football?

Answer. “He doesn’t know that I’m here. I come here by myself. But soon he’ll find out. I can’t just tell him because many men don’t like their wives playing football. So for the time being I’m doing this in secret. But I’m training to get better, and when I’m excellent, I’ll get his permission!” Commented a Rwandan female football player

Imagine, as a woman, having to play sport in secret, in fear of the repercussions of your husband finding out. But what may seem a fictitious scenario for many Westernised women is for several of our Rwandan sisters, in actual fact their reality.

Raised and bred to be working women, serving their husbands and children, many Rwandan women are sadly, neglected of their right to access and enjoy the benefits of sport.

In an attempt to fight these barriers and in order to improve women’s standing in society, a group of empowered women took the initiative to encourage and promote women’s right to play football within Rwanda. The quest began in 1997 and although it took almost two years to convince mothers to allow their daughters to play, it was worth the wait. Persistence has led to the successful formation of the first ever Rwandan women’s football team.

Four years later the Association of Kigali Women’s Footballers (AKWOF) began, under the direction of Felicite Rwemalika (see the video).

Through the AKWOS and Nike initiative the creation of a national women’s football team was possible. To date, the team has played several international matches and will also compete in the African Women’s Cup. The commitment by the Rwandan government to provide full support in encouraging sports for girls at all levels of education is extremely uplifting.

Mbabazi Peninah coach for the National team says, “Certain sports just didn’t exist in Rwanda. We thought it would be good to introduce girls to football so that girls can play like the boys do. At the beginning we only had teams at the provincial level, but now we have more teams that travel to play each other. It’s all going well, but there’s still a lot of inequality. Women need to know this is their game too and help promote that.”

Nike’s commitment to equality for women in sport is ongoing. Nike provide €50,000 per year in support of the AKWOS project. To qualify, sporting organisations are put through stringent checklists before they become part of the initiative. This is to ensure Nike and AKWOS are continually providing the best assistance and growth potential for the girls.

Despite the great results achieved thus far, Felicite admits that Rwandan women really are still light years behind when it comes to equality. “It wasn’t easy (getting women to play), but currently things are going well. For the future I would like to see all the women free in not only sport but education and even in income making activities.”

The AKWOS and Nike initiative is now involved in promoting and facilitating sports, improving education and raising awareness on different issues such as HIV/Aids, unity and reconciliation, genders issues and fighting poverty. “With only 3% of women in Rwanda participating in sports we can say that we still have a lot to do,” says Felicite.

Visit www.nikewomen.com and vote for Rwanda - Women’s Football League if you think this program deserves a grant from Nike.

To learn more about the Association of Kigali Women in Sports (AKWOS), visit the site here.

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Country: Germany
Launched: 2003
Partners: Nike, Germany Foundation for Children and Youth (DKJS)
Objectives: to create a democratic environment encouraging young people to develop self-initiative, entrepreneurial spirit and share responsibility
Program Highlights:

• Providing more than 5,000 girls access to sport through nationwide events and projects
• The program has gained recognition in the National & European
  Education community

• A post-program survey confirmed 70% of the girls feel more courageous and 64% feel more independent

It’s nothing new that engaging in sport strengthens more than just muscles. Often boys play sports, kick balls around, skate or break dance, while girls watch from the sidelines and applaud. However, a joint initiative between the German Children and Youth Foundation (DKJS) and Nike encourages a new trend.

The aim of project MadchenStarken, meaning Girl’s Strength is to provide excluded girls access to unusual sports or sports usually dominated by boys. It includes dance and physical activity as a means of building mental and physical strength. The program works to bring girls off the sidelines and onto the playing field, to actively involve them in decision-making processes. 2007 marks the fourth year of successful cooperation between Nike and DKJS.

MadchenStarken creates opportunities for young girls to gain experience and empowerment that in turn enables girls to play an active role in society, take on community responsibility and learn participatory democracy.

Under the banner of MadchenStarken are 15 separate projects. To qualify each project must adhere to strict criteria and must use a unique approach to develop girl’s strength. Below you can read about four of the MadchenStarken programs:

The Workshop for Girls on the Move combines sport and action with vocational experience for girls in atypical construction vocations. Under the guidance of female artisans, girls create miniature golf courses, swings and various ramps and seesaws for skating and biking. Taking the city by storm, these girls are filling empty areas with equipment and transforming them into places for girls in motion. Training in construction and technical skills provide girls the opportunity to use their minds and bodies to gain confidence in their abilities.

At The Run Leyla Run Festival girls were given the chance to demonstrate their skills in both traditional female sports as well as non-traditional sports; such as American Football, soccer and break dancing. In an adventure oriented atmosphere girls are free to participate without the pressure to choose one sport, or sign up for a team.

The Teltow Girls Capoeira project works to establish regular cooperation between schools and extracurricular organizations. Capoeira, one of the newest sports trends, combines elements of martial arts, dance, play and acrobatics with music and spiritual-philosophical aspects. Capoeira promotes a positive image and a positive attitude towards life. Girls from Teltow elementary schools learn Capoeira basics in weekly training sessions and then participate in an intensive summer training camp. After a few months of training they can demonstrate their accomplishments at city festivals and intercultural events.

The Hey, We’re Smart Too project addresses girls with mental disabilities, a new target group in the Girl’s Strength Program. The project teaches girls self-defense skills and how to apply them in situations requiring self-assertion. The girls learn techniques for expressing and defending themselves verbally and if necessary physically. Selected girls are then trained as mentors who can demonstrate strategies to new participants. The girls really support each other and counsellors receive professional training in order to improve the girls’ support systems.

Visit www.nikewomen.com and vote for Germany – Girls Strength if you think this program deserves a grant from Nike.

To learn more about Girl’s Strength, visit the site here.

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Country: Italy
Launched: 2007
Partners: Nike Italy, Athla, VITA, Cascina Bellaria Social Cooperative
Objectives: To give disadvantaged young women the opportunity to play sports in order to protect their health and retrieve or maintain a good level of socialisation, against any kind of conditional isolation and marginalisation.
Program Highlights:
The ability to use sport as a mean to:

• promote social community development
• enable the community to take-charge of the problems in their areas without delegating the solution to foreign organizations
• promote education, health, and women rights
• 25/30 girls from 15 to 25 years participating
• Nike is providing funding support in implement of this ambitious project

Life is not always easy and sometimes it’s necessary to fight for beliefs and objectives. Through our project we hope to empower young socially disadvantaged women and use the competition in sport to teach them mutual respect.”
Stefano D’Orazio, Project Leader

Get girls fit and actively involved in sport and all other aspects of their lives; both social and educational will improve. That is the message that Stefano D’Orazio, Project Manager is hoping to spread through his work with the Athla, Cascina Bellaria Cooperative and Nike.

The Cooperative recently launched a social project targeting young women in disadvantaged situations who are at risk of social exclusion. The target group consists of 30 Italian women aged between 15-to-25. Integration is the focus of all the activities and the project is currently in the first of three phases.

The test phase trials different sports, girls will attend one session a week, for three months. During this time observations and improvements to the project will be made and the sport that has been the most successful will be identified.

The second phase (Improvement phase) will implement improvements identified in the test phase and the girls will play that one chosen sport for another three month period.

The Phase of Joint Management (final stage) involves young women running activities for children; planning, implementing, evaluating and providing feedback. Those young women who would like to participate and who are considered suitable, will, under the supervision of the Project Manager and together with the youth workers, plan sporting pathways for disabled and non-disabled children.

Stefano D’Orazio says of the project, “Our intervention works on the premise that sport, like music, dance, free time, can be considered educational tools of intervention, capable of encouraging the participation and socialisation of youth. Sport can in fact act as an educational function to promote life values and teach social skills.”

In this manner one of the most important aspects of sport – fair play – is experienced. Sport links contest with fair play and teaches young women how to translate these vital skills into the real world.

The project hopes to empower young women, teaching them not to succumb to silly stereotypes. Playing sport and being part of a team helps the women foster relationships with peers and adults. It teaches them to honour one’s own commitments, even when not in the mood for it and to overcome moments of fickleness. It also teaches them persistence, not give up but to develop a certain degree of toughness.

“Most of all the women enjoy the opportunity to try unusual and less common sports, and for free,” says Stefano. “Many of the women were particularly interested in the third phase of the project, expressing their desire to teach children a sport in the future. And for sure, the fact that Nike is sponsoring the project has pushed many young women to participate as well.”

Visit www.nikewomen.com and vote for Italy – Ragazze in Gioco (Girls in the game) if you think this program deserves a grant from Nike.

To learn more about VITA, visit the site here.

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Country: Egypt, Minya
Launched: 2006
Partners: Nike, Ashoka, Al Tanwir (Association for Education & Development)
Objectives: To activate the right of Egyptian girls in sports through encouraging the spirit of competition in volleyball
Program Highlights:

• A massive 17 of the 20 public schools in Minya participated in the all girls Volleyball tournament
• The program saw 200 Egyptian girls playing organised volleyball

“The impact the program has had on the girls socially has been incredible. It has shown to have strengthened the relationships between the girls, their parents and their teachers. The girls now feel respected and content that their opinions and desires have been acknowledged,” says Magdy Aziz, Ashoka Minya Girls Volleyball Director.

Located in the underdeveloped region of Upper Egypt, The Minya Girls Volleyball Program focuses on advocating gender equality among girls in public schools of the Minya Governorate.

The program is a joint initiative between Ashoka, Nike and Al Tanwir. According to the Rights of the Child (1989 UN Convention), the child has the right to take rest, to have spare time, to practice sports and relaxation that is suitable to her age, and she has the right to participate freely. Magdy Aziz, Ashoka Director, saw that the Egyptian girls were being denied this right and put forth his efforts to rectify that.

The Project entitled, ‘Your right: Play. Compete’ was an overwhelming success, with 17 of the 20 public primary schools in Minya participating. Girls were organized into teams in governmental primary schools and were trained by volleyball specialists for five months. Girls then participated in a regional tournament consisting of 43 matches. This marked the beginning of the fun and competitive culmination of the program.
Through the practicing of volleyball in an organized framework the girls learned the spirit of teamwork and competition. They acquired the knowledge, skills and discipline required to successfully be a part of a team. And it has begun to tear down barriers of discrimination which has previously limited the girls’ participation in sport.

Nike, committed to challenging worldwide resistance to girls’ participation in sport were pleased to be able to fund the entire project and contribute equipment.

After just the first volleyball tournament exciting changes were already beginning to take place with the girls. “They have become more self confident and happy knowing they can now practice the same sports as boys, and they were overjoyed to have a space where they were free to express themselves.” Furthermore, this little taster has injected many of the girls with the enthusiasm to continue practicing sport.

Although many exciting changes have taken place, Magdy says, there is still a lot more work to do, “We are still working hard to continue applying human rights concepts, including the rights of girls to participate in different kinds of sports. This practice faces a lot of opposition from society as a whole, especially in Upper Egypt. This resistance is due to an inherited Egyptian culture that says girls do not have the right to play sport in a framework which encourages competition and creates spirit of challenge.”
Nevertheless, Magdy and his team are still steamrolling ahead with passion and enthusiasm and are full of confidence their work will continue to break more barriers. The second phase of the initiative will grant girls the opportunity to practice other sports, including soccer.

Visit www.nikewomen.com and vote for Egypt – El Minya Girls Volleyball if you think this program deserves a grant from Nike.

To learn more about Ashoka, visit the site here.

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Country: Palestine, Bethlehem
Launched: 2006
Partners: Nike, Alrowwad Center
Objectives: To empower and inspire women of the Aida Camp through access to fitness activities
Program Highlights:

• Access to a safe place to release stress and meet other women
• More than 50 women have been empowered and inspired by the project since its inception
• Formation of a women’s committee who meet and discuss various issues, women now have more impact in the community
• Nike have contributed a total of $5000USD to assist the project

“It’s not only the women who benefit from the sessions, but the entire family. Women from the project commented on such positives reactions from their family. Most of the time the husbands support their wives and encourage them to come to the centre. The children also support their mothers. The reason is because then their wife and mother returns home smiling and less stressed because she has had the opportunity to let off steam.” - Abdelfattah Abusrour, Director of Alrowwad Centre

Encouraging the integration of women in society through participation in sport is having a profound effect on women in the Aida refugee camp, Bethlehem.

The camp, located northwest of Bethlehem was established in the early 50s to host thousands of Palestinians who were forced to flee their lands. Severe restrictions imposed on their lives have indirectly caused poverty and unemployment. The crowded camp hosts around 5,000 people, 53% of which are women.

As one of the most vulnerable groups in society, women experience greater psychological pressure from the atmosphere of the camp. To eliminate some of these problems the Alrowwad Cultural and Theatre Training Centre (ACTTC) with the help of Nike and partner organisation Ashoka opened The Fitness Space. A place where women could de-stress while also achieving physical health benefits.

“The main idea is to provide women with a space for self expression and freedom to liberate themselves in a friendly environment with other women. Fitness is the first step to approaching women, a way to empower them on physical, emotional and psychological levels,” says Abdelfattah Abusrour, Founder and Director of ACTTC.

Interest in the centre has grown rapidly, from 12 women in the beginning to 50 women by month three. The women, who range in age from 20-to-50 years, attend three two-hour fitness sessions a week.

“This project has exceeded our expectations in terms of the participation and feedback we are receiving from participants,” says Abdelfattah. “The women enjoy the sessions because it meets not only a physical need but also a psychological need. It provides the opportunity for them to meet other women, chat, share ideas, make friends and importantly get a breath of fresh air.”
Abdelfattah says The Fitness Center has influenced changing social circumstances and discriminations against women and has fostered closer relationships within families.

“There seems to be more cooperation and understanding from the husbands for their wives’ needs and likewise children for the needs of their mother, brothers for the needs of their sisters. It really has changed the concept of the main role of the woman in the home.”

Visit www.nikewomen.com and vote for Palestine – AIDA Refugee Camp if you think this program deserves a grant from Nike.

To learn more about Ashoka, visit the site here.

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Country: South Africa
Launched: 2005
Partners: Nike South Africa, Dance Front
Objectives: Using sport as a means for inclusion of socially and economically excluded women
Program Highlights:

• Dance classes were given to a group of 25 women, 15 of which are now teaching their own classes
• Girls learning to formalize dance
• Inspiring girls to return to their communities and begin their own dance clubs

“The highlight for me is seeing how the girls have grown from nothing to something. Most of these girls are quite shy, I feel that through dance they have been able to express their personalities and increase their confidence. They are truly passionate about the program and are always keen to learn and grow. This inspires me, as then I know I am achieving what I have set out to achieve.” - Charmaine Gianni, Dance Front Dance Instructor

Committed to using sport as a means for social inclusion, Nike have worked with the Dance Train-the-Trainer Project in South Africa since 2005. Working with Dance Front the aim of the project is to provide socially and economically excluded women access to dance classes which teach them to formalize dance.

Dance in Africa is part of the DNA; it’s performed for fitness and entertainment, so formalizing it and giving it structure is something unique. “Training these women how to teach dance is not only motivating and inspiring for them but it’s also empowering; helping them create a profession for themselves,” says Mamuso Makhanya of Nike South Africa (SA).

The dance classes are held on a weekly basis and many women come from afar to attend. There is a weekly plan next to which progress can be measured. Although the women enjoy the classes one of the toughest challenges is morale. Many of the women come from homeless shelters; sometimes they are lethargic because of the nature of their lives. When they are done with the coaching and training they have to return to their communities and carry on.

Often too, lack of equipment in their communities makes things tough. Nike has helped ease this problem through the donation of product and equipment, “It’s a big thing in this country [to get sporting attire and equipment], excluded people don’t normally get those things, so it’s such a huge highlight and it’s user friendly while they’re working out,” says Nokuthula Zwane of Nike SA.

Having appeared on South African television is testament to the unique nature of the project. It only confirms the work that is being done is creating attention and interest, which gives the project more strength and credibility. Nonetheless the challenges are still there but by continually working with NGOs to try and address challenges it is expected that the project will continue to grow.

The feedback from the community has been positive, Charmaine Gianni, Dance Front Dance Instructor says, “There’s been absolutely no negativity. When we are training we actually get other gym members looking into the studio watching us. The attention is great as it helps us create awareness of what we are doing. We have also had positive media exposure and all of this helps us promote and grow the program.”

To see the success of the project one only needs to look to the women involved. Seeing the women mastering dance, gaining the confidence to perform and enabling women more access to these opportunities is all a sign of growth.

Visit www.nikewomen.com and vote for South Africa - Dance Train-the-Trainer Project if you think this program deserves a grant from Nike.

To learn more about Planet Fitness, visit the site here.

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