Ripples for Change will use its R50 000 SPAR Women’s Challenge contribution to equip girls with self-defence skills while teaching boys about respect and healthy masculinity.
Gqeberha, South Africa (23 September 2026) – A R50 000 contribution from a popular women’s road race is being turned into a practical gender-based violence prevention programme for teenagers in rural Eastern Cape schools.
Ripples for Change, one of the beneficiaries of the SPAR Women’s Challenge in Gqeberha, will use its funds from the 26 September race to launch the initiative.
The programme will work with girls and boys in the high schools supported by the organisation, tackling GBV from both sides.
The programme will include Krav Maga self-defence training, along with safety and dignity packs containing emergency contact numbers, a whistle and reusable sanitary pads.
The boys will take part in discussions around healthy masculinity, respect and what it means to be a man in their generation. The programme will be delivered by Fathers Matter, an organisation focused on encouraging positive and active fatherhood and male involvement in children’s lives.
The decision to launch the initiative comes as communities across South Africa continue to grapple with the devastating impact of GBV, including the recent murders of women on the East Rand.
Ripples for Change founder Galit Cohen said the organisation felt compelled to respond.
“We all know the devastating statistics around GBV in South Africa, but the recent murders in the East Rand have put real faces and lives behind those statistics and reminded us of the urgent need to act.”
The organisation believes prevention needs to involve both girls and boys, giving young women practical tools to protect themselves while ensuring young men are part of conversations about respect and violence.
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“We all know the devastating impact of GBV. We are all shaken by what is happening right now.”
Ripples for Change is now appealing to other organisations and individuals to help fund the safety and dignity packs.
The organisation already works extensively across the Eastern Cape, supporting 212 early-childhood development centres in communities including Tsholomnqa, Mooiplaas, Dimbaza, Stutterheim, Keiskammahoek and Newlands.
Its work also extends to youth development, food security, STEM education and beekeeping projects.
The new programme adds another layer to that work: giving young people practical tools and conversations that could help create safer communities long before violence happens.
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