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September 30, 2022
The Jamaica Boxing Association has relaunched its “Gloves Over Guns” program, which helps to protect and empower young people in communities affected by violence. The sport for development initiative uses boxing as a platform to improve personal development, social support and community cohesion.
Gloves Over Guns launched back in 2018 but stopped as a result of the pandemic. It has now been in full swing since being reinstated in May. The six days a week program combines boxing with psychosocial support to support young people in search of opportunties and guidance. With nearly 400 operational gangs in the country, one of its driving forces is to steer Jamaican youth away from crime.
According to Dr Horace Chang, Jamaica’s minister of national security, boys living in inner-city communities account for 70% of the school dropout rate, providing fertile ground for criminal gang recruitment. He added that on average, 40% of all known murders are young men between ages 15 and 24.
“From our experience, all indications lead to the fact that the life of a criminal is not the first choice for today’s youth. Those boys and girls that were former members of gangs, all have low self-esteem when we first meet them but still maintain some semblance of pride,” said Stephen O. Jones, the President of the Jamaica Boxing Board.
“It’s their pride that makes them yearn to be a part of something bigger but also makes them easy targets to be recruited by gangs. We’ve seen, however, if given the option to become a respected member of a sporting community, they would choose the life of sport over one of crime every time.”
Pre-pandemic, over 200 kids from 16 volatile communities in Kingston and Montego Bay were involved in the program. Currently, it reaches between 70 and 80 youth on a regular basis with hopes to surpass the figures reached before COVID-19 by the end of the year.
The Jamaican Boxing Board of Control has long-term goals to broaden its reach and impact. First is to provide regular access to boxing, personal development and leadership training for youth from underserved communities island-wide. Second is to raise the profile of boxing as entertainment among local communities, and third is to promote peace and non-violence through the enjoyment of sport. The Board also acknowledged Beyond Sport Global Award winner and network member, Fight For Peace, for bringing its attention to the positive effects of such programs on youth and communities.
Jones says the most immediate impact is giving youth a safe space where they can go daily to be themselves, be mentored and potentially go on to have a career in boxing. “The impact that the boxing association is most moved by is noticing the tangible growth in the self-esteem of both the boys and the girls. The confidence factor of the kids goes through the roof in just a matter of weeks and seeing proud, confident youths full of self-esteem will forever brighten up any community.”
International Boxing Association (IBA) has supported the initiative through its Financial Support Programme (FSP) giving grant, which has helped the program acquire more equipment for participants.
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