i matter By Boronica King
M
ornington’s Belinda Cowie had just started Kung Fu classes a little over a year ago when she was hit with a flash of inspiration.
“The idea to start the foundation came about early last year. We officially registered in about December, and now we’re starting to offer classes to the broader community.”
Impressed by the instructor’s interaction with people from different backgrounds, she came up with the idea of using these classes to strengthen and support survivors of domestic violence. Belinda asked her instructor if he’d like to give a free 10 week course for women who are survivors of family violence, an opportunity he accepted. Because of the positive feedback they received from those classes, they decided to do more to help bring people together and create a safe and empowering space for women, and from there the I Matter Foundation was formed.
The I Matter Foundation’s primary client base is survivors of family violence, but the foundation also supports those with physical and intellectual disabilities as well as children and youth in alternative accommodation. The courses are designed to help them get through the troubles they encounter with a strong, physical and empowering activity. The I Matter Foundation aims to restore the health and wellbeing of its participants and give them all a new outlook on the world. Belinda says that those who regularly attend the self-defence classes enjoy the emotional support and understanding given to them by the foundation and other participants who have been through the same experiences.
“I started doing kung-fu classes at my son’s school just over a year ago, and I had so much fun. I was really impressed by the way my instructor worked with people who have disabilities, mental health issues, and experiences with violence. We started a 10 week course and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive, the ladies got so much more out of it than we expected so we thought we should do more of this,” Belinda said.
“We talked a lot to out participants about what they got out of the classes, and the strong themes that came out of our classes were that lots of women felt like they were emerging from a difficult point,” she said. continued next page...
August 2018
E ssence | 17
PENINSULA