Management Consulting

29 September 09 Visolution takes MylifE street children to the boxing ring Management Consulting company Visolution, has reached out to children in need and has announced that it will be supporting the Cape Town based non-profit organisation, MylifE, by assisting with setting up a boxing club for the children. Director of Visolution Consultants, Steve Burke, an avid white-collar boxer with a rich history in boxing, will be dedicating time and resources by project managing the setting up of a boxing club for the many street children being looked after by MylifE. MylifE is an organisation designed to help street kids break out of a cycle of destruction.  Many of these children come from fractured families, are homeless, have been involved with gangs, drugs, and crime, and some have even been to prison, whilst many have had to deal with death in their families. The organisation currently offers these children a home, get them involved in community activities and rural retreats, all with the explicit aim of giving these children a glimmer of hope, by developing their self esteem and helping them into employment with the aim of creating role models for other street kids. “I hope to provide mentorship, discipline and a sense of belonging for the children in the MylifE programme. What better way to do it than through boxing,” states Burke.  “These children have not had it easy, some have been to prison, some kicked out of their homes at the age of five. They need an environment to go to that allows them to understand their own and environmental boundaries, while at the same time focussing much of their energy into something other than crime, and I believe that Boxing is a perfect conduit for this.” Burke has already begun working with the children and says the results are dramatic; they want to feel like they belong and just need someone to make them feel they are worth something.  The initiative aims to provide a disciplined environment for them based on the values of self-discipline, mutual respect and teamwork and Burke is encouraging them to box in a calm and confident manner, with self-control. “The children are developing pride in themselves and we are putting a rewards system in place to give them an incentive to carry on.  Each child will be given their own boxing gloves after their tenth training session, a ‘Champions’ T-Shirt after their first proper sparring session, and some will get to fight at the next Harrington Street Fight Night, in front of their colleagues and a crowd of about 300,” adds Burke. Boxing is a taxing sport that requires peak mental and physical preparedness, Burke hopes that as the children start taking their training more seriously they will start appreciating that alcohol and drugs don’t mix with a punishing fitness regime. The boxing club to date has managed to secure sports kit for them from Puma, it has purchased all the boxing equipment needed and arranged the training, and Harrington Street Boxing Club are providing the club with the use of its ring. “To date the children are keen and responsive and it is rewarding to witness their increased confidence and pride, they have a self-proclaimed goal of wanting to produce an SA champion from amongst their ranks and have adopted the title ‘MylifE Champions Boxing Club’. Believing that everyone of them is a champion,” ends Burke. ENDS Note to Editors About Visolution: Founded in 2002, Visolution is a premier South African management consulting company that draws on deep experience in strategy and transformation projects in Europe and Southern Africa.  It works closely with clients to deliver services right through the business value chain, from strategic advisory, moving to plan and lead strategy-driven business transformation projects, and change management.  Visolution offers tailored solutions to the unique challenges of individual businesses across a variety of vertical industries, with focus on business, IT and Procurement transformation To contact at Visolution: Paul Connolly This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it