Before we can promise a life-long run of our programs, we must first prove effectiveness. This is a detailed overview of our 3-month pilot in pursuit.
OUR PILOT
OUR STATUS
As an NPO, we are committed to transparency of our operations from all angles to show you exactly where we come from, where we are and where we are going. This helps you know if you'd like to support us, get involved or put us in touch with someone you think we should meet.
NPO Registration
application under review
Funding
actively seeking
Primary Objective
Social Development
Secondary Objective
Education & Research
Secondary Objective
Culture & Recreation
Our Research
This project is not a new idea. It follows in the footsteps of other martial arts non-profits that come before it, from all over the world. Some projects that inspire our work are outlined below.
FIGHT FOR PEACE
Founded by Luke Dowdney in 2000, Rio de Janerio. He starts by offering boxing and mentorship to young people. He cites Children of the Drug Trade (2005), an ethnographic study on the employment of minors in the drug trade of Rio's favelas, as an important moment in the collective's evolution.
Guardian Ethiopia
Now part of the global Guardian BJJ project, recently popularised by their ambassador Craig Jones, this Ethiopian gym was founded by Leyk Birhanu. It serves 40 underserved youth in Addis Ababa, 16 of which are homeless, offering them free jiu jitsu training, mentorship, and a safe community to grow.
Ubuntu Football
Ubuntu Football helps talented underprivileged footballers in Cape Town by offering them six years of holistic mentorship, including their own private school. They pride themselves off of the success of their graduates in either professional football, tertiary education or quality employment.
"THE STRUGGLE ITSELF TOWARDS THE HEIGHTS IS ENOUGH TO FILL A MAN'S HEART. ONE MUST IMAGINE SISYPHUS HAPPY."
Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus
WHY OMISH?
The issue at-risk youth in gang-related areas face is truly existential. Between near-abject poverty, high levels of unemployment and exposure to violence in early childhood, young people often turn to gangs in search of structure, employment and a sense of community. This issue is a socio-economic one, but also deeply concerned with purpose. It is deeply attached to beliefs of one's value, capability and opportunity. From this basis, OMISH begins its work. Through our three-pronged approach, we aim to acknowledge this unfortunate but very real facticity, whilst also drawing attention to one's agency: "that series of unrelated actions which becomes fate, created by him, combined under his memory's eye and soon sealed by his death." Ultimately, OMISH understands the harshness of life, and sets out to help harness that toward a purposeful, fulfilling, and independent life.