Rights, equality, empowerment – in ACTION

Rights, equality, empowerment – in ACTION

To mark International Women’s Day on 8 March 2026, the Southeast Asia Sport and Youth Crime Prevention (SYCP) Initiative is highlighting some of the grassroots programmes that it is supporting, which specifically advance gender equality through sport. Jewel Mae Canare-De Leon and Lani Llanes report on the Chikara Programme from ACTION (A Child’s Trust is Ours to Nurture) which is based in the Philippines.

International Women’s Day represents a moment to honour women’s achievements and renew our collective commitment to gender equality. This year’s United Nations theme ‘Rights, Equality, Empowerment’ calls for us to ensure that all women and girls have the opportunity to thrive, lead and protect themselves.

For ACTION, these principles are embedded in its flagship youth development programme: The Chikara Programme.

The programme is ACTION Inc’s primary sports-based framework for prevention, development and community engagement. It uses sport as a constructive and accessible recreational activity that promotes discipline, resilience and positive life pathways for children and young people.

CHARACTER

Under this programme is the ‘Karate no Chikara’ (Power of Karate) Project, a dedicated sports-based initiative that utilises structured Karate training to address risk factors associated with youth crime while promoting character formation and leadership development.

Training sessions are conducted in partner facilities, schools and communities. These sessions are complemented by mentoring, safeguarding measures and values formation activities. The programme also creates leadership pathways, enabling selected participants to grow into assistant instructors and community role models.

In 2025, ACTION reached a significant milestone when it was selected as one of the inaugural Philippine grantees for the Southeast Asia Sport and Youth Crime Prevention (SYCP) Initiative. Through this support, Karate no Chikara is implemented under the ‘Beyond the Game: Sports as a Tool for Youth Protection, Crime Prevention, and Rehabilitation Project’.

The SYCP Initiative is funded by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Agence française de développement (AFD) and implemented by the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice (AoS), bringing together community-based organisations across Southeast Asia.

STRENGTHEN

This partnership strengthens ACTION’s capacity to enhance programme quality, strengthen safeguarding systems, expand outreach to more vulnerable children, and scale sport-based youth crime prevention efforts.

Among the many young people empowered through Karate no Chikara is Maybelline Vargas Manalo, a 10-times karate champion and proud beneficiary of the Karate no Chikara.

Her journey embodies this year’s International Women’s Day theme: “Joining karate is a big help in my life because as a woman, it is important to learn self-defence, to protect and defend ourselves. I also learned self-discipline, humility, getting along with other people, and had many friends who enjoy the same sports as me. Most people know me because of Karate and I will never forget its impact in my life. Osu!”

For Maybelline and many other girls, karate is more than a sport; it is empowerment. Through structured training, girls develop self-defence skills, confidence and leadership, emotional resilience and strong peer support networks. In communities where girls may be discouraged from engaging in contact sports, Karate no Chikara challenges stereotypes and demonstrates that strength and leadership know no gender.

PROTECTION

The Beyond the Game Project recognises that empowering girls through sport is also a form of protection. When girls are equipped with discipline, confidence and supportive mentors, they are better prepared to navigate risks, resist violence, and advocate for themselves.

Through strengthened partnerships for the SYCP Initiative, more girls are stepping onto the mat claiming their right to participate, to be safe, and to be seen. On International Women’s Day 2026, ACTION celebrates women like Maybelline and all the girls training beside her who embody rights in action, equality in opportunity and empowerment in motion. Osu!