Strong women in the spotlight on BAP: “I missed someone who gave me that push, now I am that person for others” (Antwerp)

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ZOKA (28), coordinator of the girls’ work of city pirates: “Girls are still not given enough space in the public domain”

The Antwerp City Pirates wants to give children and young people opportunities and teach them competencies through football. The organization has several teams spread across the city. Zoka coordinates girls’ work in the Luchtbal district.

“Today our girls’ organization has 70 members, from 8 to 35 years old. And we can certainly expand,” says Zoka, who works as a social worker at the organization. “The most important thing is that girls have a safe place to play football. Because football is a sport dominated by men. This makes the threshold too high for many girls. Especially for our target audience: vulnerable girls.”

On the City Pirates fields, the girls receive training on a different day than the men. “We also provide them with individual coaching and resilience training. And not unimportant: we create a good atmosphere in which everyone feels safe.”

Why is she committed to this project? “We still live in a man’s world. Especially within youth work, there is not much focus on girls. The squares are mainly occupied by boys. There is still a lot of work to do to make our public domain more women-friendly. We create a safe place through football.”

ASSIA EL ABDELLAOUI (35) “I chased my dream and started my own catering company”

Sia’s Kitchen, that is the name of the catering company that Assia El Abdellaoui founded a year ago. Since then she has been providing savory treats and desserts at receptions and parties.

El Abdellaoui followed the JOO program of the development organization SAAMO, which supports young people who experience barriers in starting their own business. “Before that, I mainly did volunteer work,” she says.

She was encouraged to start the JOO program by a SAAMO community worker. “I had been baking and cooking for a long time and dreamed of having my own business, but I didn’t really know how to get started. What steps do you need to take, what administrative matters do you need to arrange? I learned how to do business. Little by little I made my dream come true.”

“Thanks to this process, I have become more self-confident,” she says. “And of course it’s nice to hear that people like your food. That makes me really happy. Without this process, I would not have dared to take the step towards entrepreneurship,” she says. “Now I encourage others to take the leap. It’s nice to see how someone can start small and then continue to grow.”

RAYAN AWAD (27): “I missed someone who gave me that push, now I am that person for others”

Rayan Awad is the driving force behind Youth Unity Empowerment (YUE), an Antwerp organization that works with young people on human rights. “We support young people in their talent and link this to social themes.”

Rayan Awad grew up as a child in a camp in Lebanon. “But my country of origin is Palestine,” she says. “I lived in that camp until I was 12. I had no idea there was such a thing as human rights. I didn’t know I had rights.”

When she was 12, she moved permanently to Belgium. “Here too, in the beginning there was no one who believed in my talents. I didn’t know where to go.” In November she founded YUE. “More than a hundred young people have already joined us. We support them in their talents. I personally missed someone who gave me that push, now I am that person for others,” she says.

“Many young people think they have no talent. That is of course not true at all. If they want to create a website or social media channel or create art, we support them. We link this to social themes. For example, by donating the proceeds to a good cause. But we also organized a hackathon where we brought our young people into contact with young people in Palestine. Or we work on themes such as mental well-being or climate. We give young people a voice. Three of our young people are now already in the Antwerp youth council.”