Growing up in Belgium, Caroline Lembe struggled with being overweight. She and two of her close friends decided to incorporate physical activity into their daily lives by swimming and running. She noticed the benefits begin to carry over into other areas of her life and knew that she wanted physical activity to be a focus in her life from then on. 

Two years into her bachelor’s degree in socio-educational care work, Caroline first tried a boxing class with a friend. “When I began boxing, my body physically changed, and mentally I received this power and energy,” Caroline says. “It was like one of my great escapes from stress and pressure. It made me conscious to different capacities in myself: persistence, self-esteem.” 

Caroline is now an assistant boxing trainer at N’Wicha Boxing School, where she works with people from diverse backgrounds including disadvantaged children, teenagers with self-esteem and other social issues, single mothers, and immigrants in civic integration programs. Caroline hopes to break down gender stereotypes while empowering girls and women and is passionate about working with marginalized people in her community.