The Mission

There is heightened concern about the physical and mental well-being of our youth. CDC research shows that more than 60 percent of American adults have experienced at least one adverse childhood experience, and almost a quarter of adults have experienced three or more adverse childhood experiences. Studies have found that childhood trauma casts a long and wide-ranging shadow, which is associated with elevated risk for many adult psychiatric disorders affecting domains of functioning, and imparts in the forms of diminished health, academic success, and social life.

Aside from the immediate physical and/or psychological injuries children can experience through maltreatment, a child’s reactions to abuse or neglect can have lifelong and even intergenerational impacts. Childhood trauma can be linked to later physical, psychological, and behavioral consequences as well as costs to society as a whole. These consequences may be independent of each other, but they also may be interrelated. For example, abuse or neglect may stunt physical development of the child’s brain and lead to psychological problems, such as low self-esteem, which could later lead to high-risk behaviors, such as substance use.

The outcomes for each child may vary widely and are affected by a combination of factors, including the child’s age and developmental status when the maltreatment occurred; the type, frequency, duration, and severity of the maltreatment; and the relationship between the child and the perpetrator. Additionally, children who experience maltreatment often are affected by other adverse experiences (e.g., parental substance use, domestic violence, poverty), which can make it difficult to separate the unique effects of maltreatment (Rosen, Handley, Cicchetti, & Rogosch, 2018).

Integrating children into society is complicated when they have known violence and cruelty over many years and find it difficult to pursue to a normal life. The protection and rehabilitation of children and adult survivors of  of childhood trauma must be paramount. The physical and psychological consequences of childhood trauma of any kind are both serious and long-lasting. Thus it is imperative to address these traumas.  

A Basajjamivule Sanctuary of Peace and Learning: Boxing is Life intends to disrupt the destructive patterns and effects of childhood trauma including hopelessness, violence, abuse, poverty for youth and young adults through the teachings of the principles of boxing and the fine arts of visual art and dance.