It was the positive kaupapa of Fight 4 Light and personal driving forces that pushed four Kawerau women into the ring in Auckland recently.

The first Fight 4 Light was held for tanē earlier in the year, raising awareness of mental health issues, affecting those involved and raised in gang lifestyles.

Fight 4 Light Wāhine toa Empowerment was a chance for wāhine to do the same with Stacey Webb, Gwen Hunia, Ana Ngaheu and Clare Te-Riini among the 52 women donning gloves and sharing their stories.

They were supported by whānau and friends from around the country and further afield, with the event streamed online and watched across the globe.

For Webb, running every day has been pivotal in helping her overcome previous drug addictions stemming from trauma and grief.

It was her aunty Gwen Hunia, also from Kawerau, who told her about Fight 4 Light three weeks before the event.

Webb had never boxed before but said the kaupapa encouraged her to take on the challenge, and a new sport.

“It’s for women with fathers, brothers and sons in gangs – that is me, I have all three.

“I wanted to honour my father, as a dad first and then a mighty bossman. He’s the longest-standing president for the mob of 30 years. He made Kawerau what it is today.

“I know once a person stands down from their position in the gang they are forgotten or written off and all their hard work and efforts are dismissed.

“I want to keep his memory alive and give him the respect he truly deserves. Fitness helped with the loss of him.”

She said at a young age her father, Mike Webb, was the one who introduced her to fitness as a way of maintaining her health and wellbeing.

“I wanted to show my mum, my children and all my loved ones that there is hope.

“It doesn’t matter what background you come from or how bad your upbringing was. You can still recover from your past traumas and drug and alcohol addictions.”

Webb’s sister, Trixie Tierney, travelled from Melbourne, Australia to support her.

In her fight, although she did not win, she stayed in the ring and fought well for all three rounds.

She plans to continue boxing training to maintain the improvements she has seen in her mental health and day-to-day life.

“I may not have won the fight, but I am definitely winning the war.”

She encourages others to take up fitness and boxing, and to follow their goals.

“If you think you can’t do it, you can.”

Her Aunty Hunia joined her at Fight 4 Light and won her match.

Webb invited her friend, Ana Ngaheu, to join her. Ngaheu also had no previous ring experience although she was well trained in athletics, rugby league, softball and running.

She turned to fitness after serving six years in prison.

She has survived mental, physical and sexual abuse, which resulted in alcohol and drug addictions and suicide attempts.

“My new addiction is running, and in the last three years I have completed five full marathons and five half marathons,” she said.

Ngaheu said she noticed immediate improvements in her mental health from running.

“I just ran. I was sore, but a different type of sore,” she said.

Last year she ran 42 kilometres from Ōhope to Kawerau to raise funds for mental health awareness, so she was already primed to share the kaupapa of Fight 4 Light.

“The Fight 4 Light kaupapa is a journey that acknowledges the struggles our women face, including mental unwellness, addictions and suicide. It is a platform for hope, connections and healing.

It’s about fighting for the lives of our women and shining a light on the realities often left in the shadows.”

Ngaheu also only had three weeks to train but quickly surrounded herself with wāhine supporters who helped her prepare.

“I had an ‘I’m not losing’ attitude. I’ve gone through too much pain and suffering to lose, and I wasn’t going to let anyone beat me.”

Ngaheu won her match, making her whānau, her town and herself proud.

“We want everyone to know you can shine your light, because everyone has it.

“Some feel as if they don’t have a voice, and some mothers feel as if they never had a voice – but every woman does, and every woman is powerful.”

The second Kawerau winner was no surprise with 21-year-old Clare Te-Riini having a decade of boxing experience under her belt.

“I used to get bullied, so I went to boxing,” she said.

Te-Riini had her own motivation for taking on the Fight 4 Light challenge.

“I just wanted to fight, to be honest,” she said.

“But I also entered the Fight 4 Light for my koro, as he had just passed away. I thought of him while I was in the ring.”

She was ready for the fight, winning even after dislocating her shoulder in the first round.

The fourth fighter, Blaize Hunt, had been boxing for seven months after her mum and sisters convinced her to join the Kawerau Boxing Club.

“They did it for fitness, I did the same, too, but it turned out I was actually really good at it,” she said.

“It helps with everything. More the mental health thing for me, it helps a lot.”

She met Webb and Te-Riini at the club, who invited her to Fight 4 Light with one week’s notice.

Although she lost her fight, she won a taste for the competition in the ring.

“It was so much fun. It was my first fight and at the end I was ready to get back in there.”

“I didn’t win, but I had really good technique. Everyone was happy with the way I fought.”

Kawerau Boxing Club coach Warwick Godfery reached out to her to say he was proud of her fight.

“I felt so proud hearing that from him,” she said.

“Boxing is the only thing that brought out my full potential.”

“Boxing is the only thing that’s stuck with me. I learn something about myself every time. No matter what state I’m in, how tired I am, I train. I leave happy and clear minded when I go back to reality.”

She lost a close friend to suicide earlier in the year and tried to quit boxing around the same time.

“I was at my lowest point before I started, life was hectic.

“But Warwick came back and talked to me, and some women from the club told me, ‘You need to keep going, for all of us’.”

She dedicated her fight to her friend who passed away.

“Something switched in me, I was like, ‘I’m going to do this for us’, and to show young people they can do anything.”

Her four children, aged 2 to 5, love training with their mum.

Hunt is looking for her next step in her boxing journey and is keen to keep fighting.

“My social media blew up. I’ve kept private my whole life, but I think it was trauma after getting out of a domestic violence relationship.

“Now, I want young mothers to know, even without our kids’ fathers, we can do this.

“We don’t need them.”

She helps with coaching at the boxing club and is amazed how busy the gym has become in the seven months since she started.

“Now I’m getting better [at boxing], I’m now able to help everyone else.”

“I really enjoyed Fight 4 Light, I’m glad they announced they’re doing it again.”