At the start of the summer term 2013, I was working on a project with some of the students at Barking and Dagenham tuition centre (pupil referral unit).

The idea was for them to come of with a message for school children their age. The decided that they wanted to educate

young people about joint enterprise. Over the 6 weeks, we planned and filmed the project. The first three weeks were spent doing research, storyboarding,

and in the last three weeks we filmed and edited the film.  All the young people in the film had never acted before and tried their best to make it a success.

Enjoy and share.

Joint Enterprise

George the poet

Finalised version

Boroughs United 2013 took place on the 17th February 2013 at the Hackney empire.
The event was sold out, and was packed with young talented acts who took to the stage to show off
their talents. Now running for the 13th consecutive year, feedback from the crowd were really positive
and we have young people who are already preparing for 2014.

The show would not be able to happen if it is not for the army of young dedicated volunteers who made sure things
ran smoothly. More than 40 volunteers made the show a success, from the events management team, to the ushers on the night, assistant stage manager, assistant sound manager, fashion designers, media assistance for filming, back door staff, t shirt sellers and those who were responsible for all the acts on the night.

A big thank you to all of them from The Crib management team.

Holloway Prison holds female adults and young offenders remanded or sentenced by the local courts. Of these over half have reported suffering domestic violence and one in three have experienced sexual abuse.
As a young man, having the opportunity to address these young women was a shock and a privilege. Public speaking has become a major part of my life since the release of my book and I have been propelled from small community group settings to large scale lectures across the country. As a confident speaker I relish new challenges and opportunities to share my knowledge and message with others never usually feeling nervous. Yet here I was, Black History Month 2012 racking my brain for inspiration and being overcome by the unfamiliar feeling of unease.

Although the majority of my work over the last nine years has centred on the development of young men there has been overlap as their relationships with young women is often a topic of exploration. Through these projects a number of concerning issues have surfaced spanning from abuse, gang affiliations, joint enterprise and sexual exploitation. While much attention has been given to young men entangled in a street lifestyle the young women involved are often neglected. Running interventions with Janette Collins project manager of The Crib Youth club has exposed me to the concerning daily experiences of some of these young women.

The safe nature of the youth club and the trust between worker and young person has presented an environment where young women feel able to express the extent of their issues. Through intimate relationships young women had become caught up with their boyfriend’s lifestyle of drugs, guns and gangs. Pressure and coercion to hold and hide drugs and weapons were rampant with young women admitting to being initially attracted to the power and reputation from being linked with these men. However this benefit was short lived as they told us of often being treated disrespectfully, forced to be involved in criminal activities and risking going to prison for ‘love’. I learnt to listen without judging the primary focus to assist these young women to leading fulfilling lives; often referring them to other targeted organisations.

As my mind reviewed the work I had done with young women in the past my nerves began to subside. I noticed a key difference in the mentoring I had done previously; unlike speaking to young women on the verge of making a mistake or currently needing guidance, this was about young women who had come to terms with their mistake and hopefully looking forward to the next stage of their lives. My shift in perspective allowed my mind freedom to link thoughts and once ignited ideas began to flow.

On the day nerves temporarily attempted to make an appearance but they were thwarted by my increasing confidence. Prepped and passionate I left my notes on the floor and addressed the inmates from, the heart. Hope; to look forward with desire and confidence formed the foundation of my message. Speaking words that I hoped would penetrate and be effectual. I used language to challenge their perspective on themselves; evidencing that self respect was necessary “to demonstrate that you have self-respect and carry yourself in a way people will respect you because you are confident in who you are”.

Like Eleanor Roosevelt said “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” and this seed I wanted to sow to them as its core concept flowed through my speech. If they took nothing else, I wanted that to impact them; being such a powerful statement. Throughout my life I have been blessed tremendously by being surrounded by strong, confident women. Their words and lessons have affected me and a number of others and I remember them to this day. My presentation gave me the opportunity to combine the voices of many inspirational women and amplify their message to a vast audience. As an ambassador of their teaching I felt privileged to translate their words to these young women and pass on the mantle of experience. In relation to help and assistance I challenged them to discern genuine people from those pretending. Regardless this support will end so self-motivation and ambition is vital to drive them to their success. I aimed to show them their importance and get them to consider their future regardless of their past. To conclude I spoke about redemption, the process of accepting mistakes and how to move forward. If and when the opportunity arises that they get a chance to re-join society what plan do they have for themselves.

This is some background statistics on women in prisons;
Women prisoner background
• One in four women in prison has spent time in local authority care as a child.
• Nearly 40% of women in prison left school before the age of 16 years, almost one in 10 were aged 13 or younger.
• 30% of women were permanently excluded from school.
• Over half the women in prison report having suffered domestic violence and one in three has experienced sexual abuse.
• 19% of women were not in permanent accommodation before entering custody and 10% of women were sleeping rough.
Reconviction and reoffending
• 51% of women leaving prison are reconvicted within one year – for those serving sentences of less than 12 months this increases to 62%. For those women who have served more than 10 previous custodial sentences the reoffending rate rises to 88%.
• 58% of women identified unemployment and lack of skills as problems contributing to their offending

A number of young women are categorised as ‘vulnerable’ by organisations, in policies and by society. Often the label focuses on the woman’s situation but may not address the misogynistic male who has attacked or controlled them. Barnados Charity run a project that helps ‘vulnerable’ young women and a manager explained that there is still much work to be done to help educate young women about various issues they face and more importantly understanding when to ask for help. Although stigmatised, seeking help is not a sign of weakness but a sign of awareness; showing you understand your situation and realised you need support in order to succeed.
After my talk at HMP I had the opportunity to talk to some of the young women and two stood out. The first (19) explained that she was in prison due to being mistreated by her partner and using violence to defend herself. She did not see herself as being vulnerable. Societies over centuries have told us that men are innately superior to women. So when a man or boy for instance is abused the courts never used the word vulnerability rather they concentrate on perpetrator. When a woman is a victim regardless of her personality traits the word “vulnerable” is often used by the police and in courts, which in part deflects that is was solely the action of the male perpetrator that is at fault and should be fully accountable.

The second young lady, who was in her mid-twenties, came up to me and she started crying. She thanked me for coming to speak to them and told me she really appreciated it. Parts of the message had really impacted her deeply and she spoke of how her perspective had shifted and she now viewed her future more positively. I was humbled by her admission and her honesty and touched by her emotion and self-reflection.

Mentoring, guidance and direction should not be gender determined. Both young men and young women require positive role models with those in disadvantaged positions especially benefitting from a positive adult relationship. Often young men’s issues are thrown into the spotlight but I hope that those in close contact with young women will be vigilant to their needs and give them the love and support they need to make positive choices.

“Emeka is a charismatic and interesting speaker. When he spoke at HMP Holloway in support of Black History Month 2012, he engaged and entertained a large group of women, whilst presenting some challenging and inspirational ideas. His breadth of material and fluid style sustained his audience throughout and gave them plenty to think about afterwards.”

HMP/YOI Holloway

Dominik Ceglowski, Equalities Manager

Hope you enjoy the shorts clips we have uploaded so far.
#civilunrest #battleofcablestreet

The Journey

The Kindness of strangers

Being young

The eyes of a child

Retweet or share on facebook, more videos to be uploaded soon.

Follow Siobhan on twitter @siobhanbenita

Official flyer

To be part of the show click the link below and fill out the application form and return it ASAP.

http://www.newvarietylives.co.uk

Review for Prisoner to the streets by Robyn Travis

In the summer of 2011 I was on my way to Holly street with Janette Collins (project manager for The Crib) to deliver the Consequences and Trading places  workshop to some of the young people in that area.  As we were driving Janette stopped the car asked Robyn where he was going, we were all heading in the same direction. This was my first time meeting Robyn, Jan asked him what he was up to these days, and he mentioned he was writing a book. Jan said snap, and mentioned I was doing the same thing. On the short ride to Holly Street, Robyn gave me a small insight to what his book was about and the purpose behind it, from then on I was eager to read it when it was done.

Just over a year later the book was completed, I know what type of satisfaction and relieve Robyn must have felt the first time he actually held the finish article in his hands. No more editing, but actually holding the book in his hands, knowing all the hard work and scarifies you have put in to a project like this.

Robyn called me to invite me and Janette to the Book launch on the 17^th of October at the Bernie Grant centre. I was really looking forward to it, and I was not disappointed because I left there feeling inspired by the poets, speeches and by the humbled and comfortable atmosphere.  So I left feeling good and now I have the book time to get reading.

Review

I am not person to promote something just for the sake of it, so I decided I will not recommend the book to anyone until I do it justice by reading it first.

I can honestly say Prisoner to the streets had me experiencing a wide range of emotions, from, laughter, to sadness, to anger, also of relief.  The book is an honest portrayal of Robyn Travis who takes you on an emotion journey right from his infant years to him becoming a young man aspiring to achieve greatness. The book talks about his childhood growing of on the fringes of Hackney and Tottenham, the hard times he faced with his older brother and his mother. The transition from living in Tottenham and moving to Hackney (Holly street), the impact of the change and what was to follow as he grew up in Hackney and still had ties to people in North London. Taught from an early age to defend himself and those that he cared about, Robyn took pride in doing just that, at times he was ready to use his knife and gun to defend himself and his people, even though at times the sentiment was not returned by some of the people he called friends at the time.

Growing up in Holly Street but having gone to London field’s primary school, things got more complicated as Robyn transcended into his teenage years. Those early friendships at primary school, no longer counted as the beef between Holly Street and London fields began and took to new heights with weapons being introduced.

For me the pages seem to be turning by themselves as I found myself engrossed in the struggle as I went on this journey with Robyn. Growing up in Hackney myself I could understand and relate to some of the things he spoke about, but other times I could not imagine what he was going through.

The pain he talks about in the book would be unbearable to most, but true to himself and the will to carry on he put it upon himself never to cry or show emotion, as this could be seen as weakness. As I continued to read this book, I sometimes just paused to think, about the situation our young people find themselves and wonder if we are doing enough to break this cycle of learnt idiotic behaviour that has us burying children before they have lived. The pain of seeing mothers bury the children is not the way mature should run its course.

Robyn was a young man who did not want to fit into the stereotypical position of a drug dealer, even when times were hard, he opted to look for work and he did. Working as a cleaner in restaurant it was an escape from the realities he faced on the streets. An ambition to become a footballer and a boxer were fading as he got older. Throughout the book he had to overcome so many barriers , as things heated up between Hackney and Tottenham, at times Robyn didn’t feel safe in either side, even though he had ties on both sides.

“For me this book has an uncompromising message for all, this book is the undiluted truth to some of danger and realities young people face on the streets of London”

This book is also about social relationships he had with the people he had in his life, understanding what friendships mean when you’re a prisoner to the streets, asking yourself do I have any real friends? Also a message about betrayal, people he trusted or did not trust, overcoming months in prison In Jamaica, overcoming grief after grief, from friends who fell victim to the streets, overcoming getting stabbed numerous times and being shot at. The loss of his grandmother, the relationships he had with his brother and his mother and what he was missing by not having a father figure.

Most importantly this book is about redemption, finding a purpose in life and going for it, regardless of what struggles he went through, he managed to find a way to not let it be an excuse.  That emotion inside I believe is what drives him to succeed and to become a good father for his children.  The message is also about change and forgiveness how it is possible to achieve both.  I will not say too much but you can get the full story if you buy and read the book.

One of the greatest gifts I was given was when I was younger was  a book, to fill me with knowledge, so this is a great gift to give to your young people, words are powerful and you never know who will be affected in a positive way. So please do not just read and leave it on your bookshelves for it to catch dust, share it and keep sharing it.

Some say it is best when you learn from your own mistakes, but the brutal truth is on the streets all it can take is one mistake to destroy two sets of lives (victims and perpetrators).  We cannot afford to let young people fall in too deep and make their own mistakes, when they can learn from others.

So READ READ READ and SHARE SHARE SHARE.

Prisoner to the streets by Robyn Travis.

More info http://www.prisonertothestreets.com/

By Emeka

On October 4th and 5th 2012 The Crib youth project ran a trading places workshop on Debeauvoir estate N1 with the Metropolitan police.

This is some highlights of the two day session.

Public speaking has become a prime focus for Emeka Egbuonu. With three years experience he has the ability to grasp the attention of diverse audiences around the world through his passion, knowledge and charisma. Although presently working on two book projects, he is fully committed to sharing his experiences with young people and those interested in the progression of youth. His zeal for young people is evident in his day job. Emeka currently works at ETS (Education Transition Service) helping young people who have been excluded from school be reintegrated into mainstream education by unpicking their barriers to learning. In his spare time ‘The Crib’ youth project in Hackney remains a significant commitment. Emeka attended the club as a young person and now is part of the management team.

An avid reader and inspirational author Emeka also dabbles in the creative art of poetry. With the aim to reach the younger generation his words transcend gender, age and ethnic boundaries packed full of empowering messages. Still a young man in his own right, at just 26 Emeka is a positive role model who has achieved exceptional things in a short space of time. Dedicated and ambitious he aspires to engage even more young people with new ideas and projects to come.

The release of ‘Consequences – Breaking the Negative Cycle’ has pushed Emeka into the spotlight, providing opportunities for exposure in local and national news, on the radio and as a guest speaker for a number of events. Acclaimed as “highly informative” by Tottenham MP David Lammy, the impact of the book has spread around the world. Emeka has propelled from working in his local area to engaging with thousands in the UK, Germany and North America.

The focus on public speaking is to concentrate his ambitions on inspiring young people through words. His objectives are to enable young people to recognise their worth and fulfil their potential while providing professionals with insight on effective ways to motivate disengaged young people. Main topical concerns include youth unemployment, youth violence, gang culture, under achievement in education and supporting teenage parents.

Recent Guest Speaker Appointments:

• University of East London
• Birmingham City University
• Oxford University
• Leyton Orients Football Club (youth)
• Youth Wellbeing Conference (Wolverhampton)
• Guns and Knives Youth Conference (Birmingham)
• Skinners Academy Secondary School (Hackney)
• Various youth projects (London)
• Youth Justice Coalition (Los Angeles)
• Witness and Gangway Organisation (Berlin)

If you are interested in booking Emeka Egbuonu to speak at your events, school, organisation or have questions send your enquiries to;

enquiries@emekabnc.com