 | 28 May 2012 Accessibility help Text only |
|
|
| BBC Homepage | | |
| |||
| Contact Us Like this page? Send it to a friend! | | |
Your StoriesYou are in: London > London Local > Croydon > Your Stories > ‘Young people do care’  Escape Youth Group ‘Young people do care’By Evadney Campbell, Croydon Reporter The concept of young people caring for others has become an alien thought of late. But one project is determined to buck the trend and change negative stereotypes of young people. The project which was formed last year came out of that very desire. ‘Escape Youth Group’ is the brain child of two former Croydon students - Andre Hackett and Richard Abiona. Exasperated at hearing that the growing level of gang culture and violence within the community were partly due to the fact that young people were idle, Richard and Andre were determined to prove society wrong and to show that young people do care. “We were fed up of everyone talking about the problems that young people have so, we thought, let's take action and do something ... we ran a youth project on the Phipps Bridge estate in Mitcham, and we ran activities such as dance, drama, arts, poetry and music to keep them off the streets”, explained Andre  Enjoying last year's scheme Not content with that success, Andre and Richard wanted to take the message further so, they got all the young people to pool their talents to raise money for a charity of their choice. “Some of them when we first met them they were smoking, setting fire to bins and doing all sorts of craziness ... but when we gave them something constructive to do, they realised that they could help someone - I think it gave them more self-esteem,” continued Andre Over £300 was raised by the youngsters for The Wood World Missions. This is a charity which builds schools in Ghana for orphans.
As the time approaches to begin thinking of this summer's activities, Andre and Nick Rennals [another member of Escape] are visiting Ghana. The intention is to document how much the efforts of the young people here have benefited orphans in Ghana. They will then use their evidence to launch this year's scheme. "We intend to film the project [in Ghana] and then use the film to motivate the young people here to give back to society. We also want to show them what great opportunities they have here and which they take for granted", says Andre. Prior to him taking off, I spoke to Andre. To hear the interview, click onto the link below. Help playing audio/video Escape is looking for support – volunteers are needed as well as sponsors. Log onto their website to find out more. Is Escape simply the exception to the rule? Send me your views/comments. Email evadney.campbell@bbc.co.uklast updated: 17/04/2008 at 13:24 SEE ALSOYou are in: London > London Local > Croydon > Your Stories > ‘Young people do care’ |
| | About the BBC | Help | Terms of Use | Privacy & Cookies Policy |
