Brixton/Loughborough Junction: Uzeuredd – mentor training for Brixton’s teenage boys
Do you know a naughty boy? More specifically, a local boy aged between 16-19 at risk of going down a bad path or being sucked into gang culture? We know lots of you work with south London young people, and you or your friends might know just the candidates for a new, free community mentoring course that begins next week in Loughborough Junction.
It’s run by Derek Morgan, no stranger to trouble himself in his youth, and the aim is to train the recruits in the art of mentoring – so that not only do they come out with some good life pointers for themselves, but also so that they can spread the good things they’ve learned among their peers. “I see young people killing and hurting one another all because there isn’t a place in society they feel they can integrate into. By taking heed of what they have to say, hopefully we can help to show them another way, less harmful to themselves and others, and make them into better people.” Poignantly, the course is held just a stone’s throw from the spot where 15-year-old Junior Nkwelle was fatally stabbed last year. Derek explains the thinking behind the course’s name: “EDD Mentoring offers an alternative to street culture through Education, Determination and Discipline. And “Uzing ur EDD” is about using educational signposts to direct young people towards ways of using their unique talents, to open their eyes to a career path.”
The free course is three hours a week and lasts for eight weeks. It begins next Tuesday 9 July 2013 at the Loughborough Centre, on the corner of Angell And Barrington Roads, SW9. Find Derek and co on Twitter @uzeuredd or Facebook.
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