REVIEW
AUTHOR: O GORDON (AGE 14)
EMPOWERING
SAFETY
AT
SOMERFORD GROVE ADVENTURE PLAY GROUND
With knife crime reportedly
rising, it seems the streets of London are not as safe as they should be. Many young people
are opting for perilous methods of “protection” in order to stay safe on the
streets. On Friday 30 October I attended the Rise Empowering
safety event, an anti-knife crime day for young people.
The motivational event aimed
to bring young people from different areas of North East London together to learn
invaluable self defense skills. These skills
were specifically designed as a safe way to avoid potential attacks.
The day begun with a
nutritious breakfast and networking session, this allowed the young people to
mix with each other and introduce themselves. The first activity of the day was
an enjoyable self defense workshop provided by the green man training company. The two very
humorous instructors engaged with the young people through short stories of
their experiences and a few jokes. The young people were taught very useful
ways to defend themselves against attackers and safely disarm those wielding
knives. I felt that this was an effective exercise as it showed the young
people that there are safer ways to protect them, carrying a knife is not an
option.
One
young person who attended the event said, “I felt that the event was different
to other programs I’ve been on as we had the chance to get really involved
and it was really fun. I think I defiantly learned a lot and I would recommend
people to come next time,”
After
a delicious Caribbean lunch, the second part of the day commenced with a series of drama
workshops by A Little Bigger Theatre Company. The young people got warmed up
with a few dramatic exercises such as a game called freeze, where two people
begun acting out a variety of topics. Then someone would shout out “freeze” and
replace a person and change the scene slightly from where the previous person
left off.
A
Little Bigger Theatre then performed an anti knife crime play, which explored
the consequences of carrying a knife and a few other current problems facing
today’s youths.
Guest
performer Gospel hip hop rapper, Jay Ess, performed a selection of innovative inspiring
religious raps. The most outstanding was a tune called “Seven”.
This rap expressed the fact that seven is the number of completion and emphasised
the occurrence of the number seven at significant parts of the bible, for
example the world was created in seven days and the opening of the seven seals.
The
day ended with a motivational workshop, called Destiny, delivered by Ms Mcleod. This allowed the young people to leave on a
high, thinking about their futures and how they could positively impact their
communities.
When
asked about the necessity of the event, Patricia Mcleod, owner of Rise Empowerment
said “The reason why I felt this event was necessary was because I found out many
of my sons friends were carrying a knife for “protection,” and after speaking to
him and friends I knew I had to do something about it.
The
Rise Empowering Safety Event gave young people a practical tool to help keep them
safe. If young people know how to defend themselves against attackers they’ll
be more comfortable in their daily lives and won’t feel the urge to carry a
knife. I hope that these workshops will change the mind set of a lot of young
people and help them stand up against violence. Young people need to stop
carrying knives and consider their futures.”
Everyone
had the opportunity to participate in a free raffle, the start prizes being
fashion items and a camcorder. All
participants received a Rise! T-Shirt.
This was given in recognition of their contribution to a successful and
enjoyable day. Certificates will be awarded to all participants.
Another Empowering Safety
event is planned for this Year. Let us know if you would like to get involved.
RISE! A Social Enterprise that delivers programmes to empower the wider community
We are dedicated and passionate about championing Youth Safety - Rise! supports organisations such as
belief that young people are entitled to a safe, positive and successful future
For further information
contact Rise! on:
Phone: 07984 687143
