Mandela8 launches course to help young people stay out of trouble and ‘fly’

Liverpool charity Mandela8 is launching its next course to help young people stay on the right path – and out of trouble.

The 12-week programme by Mandela8 will take place at the Everyman Theatre from next month and will support children from some of the most deprived communities in the city who are vulnerable and at risk of getting involved in, or exploited fro

Sonia Bassey, MBE, trustee and chair of the Toxteth-based organisation said:

“We have seen in recent weeks how urgently this is needed.”

“It’s called Roots and Wings because when I was growing up, we had strong foundations and a good education, and we knew right from wrong. Sadly, some people don’t have these opportunities in the current climate.

“But when you give the right values, that family environment, and feelings of belonging in a community, when they are ready to spread their wings they can fly as far and wide as they want.

“And if they do get their wings clipped and they fall by the wayside, they’ve got the resilience to pick themselves up and start again. That’s what’s missing from society at the moment.”

The Mandela8 charity, which celebrated its 10^th anniversary last year, was set up with a mission to make the world a better place.

Its aims include educating young people and ensuring social justice and human rights, and changing mindsets to bring people together.”

The Roots and Wings Course offers drama, martial arts, and personal development training, along with a host of other learning opportunities and certified accreditations.

And it’s free to 11-16-year-olds who are referred on to it by schools, youth services, parents and guardians, the justice system, and more.

Sonia explains:

“We are trying to help young people who have probably struggled over the last few years because of lockdown to try to have a more stable life at home, in school and in their community.

“What’s different about our programme is that it’s not attached to any school, or community or youth centre, it’s independent and delivered in a neutral venue outside of school hours to those who want to see a difference and make a change in their lives.

“We ask parents to bring them and pick them up every week to make sure they arrive safely and go home safely, but also so that the parents can get involved in it too in different ways.”

“We also give young people activities outside the programme sessions to engage their parents in a more positive and productive relationship.”

Sonia stresses that the course helps people to become more confident and assertive, and to learn how to say no in certain situations, and be more sure of who they are, in themselves and their achievements, and their ability.

Sonia added:

“It makes them more resilient to certain situations. It increases their awareness of influences around them, from drugs and exploitation and situations like that, and it also gives them a set of AQA qualifications that, when they go back into school, their peers don’t have yet.”

The course is designed to make it easier for young people to get back into the mainstream classroom if they are on the edge of exclusion and repair any damaged relationships.

“We are trying to help young people to get on the right path and stay out of trouble, and find a new way. It’s really important we have the mechanisms to support young people.”

Mandela8 will run the course for 15 people from September 16 and is looking for a sponsor or donations to enable them to run two each year.

“We are secure for one programme for three years, but we would love to do two. Sadly, we don’t get any support from the city and have been extremely lucky to get funding from Plus Dane Group, Football for Change, Penny Lane Builders Ltd., and the Everyman and Playhouse.

“But given the urgency for this kind of support for young people we would love to hear from anyone out there who can help us to offer young people sustained intervention that invests in them and gives them the ability to move on.”