Having grown up in Tottenham North London during some of its more penurious years I witnessed a lot of hardship and social-economic depravity. Statistically, this type of environment meant that I could have been faced with the same deprivation if it wasn’t for key influences, guidance and choices I made.

Both my parents trained and dedicated their lives within the community care sector. I however initially began working in retail. Only at the age of 22 did I focus more interest in the care sector and decided that I wanted to achieve better outcomes and make a difference to the youth of today.

My Dad who is also my business partner played a pivotal role with the guidance and knowledge required in order to assist my transitioning from being a retail shop assistant to now a self-proclaimed philanthropist and entrepreneur. I now believe that I have a duty to pass on my vision knowledge and expertise, in building teams and services who pose the same aspiration to make a difference implement change to vulnerable children and young people lives.

Over the following years I worked and trained hard in becoming a professional within the care sector, leading to becoming a director or my first care home supporting and accommodate children and young people preparing them to leave local authority care. I now have over 30 young people that I have responsibility for, this includes accommodation, support, mentoring and teaching the necessary skills required to lead a successful life living in the community. I continue to understand and respect the resilience demonstrated by young people being a care leaver, managing some of the discrimination this entails and remaining the responsibility of the Local Authority.

I have started a program which supports individuals who share my aspiration to make a difference by offering accommodation and support to young people. To date all services that I have invested my time have continue to grow successfully by working in partnership with me.

This new service - Grow Together Care Services is a small devoted team which possess diverse skills and qualifications with an aptitude to bring about new positive experiences emphasising on the education, employment and training. I continue to explore different ways of reaching out to young people, inspire change and bring about growth across a gamut of communities. Building today for the children of tomorrow.

Where I come from I come from very humble beginnings and growing up in a less affluent environment was always difficult. Both of my parents were asylum seekers and although I wasn’t exposed to many opportunities, the situation I found myself in only gave me the drive and hunger to be successful. I strived for a better life. Hard work and dedication allowed me to start my professional football career at Arsenal academy for three years. I subsequently made a transfer to Leicester city where I played for 6 years. My time at both of these clubs were decisive in my development and football upbringing.

Where I am now I am currently playing for Zira FC in the Azerbaijan premier league and I made seven appearances for the national team of Sierra Leone, the birth country of my parents. During my career I made the decision to leave England in pursuit of more opportunities overseas. It turned out to be the greatest choice I have ever made. It was by no means an easy one, moving miles away from my family and stepping out of my comfort zone. However, taking this step has not only developed me as a player but also as a person. I have played in a numerous amount of countries such as Sweden, Greece, Bulgaria and currently Azerbaijan, thus enabling me to experience and inherit various different languages, cultures, religions and overall lifestyles.

How I will relate to the kids My life experience allows me to relate closely with any young person we receive at Grow2Gether that may have grown up in similar circumstances to me in less affluent neighbourhoods. I will stand as an example for them to demonstrate that success remains possible regardless of your story. The broad range of languages, cultures and religions I have learnt during my time playing abroad has furthermore given me full understanding as to what commitments and preferences a young person could need depending on their religion or culture. My culture awareness will allow me to be proactive and a key figure for any young person we will encounter.

I come from very humble beginnings, in the sense that I grew up with very little. I always thought of education as a way out and I used it as a vehicle to achieve my goals and dreams. I proceeded to achieve 9 GCSE’s including an A in Mathematics all the while trying to pursue a career in football. This taught me how valuable hard work, patience and organisation are as I managed to use these skills to my advantage. My teachers have always embodied the inspirational figures I looked up to whilst growing up. Hence why I knew teaching would be my calling when football had not succeeded. Teaching turned out to be my gateway to educate our future leaders.

Although my journey through teaching has not been plain sailing, I managed to work my way up the ranks. I started out as a Teaching Assistant before finally reaching my current position as Head of Year. Not only do I assume the role of Head of Year, I am also a member of the Safeguarding Team. I am in charge of delivering high quality pastoral care and managing a team of tutors to maximise the results of the year group. I therefore acquired knowledge on conflict resolution in relation to Young people, whether that involves a disclosure made by a Young person or behavioural issues arising throughout the day. All these incidents need to be dealt with swiftly and effectively in order to guarantee safety for Young people.

My upbringing and my career thus far have taught me a lot. Most notably the importance of acting as a positive role model. Having an understanding and relating to the Young people and the issues they are facing is indeed key. They will thus feel a sense of belonging and understand that they are supported throughout their journey. My life experiences overall, have inspired me to help Young people reach their full potential, whilst teaching them the skills required to be able to successfully live independently in the community.

Growing up in London where social inequalities and disadvantage was a reality, I’d always had a desire to see people fulfill their potential.

With thoughts of teaching I gained a degree in literature whilst spending some time directly working with vulnerable groups. I found that this was a more powerful calling and began to work with different sectors in society eventually going on to practice social work.

I’ve been inspired experiencing the benefits a positive environment can have on young people and believe with the right support young people can realise their potential.

Having known my colleagues for a number of years we have come to recognise that together we can enable young people to take steps to find themselves, find meaning and find a positive purpose in life. I believe they share a value of growth, Resilience, Opportunity, Wellbeing, Togetherness.