Voice 1
Hello. I’m Ruby Jones.
Voice 2
And I’m Mike Procter. Welcome to Spotlight. This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Sasha smiles. She looks at two pictures. The first one is of her son Ricky. He is nineteen [19]. He is a strong handsome young man. The second picture is of her daughter Saffron. The girl smiles brightly in the picture. Sasha is so proud of them. Ricky is studying at university. And Saffron is doing very well at school. Sasha is thankful. She knows that life could have been very different for them. For many years they lived in a rough area of London. Many children did not do well there. Crime rates were very high. Sasha had to fight to keep her children away from trouble.
Voice 2
In Britain, cities are facing a growing problem. Increasing numbers of young people are joining criminal groups - gangs. Gangs often steal cars, sell drugs, and even hurt other people. In today’s Spotlight we examine the growing gang problem in Britain. We also tell of efforts to help young people. But first we tell more of Sasha’s story. We tell how she protected her children from gang activity.
Voice 1
She was only sixteen [16] when she had her first child Ricky. She did not have any job skills. But she wanted to give Ricky a good life. So she took childcare classes. And she got a job. She cared for children. Sasha’s life began to improve. But then she had her second child.
Sasha could not pay for the cost of housing. She needed help. So she went to her local government office, the council. The council provides low-rent houses for poor people. Sasha moved to a council estate. Council estates are areas filled with low cost houses and apartments. They often contain big blocks of buildings. Hundreds of families live in these buildings. However council estates do not have a good name. Often crime rates are higher in these areas. Many young people are under pressure to join gangs.
But Sasha was determined. Her children would not join a gang. She had dreams for them. She worked cleaning jobs to support them. Later, she went to university and got a degree. Every day her children saw her example and her love for them. In 2007, her son Ricky showed her how thankful he was. He entered her into a competition for being a great mother. And Sasha won! She won for being Britain’s Most Exceptional Working Mother. Sasha is very happy about the award. But she is even happier with the success of her children.
Voice 2
However not all children are as lucky. Experts say that children who do not feel supported at home may join gangs. Gangs cause them to feel important. And gangs provide a sense of belonging. To some children the gang becomes their family.
Voice 1
In housing estates in Scotland, children as young as ten years old join gangs. They want to copy the older children. Gangs fight with other gangs. Often they organise the fights before they happen. The gangs meet. They have big sticks with them. They hit each other. As they get older, they fight with knives and guns. Gang members often get hurt or die.
Voice 2
The young people say they fight because they have nothing to do. They are bored. They also fight over issues of respect. And they fight over territory. Sometimes council estates border each other. There are many gangs on these estates. Each gang occupies a particular area, often several streets. They call these streets their territory. A gang member who walks into a different gangs’ territory may be attacked. If a gang member gets on a bus, he crosses into another gang’s territory. This is dangerous. So some gang members even have to pay for a taxi to drive them to school. Gang members can feel trapped in their territory.
The British government has tried to offer games and training at centres for young people - youth centres. But gang members often cannot get to them without crossing territories. So they do not get help. And many gang members do not finish their schooling. This leaves them with few job skills.
Voice 1
But an organisation in Glasgow is reaching out to these young people. It is helping gang members leave their territories. The organisation is called The Gladiator Programme. The Gladiator Programme organizes play areas for younger children. And it organizes sports events for teenagers. It operates a very successful football programme. It transports gang members out of their territories so they can play football. They often play with enemy gang members. Some of them have even become friends. They are learning that people they thought were enemies can be their friends.
Voice 2
In London, Camila Batmanghelidjh started another organisation to help children. It is called Kid’s Company. She believes that children join gangs for different reasons. One reason is that they do not want to be victims. Joining a gang makes them feel strong. Camila wants children to receive more support before gangs find them. Kid’s Company aims to do this. It has a centre in one of the roughest areas of London. It provides children with emotional, practical and educational support. Children can meet with trained counsellors to talk about their problems. They can get help with educational needs. They can have a safe place to go.
Voice 1
Kid’s Company also works with schools. It offers programmes in thirty-three [33] schools. It sends counsellors to the schools. The counsellors work with groups of children, parents and teachers. They try to help children with behaviour problems. These children are not interested in school, or studying. The counsellors find ways to get children interested.
Voice 2
But that is not all Kid’s Company does. It also offers a particular programme for children over the age of fourteen. Many of these teenagers left school early. Kid’s Company started the Urban Academy. At the Urban Academy teenagers can learn skills such as reading and mathematics. They can also take business, art, and music classes. Their learning can better prepare them to return to school. Or they may even seek a job afterwards.
Voice 1
The Gladiator Programme and Kid’s Company are organisations that offer hope to young people. They reach children at an early age, to stop them from joining gangs. Along with caring parents, they help gang members find better possibilities in life. They are like a bright light, a light to guide children to a better life.
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