The first week of 16 Days of Activism did not come to play… and neither did Croydon. Last week was full, powerful and honestly a reminder of why this work matters so much. We started with the Croydon VAWG Walk, where a bench was unveiled in Queen’s Gardens to honour the women and girls whose […]

Four days in, and here’s a moment worth sharing… Our young person has only been with us at our Zintarah Haven home for four days, and she’s already starting to settle in at her own pace. This evening I was sent a really lovely photo — she chose to take the lead on cooking dinner […]

One step closer to disrupting the cycle of violence against girls and young women… On Tuesday, I had the honour of delivering a session to over 100 members of the London Violence Reduction Unit MyEnds consortium groups, sharing the work we’re doing with girls and young women at Anima Youth. We explored our model of […]

Selected as one of the Top 3 Most Promising Nonprofits in the UK by KPMG. On Thursday, I had the chance to pitch at the KPMG Black Entrepreneurs Awards for the opportunity to win £25,000 to support our charitable work. Although we didn’t take home the cash prize, the recognition and the chance to share […]

One thing we don’t talk about enough in Croydon… is our incredible green spaces and parks, and how much that investment is actually being felt. • Girls are feeling safer outside • Girls are building friendships • Girls are having amoment to just breathe. The sun came out yesterday…and it actually felt like spring was […]

It’s been a tough few weeks. I won’t dress it up. There are moments in this work where the frustration really sits with you, particularly when you’re pushing against systems that are meant to protect, but don’t always get it right for our girls and young women. We’ve been doing a lot of that lately. […]

Imagine telling 15-year-old me — who hated school, felt like no one got her, and was going through more than most people knew — that one day she’d be featured in the first edition of Croydon Council borough newspaper; for creating a safe space for girls just like her! She would’ve rolled her eyes. Buthere […]

Yesterday, we welcomed a 22-year-old care leaver into our 18+ semi-independent home. She’s a young woman whose baby has been removed, but who is very clearly doing everything she can to get back on track and work towards regaining care. The first thing she said when she walked through the door stopped us in our […]

Today I went to the The London Community Foundation Violence Against Women and Girls Fund Showcase and received a certificate of recognition for our work with young mothers affected by violence and exploitation through our EmpowerHer programme. But when this fund started in 2023, I was in and out of hospital with Hyperemesis Gravidarum; a […]

Working with Black girls in care every day, one thing has become increasingly clear: risk is often documented faster than need is understood. Last week I had the privilege of speaking at the Black Girlhood in Europe Symposium at the University of East London, hosted by Dr Silhouette Bushay, Senior Lecturer at UEL and Founder […]