Inyang & Davious on Escaping a Life of Gangs and Crime in London to Becoming Positive Rolemodels (#008)

Sincere Response: Escaping a life of gangs, drugs, crime and prison to change lives in London.

The inspiring story of Inyang Okoku and Davious Carney, founders of non-profit Sincere Response.

After growing up in and around crime which resulted in prison sentences for both Inyang and Davious, they decided to take responsibility for their actions and to change the cycle for other young people in London by starting Sincere Response to provide education, life skills and hope to the next generation. An inspirational demonstration of change and a shining light given a motive to do so, ANYONE can change the course of their lives and become a role model to others.

COVID-19 has temporarily halted progress but as soon as restrictions are lifted, Inyang, Davious and everyone involved with Sincere Response will be back out changing and saving lives. And Pocket Mastermind will be supporting them in every way possible. Will you join us? Head over to https://www.sinceresponse.com/ to donate now.

Transcript

David: [00:00:20] Davious, inyang. Thank you very much for joining us on the Pocket Mastermind podcast. How are you guys doing?

Inyang: [00:00:26] Very good.

David: [00:00:26] Good stuff. So you guys, um, you guys founded a nonprofit called Sincere Response, working with youth in London. Give us a bit of background about how you guys met and we'll talk a bit about what you're trying to achieve with the project.

Inyang: [00:00:43] Me and Mr. Carney met. Uh, we was, he was selling his music CDs. He does poetry. And so I was helping him sell it. And, uh, we just, you know, used to hear in the newspaper, these, these kids dying all the time. And, you know, instead of talking about it, we want to make a [00:01:00] change, you know? So we just came up with a, I came to him and said, look, uh, you know, I have this idea, you know, I've been going to a lot of people, but they've not being given me the time of day, you know, and, uh, you know, I needed somebody to do with, so yeah.

You know, I knocked on his door a couple of times. And he, you you answered the door at last. And yeah, from there it would just, we went forward. We, we built it, you know, it was not easy, but lot of phone calls. So, yeah, that's how, that's how we, uh, we, built it and yeah. I just, we, we build the website and then, you know, we ha, we, we ordered wristbands because we, we, you know, we wanted to, we could, we wanted to take donations from people, but we wanted to give them something in return.

So with w w w with why, why we came into this more like is because we come from that kind of background, you know, that, eh, you know, that kind of broken home, you know, lack of father figure, you know, not no mentors, nobody telling us, you know, right from wrong. So we went out the world and we made our own mistakes.

So now we're older. And we believe that we could prevent a lot of young kids from [00:02:00] living this lifestyle because we, when they look at us, they know that we've lived it. And you know. You know, most of the time the young kids actually do listen to us more, more likely. And that's how we, uh, kind of, you know, got it on the road.

And, yeah.

Davious: [00:02:15] Oh,

David: [00:02:15] and how long ago, when did you guys, um, start,

Inyang: [00:02:20] uh,

Mr Carnie, you know, I'm bad with, I'm bad with time. Has it been about a year and a half?

Davious: [00:02:28] Um, 2018,

Inyang: [00:02:32] 18. Perfect yeah.

Davious: [00:02:34] The end, the of

Inyang: [00:02:35] 2018

End of 2018. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Perfect.

Davious: [00:02:39] We became

David: [00:02:40] Carry on.

Davious: [00:02:40] We became fully incorporated, uh, September, 2019.

So we've been fully incorporated with insurance and everything less than a year.

David: [00:02:52] And so talk to us a bit about, um, how you work with the young people in London. Is there specific, uh, [00:03:00] groups of people that you. Try and work with, or specifically you do work with.

Davious: [00:03:04] We're focusing on workshops and giving the children, you know, alternatives and you know, giving them direction.

And opportunity via workshops, so like getting them into role playing and so forth. Um, regarding that aspect of, Sincere Response, we never got that off the ground, but what we did get off the ground was because we had everything, everything planned, but it never got off the ground. What we did have it off the ground was, um, bringing, um.

I wouldn't say kids, but like 17, 18, 19 year olds into a system. Whereas with teaching them, you know, um, responsibility, money management, and, um, how to converse and deal with individuals. This is what we, we was doing regarding kids that have come from, you know, you know, troubled backgrounds, givng them a platform on, on, you know, learning confidence within society.

This is what we were [00:04:00] dealing with. Mainly.

David: [00:04:02] This was all running up until obviously the current lockdown stuff, and that's what it's really white white right.

Davious: [00:04:08] Yeah, because we had a few, we had a few. Um, I wouldn't say contracts, but we had a few, quite a few kids. Um, it was going to come to our premises. We had a premises in, um, central London across the road from Selfridges that we was going to be renting.

And, um, we had a few kids that were going to come over there and it was, um, children that have, um, have you heard of Pru? Whereas children go to Pru when, um, the schools can't deal with them. So they was going to come from the Pru. And we had quite a few boroughs, you know, in talks with quite a few boroughs that we were going to bring the kids to us.

So we had Islington Borough, um, Harrow, uh, Borough, um, South London. Lewisham they were going to bring their kids to our workshops that we had. We had, um, a few people that was going to carry out these workshops. So myself [00:05:00] Inyang and a few other people that were going to teach these kids and put them into roleplaying and on helping them on how to make the right decisions.

If you go on our Instagram, you can see a few of the, the, the young, the youth that we worked with, and then, um, yeah, just teaching them, you know. How to, you know, it's all, it's all about confidence and teaching them that, you know, not to be put in a box. You know, you can use your brain and you can use, you know, uh, how can I explain? The skills of, um, social skills, how to make money.

This is what we,

Inyang: [00:05:34] The economical world

basically like teaching them about, you know, the stuff that we don't really get to learn in schools. You know, like money management, all of these powerful things that these young kids can learn where they can. Don't have to go into drugs, and you know what I'm saying, into that lifestyle, he can go out there and open up their own thing.

You know, we're more by empowering the kids. That's what we're more like, you know.

David: [00:05:54] Like you said like you kind of, you come from that world. Talk to us a [00:06:00] bit about that and what, what changed and how you ended up kind of turning around and setting. What led you to kind of actually want to start doing this in the first place?

Davious: [00:06:10] I think it's unfair for me not to be the best mentor for my kids. You know? So that made me say, you know what, I need to get my head right. And, you know, focus on, um, my children focus on, you know, upbringing them to correct the correct in the correct manner. You know, the, I didn't have my mum done a good job.

My stepdad done a good job, but the reality is, you know, a lot of us, we come from broken homes. So I come from a home where my dad, you know, you weren't there. For. I'm not going to blame anyone. I don't know why. You know, everyone's got their reasons, but I just think it's unfair. You know, that I don't give my kids, my children, that stability, you know?

Mmm. Most of the adults out there today, they leave their kids to ruin. They [00:07:00] leave their kids for the schools to teach. They leave their kids for the community to teach. But the first. Contact, you know, the first place that the child learns is with the mother and the father. You know, and it's unfair, you know, bringing a child into a broken home.

A lot of homes are broken today. Like, it's the norm, you know, people just, you know, get with a girl, have a child, and, you know, I don't, I don't believe in that, I believe in a child being brought up in a stable situation, you know, that will bring out the best, uh, well, you know, the best within a child. It's just like a growing a seed.

You know, you want to seed to have, I'm sorry, you want to see, to have, you know, the correct minerals within the soil, uh, the correct amount of sunlight, the correct amount of, um, liquid or water, you know, you don't want to, you know, you don't want to hold back any of, of, of, of the tools needed for that, that seed to grow properly.

And, you know, that's what I think we're doing today as parents. We're holding back a lot of information and a lot [00:08:00] of . Um, wellbeing for our children today. We said, how are we going to give these seeds, these children the best, you know, life that we could, you know, opportunity that we could give. So we create n app.

And we created, um, a system where as children can build their confidence. You know, a lot of people want to sell. They want to sell stuff instead of selling drugs. Why didn't we, you know, why don't we build an a, a system, whereas they can sell a product. You, you know, to society. And that's what myself and Inyang done.

It might be small in the sense of it's just wristbands, but that is a, that's a, you know, that is a lot for a child, you know, being pushed and helped. In understanding the dynamics of how the world works, how, you know, how people are hot and cold. Um, learning how to deal with a no. You know, when I was growing up, I didn't understand the word no.

When someone told me no, when I was unleashed to the, to the, to the streets, I've took it as like, that's an enemy. Why is he telling me no? Why aren't you? You know what I [00:09:00] mean? So helping to child understanding what the word no means. And no doesn't always mean a bad thing that that is a powerful, you know, tool for that child to understand in life.

You. No. So you want to add to that Inyang? 

Inyang: [00:09:12] Yeah. So, sorry. It's very sunny out here. So yeah, I came out of jail. No, no, let me start from the, from, from, from how I got into it. So I grew up in Brixton and, uh, you know, a lot of my friends, we never had our fathers around. You know, our mums are working, working, so we were always, we had a lot of free time to mingle and be on the street.

You know. And instead of somebody telling us about mistakes that we're going to make, we made the mistakes ourself. And a lot of the time the mistakes were very, you know, very bad. You also, a lot of times end up in jail sentences with court cases, you know, and it's not the right way, you know, selling drugs, you know, going to countryside and you know, you must have the, about the County lines, you know, I've done that with myself.

That lifestyle is, is, [00:10:00] is, is, uh, you know, it's, I call it a depressing lifestyle like that, that means that child has a lack of lack of opportunity. In my eyes. He must feel like he has a lack of opportunity. So, yeah, that's, that's, that's how it is. It's just normal in my area. Like, everybody sells drugs and everyone's a, you know, everyone has 3 or 4 girlfriends.

You know, everyone, you know, that's literally, it's the norm. And how it really changed for me is, uh, going into jail, you know, that that really changed me because, uh, you know, when I could, you know, I didn't want to be in the same room as a next man or a woman, you know, goin toilet, you know, and, uh, these, these are, these are the things that made me think, okay, so.

This is what it is all about. Basically, you know, you live this lifestyle for six months, you shine for six months and you suffer for, for five years. It doesn't make no sense. You know? And you know, I've been stabbed as well before. You know. Yeah. You know, it's not nice, you know, been stabbed by a woman and a guy.

So, yeah. So it's on that [00:11:00] side as well. It brings paranoia, you know, it makes me want to protect myself. Walk with a knife, eh, yes. A lot of things, you know, contribute, but I blame it on the community in our generation anyway, the community, uh, in our day, the community, eh, it makes a difference. You know, like.

Now, it's not really about community. It's on the YouTube it's glorified. So you can be in anywhere, you know, any access to a computer, the young child will want to go onto YouTube and become that person. So yeah, that's, that's, that's how I kind of got out of it. I just saw people older than me, you know, they've lived this lifestyle.

What do they go at the end of the day, nothing. They got to jail sentences and you know, nothing, nothing. What'd you get out of a jail sentence? On the streets, your reputation you know, and that was it, that was it for me. And, you know, seeing friends going in and out and just seeing broken families. You know, I've seen, I saw a different life as well.

Of course, you know, you see, you know. You see, you know, you know, you know what I'm saying? And if you're living in a community where you're, you don't have no father figure, your mum's working long hours, you know, your, your [00:12:00] school, you're not really going into school. And you see another child

That has

that's living correct lifestyle.

You say to yourself, you sit back and you say, Hmm, where did they go wrong with me? You know, where did I go wrong with me? And now being older, that's

the, that's the, that's the most harmful thing. Me and mr Carney, we've lived a similar lifestyle and we're, we're at that age where we say, rah, where did we go wrong?

Okay, we went wrong there. So what we need to do is educate, educate, educate. You know, Parents need education, the kids need education opportunities. We don't want them to go back into drugs. We want them to go into opportunities. So that's that that's. Yeah. So that's, that's, that's it. You know, I don't want to go off, I talk a lot, so I don't want to go into it too much.

But

David: [00:12:41] What do you think was the difference with you two guys that allowed you to see. A different way and loads of people don't, and they just go through the same cycle in and out of jail. Whatever it might be how, like you guys obviously saw something at some point that [00:13:00] made you change your life, can you think what that, what the difference is

Davious: [00:13:05] For myself, I just think, you know, I'm more than that.

You know, I, I, when I look back on my life, it's funny. I just had that mentality, you know, just the rob steal, sell crack. Sell like drugs. And that was the norm for me. I remember. It's just crazy. Um, there was nothing about building. It's always, if I'm gonna build, I'm gonna build in a scam way. My life was based on a scam.

It's nothing doing things the correct way, you know, doing business correctly. It's about, you know, getting that million. You know, in a dodgy way. And I just, I just believe like the role models of today, they're not propagating, and especially on the YouTube, they're not propagating positivity or achieve er wealth or riches in a [00:14:00] positive manner.

There are video, don't get me wrong, there are videos like that, but they're pushed to the side. But it's like the culture is the culture of. I'm going to be negative and I'm going to talk about negativity and I'm going to make, someone's going to sign me and I'm going to make money off negativity for me, that doesn't make any sense.

You know, why can't I be positive? Why can't, you know, I achieved things in a positive manner. You know, there's, as we know, there's a lot of agendas out there. You know, people trying to destroy people out there. You know, not trying to get the best out of people, keep people poor. You know, why can't I be a property manager?

Why can't I be a property developer? Why not? You know, why, why has it been pushed on, on my path to be negative, to be a rapper, to be a footballer? You know, why can't I be, uh, into politics? Why can't I be a scientist? Why can't I be a doctor? You know, that's not pushed around, you know, the, the, the, in, in the area that I'm from, that's not [00:15:00] the norm.

It's the norm, uh, for you, just to be. You know, that drug dealer or thief or robber or whatever, you know. And also, you know, I had a lot of friends dying, you know, a few friends going and doing life in prison. And I just realised, you know, when you, when I looked back on their life, a lot of them died as babies.

19, 21 you know, you know, I'm 36 now. I look back on their life. And I think that's the sad, very sad. You know, they didn't have, they didn't have no time. Not much time. By the time you know, I was in with them doing all the crime and the dodgy livin no role models. No, no mentors saying, no, don't do that with your life.

The mentors that we had with pushing drugs on us, telling us to sell drugs so crack, sell weed like, I just don't understand. I couldn't tell another child right now. Here's is some crack, sell this, or here's some, you know, sell this, or we'll go and rob this. But there was [00:16:00] a time I was giving drugs to people and telling them move that for me.

Do this for me. You'll make money, go and rob that house, go and rob these people. You know, here's a gun. Like I, I now I see it. I think it's unfair. You know, that, you know, grooming children that way. I think it's, I would think it's unfair for me to allow an another human being to come in and do that to my kid.

You know, the same way I've done it to someone's child, which I think is unfair. It's the same way. I think it would be unfair for someone to do that to someone else's, you know, to my child or anyone else's child. So I don't wish that on anyone. And I just feel that it's a race against time for myself, Inyang and others, the community to get together and create that system.

That prevents that for other children. So of the children, the children to come. So yeah.

Steve: [00:16:46] How long have you been out of crime for now?

Davious: [00:16:49] Um, yeah, to be, to be honest, you know, I would say [00:17:00] 2018 ish. And when I say out of crime, I mean, um, having that mentality, those thoughts. To go and rob a post office or that 2018

Inyang: [00:17:12] before it's going on your mind.

Davious: [00:17:14] Yeah. Because I know if I'm not saying I'm, um, I'm inclined to completely that way, but if somebody's done the maths for me and said, yeah, I would possibly, you know, go by. Yeah. We're not, but no. As I look at it, someone can't tell me to rob a post office with them, and I definitely can't be telling, you know, someone to rob a post office with myself.

You know, I just, I think I can acquire wealth, more wealth, doing something legit. And, you know, hence we got Sincere Response. It is a CIC, but at least we've, we've helped people make money, you know, people are part of the Sincere Response team. They know they've made money. Which is good, and they know they've learned skills, which is good.

If you ask people that's [00:18:00] worked within Sincere Response, they will tell you, tell you, they've made money and they, they learned skills is the most important they've got skills that they can take with them in life. But yeah.

Steve: [00:18:10] How'd you how'd you cut the ties? If you're in that, if you're in that set up, if you're in a gang or whatever, and you decide that you don't want do this anymore, like how do you, how do you leave that.

Inyang: [00:18:24] That depends. It depends who you are in the community. If you're somebody, you can leave. Very willing, and it depends. Your age group is going to pay a young boy. You're a young boy. And again, you can't just leave like that. You know? You can't, you'll get harassed every day. You can't. So it depends on the age.

Yeah. They'll call you a snitch. But in general, like I grew up in my area more like I was never like, you know, bullied and stuff. So. I used to always, I had this

from, from quite

early, but when I came out of jail, I didn't want to sell drugs no more. I wanted to do [00:19:00] other things. You know what I'm saying?

Maybe that will end. It was still crime. I'm not going to lie. I went into jail when I was 21 so, so when I came out, I was still quite young. You know what I'm saying? 24 25 so you know the, the men, the mentality it went away when. I really looked at myself and I said, what? What life do I really want? If you get what I'm saying, what the what?

What life do I really want? Do I want to be in jail with what a grey beard or do I want to be outside enjoying my life and I've got kids I want to offer, give my kids a, a different lifestyle and more opportunities. So what made me kind of change is

knowing one day that

I want, I want kids and I don't want my kids to.

You know, I see me in jail or you know what I'm saying, or have them a lack of opportunities. You get what I'm saying? That's what made me kind of change and being old and having the wisdom to think, you know what? That was stupid what I used to do back in the day. Why? Why did I used to do that? Why didn't no one drag me and say, come here little boy.

We're going to go to college. I'm going to sign you up, or I'm going to do this. You get what I'm saying? So that just made, I think it's a, when you're in a community with that type of [00:20:00] negative mentality. And you're young, you become very stupid. You know, you think, Oh, this is the right way. But when you, I'm not trying to say that, I'm not trying to say that age is the thing, but for me, if my growth as a man, when I grew up, I kind of saw the, the, what's the word I can say?

The, the, the Mirage in front of me, you know, calling you, like you said, post office, all of these, these devilish thoughts coming in your mind. It's like, yeah. They keep coming. They keep coming because you have friends and you have people that are in that lifestyle. So you see them pulling up in cars. So it came to a point where you just have to no, listen, I don't want none of that lifestyle, you know.

We're at the Stage now, we wouldn't, I don't even think even mingle or talk to people that are in that lifestyle. We keep us all very distant because our mentality, we're not on that. We can't, we can't connect. Do you get what I'm saying? Yeah. Oh,

Steve: [00:20:55] What were your, um, what were, did you have any ambition when you were growing up? When you go, that's, [00:21:00] that's, that's rewind to when you, so you were

14, 15 years old. Did you have any ambition? Did you, did you have a dream job you thought you might want to do, or is it literally just, I'm just gonna push some drugs you know?

Inyang: [00:21:11] I wanted to be an athlete, I wanted to be a hundred meters runner.

Steve: [00:21:15] Yeah? You wanted to be an athlete.?

Inyang: [00:21:17] I had a trials I had trials.

At what's it called in Crystal Palace with Maurice Green? One Maurice Green's trainers he was an American a hundred meters, but nobody took me up there. So I think that that made me kind of, and I was around 12 going on 13  kind of made me just give up. So you know what? It's going to get into this lifestyle. I'm just going to join in, but also kind of

Steve: [00:21:37] The interesting thing is, the interesting thing is if you'd had someone like you then who found you just after that knocked back and now you could have got in your ear and said, look, try again. Try again. Try again.

Inyang: [00:21:51] It's true.

Steve: [00:21:51] Your whole life could have been totally different.

Inyang: [00:21:53] It's very true. I'm telling you. I know. I know. It's true.

Steve: [00:21:58] So that emphasises the [00:22:00] importance right.

Inyang: [00:22:02] Yeah. That's how we feel. We, as we see as where the sacrifice for our, for our kids, for the future, you know, for our, for our nephews, our nieces, like none of them are gonna make the same mistakes that we made and that er, and the older females mate, we will, we'll educate them about the mistakes.

So they aware. One thing the adults don't do, they never tell the kids about the mistakes that they made. So the kids go make the same mistake as the mum and the dad. I think that's very selfish. You know? Yeah.

Davious: [00:22:30] Yeah, I agree.

David: [00:22:31] So once the lockdowns lifted, what are the, what are the kind of, what's the kind of work you guys wanted really focus on once we're able to move around?

What's the, what do you think is the most important stuff that you can do with the kids at a minute?

Inyang: [00:22:46] Uh, well, we had to, we was about, uh, uh, I'll let, I'll let Mr. Carney talk about that, the, the workshops and stuff, but we want to be more. Cause we spent a lot of time on the street. We don't want to be on the street.

All our time is wasted on the street. We need to be [00:23:00] with the kids, do you understand, in workshops and teaching them these skills. The kids. A lot of the time these kids, they don't want to be in school because schools are, they teaching them the same stuff from a hundred years ago. You know, it's boring.

You know, they want to learn money management. They want to learn about the economy. They want to learn about, you know, Bitcoin, all these things. It's interesting, the kids are like, wow, I want to learn this. Why can make money online? Yeah, of course you can. Wow. You know, all these things. That's what we want to.

We want to go. We want to, we want to get into the heads before they get groomed. You know what I'm saying?

David: [00:23:28] So talk to us a bit about the, the kind of workshops that you were looking to run.

Davious: [00:23:33] Yes. So, um, domestic violence, drug awareness, um, decisions, knife, crime awareness. Um, victim awareness. But when I was in prison, I had done a victim awareness course and I'd done an ETS course.

So some of these courses like where we re re are going to say we re [00:24:00] refined it. So we've, we've taken it from a different angle, if you know what I mean. Giving it a twist made it more beneficial.

David: [00:24:10] So how, how have you, how would you go about that? What's the, what's the, what's the difference that you guys have kind of been able to put onto the, onto the courses?

Davious: [00:24:19] Technology, like we said, like we said, um, we, we've got an app that's on Google right now and it's about to be on the Apple iOS. And, um, it's not about just giving them the workshop, it's about following them.

David: [00:24:38] Talk to me about that. What does that, how does that work?

Davious: [00:24:40] So, so continuing to be a mentor, continuing, it's not just cutting off from there is continuing to be a mentor and offer them services.

This is what we, myself in Inyang built. That's the purpose of the app. It's so we remain, so once we've come into contact with the child. [00:25:00] And, um, we've given them the workshop they've achieved so, so forth. We carry on with them and give them the, the, the mentoring service free of charge. And that's what the funding would go towards.

Mentoring the, allowing the system to run and give these children a, how could I say. Like, I wouldn't say 24 seven response. But, that child that's at home that's been neglected doesn't have somebody who's there to teach him or educate him, giving that child access to somebody that actually cares if you get what I'm trying to say, David.

David: [00:25:32] Yeah.

Davious: [00:25:33] That's the purpose of the app. So within the app, there's podcasts, but really and truly the apps based on a mentoring service, free of charge. Everyone that comes through our system. Um, they would of course go through the DBS checks and we do have a little team there of, of, um, mentors. But the thing is like, just because of what happened to Corona virus, everything is on hold.

So, yeah.

[00:26:00] David: [00:26:00] And are you looking for a, you know, more people to take part as mentors once once you're back up and running again.

Davious: [00:26:09] Yeah, a hundred percent 100% so yeah, the more that we get to know people and we see that they're that qualified, we would want to put them out as mentors. Yes, definitely. Like how could I say it like, um, you'd have a profile on our, on our app, and within the profile it would say like you operate between 12 and 3.

So for, shoot, I am questions 12 and 3 on Monday. Wednesday 1 and 2 shoot your questions. You know what I mean? Why not? It's just just a text message away.

David: [00:26:43] Yeah, exactly. It's a great idea. Yeah. I love that. Hopefully, again, people listening to this and be interested in getting involved to be a mentor, I think there's nothing more beneficial than giving something back, like being a, to be a mentor to someone.

What's [00:27:00] the longer term goal? What's the, what's the ambition say. In a in a year or two years time from now

Davious: [00:27:08] To be Corona free and out of this lockdown, that's the, that's the ambition. Everybody's safe in the UK first and foremost, but it's funny, David, because this little time out, I hope it's going to be a little time out for us.

We're going to be able to come back because we've litterally sat down and we thought of, you know. Different strategies, you know, better strategies to help these kids, these children.

David: [00:27:37] If we could, if we could fast forward then into like, uh, next year, how many programs do you reckon you could get up and runnin, or do you want to get up and runnin?

Davious: [00:27:48] Our aim is to get 50 kids right now within our app, our ecosystem.

David: [00:27:54] Yeah.

Davious: [00:27:55] And have at least, um, 50 to a hundred mentors [00:28:00] there for these kids. Because obviously we know children are hard work. Um, yeah, ready there. So once they go to the app on their phone, they can converse via the app. It's not, there's no, um, voice.

Um. There's no voice application, but it's all via text. But around 50 kids and a 50 to a hundred mentors, uh, regarding the workshops, have at least 10 workshops and recycle them. But it's not to make them exactly generic, but to make them, how could I say, like more free flowing and open. So it suits, uh, the, so if we're dealing with 16 year olds, and we're dealing with 23 year olds, we know how to, you know.

Change it to suit, uh, the olders from the youngers. But yeah, so one, one thing I would say, um, there's not enough platform for kids to understand when you go prison, your mum suffers too. I don't think I went out when I was in prison. I didn't understand it like the, I used to think of it like, Oh, my mum's [00:29:00] coming up with a girlfriend.

So my, with my girlfriend and so forth. But really and truly my mum had to travel and then I never saw my mum for about a year and a half. Because I was all the way down in, um, I think I was Portland and my mum couldn't go back and forth, you know? So I lot of children don't, don't understand that. When you get 20 years, 10 years, five years, why are you changing the course of your mum's life of going to work or whatever?

To having to travel on the weekend or during the week, all the way down to. Feltham, Plymouth, Birmingham, whatever, just to see you for two hours. It pains her heart and so forth. Workshops like this needs to be implemented for the children. It needs to be given to the children so they have the choice to understand whether am I going to take this route or not.

Also, first aid workshops, this is, this is what we want to give to the children. Children should understand, you know, if a friend has been stabbed. You know, or show, how do I deal with it? I remember when one of my friends got [00:30:00] shot and he was right in front of me and I didn't know what to do. And the police man came with his gun and he's shouting at me and I'm angry, but he's shouting at me and he's telling me, move.

And I didn't know what to do. You know, obviously I, I had a basic understanding of putting my hand on the wound, whatever, but the policeman came and I didn't know what to do and he was just bleeding. And the police man, now I understand what the policeman was doing. I could've been the enemy. I could've been the shooter.

The policeman doesn't know that. He can't, he's just turned up. So, um, you know, all of this has to be taught, given to the children. Taught to the given to the children, taught to the children. Which I think they're not doing, and you know, it's unfair. Like, like Inyang said earlier on, the parents aren't doing their job.

We're not doing our job. I'm doing my job. So the reality is take my responsibility, the power or the [00:31:00] power. Take the responsibility and you know, use the power of the, I've got to implement change. You know, it's time that we change what we've been implementing from before. You know, do it. Um, you know, do a different route, give another route, you know, to other people and do a different route for yourself, you know, to get a better outcome.

You know, so. Sorry for ranting and raving. But

David: [00:31:23] I love the passion. That's what was important. But you, you, you clearly care about everything that you're trying to achieve. That came across when I, when I first met you guys, and, and you know why we want to help so much because you have been there, you have lived it, and you can see you've seen another way.

And if we can help you help other people see another way. I'll be a happy man.

You know,

you have any idea? Do you have a target of, um, how much you think you need to, to raise in the next year to [00:32:00] be able to make everything you just talked about? Um, a reality

Davious: [00:32:06] I proposed when we sat down in front of a group of people I proposed, first and foremost, if we can just get a secretary

Uh, um, an office space or a classroom, a secretary of classroom and a PA, and we'll be well on our way because there were, certain things, Oh, there's only so much myself and Inyang can do and that would I, that's what I propose before pay just to give us those tools so we can delegate work to the secretary and we, you know what I mean?

Getting the system of the Mentors up and running. This is, this is what we proposed. You know,

David: [00:32:48] You want to get, do you need to get, um, do you need to get people full time and now, or could people possibly volunteer some time and help you guys, um, with those roles? Are you

[00:33:00] Davious: [00:33:01] We would say in full time?

Because at least we know that person, you know what I mean? Monday to Friday, we know that person is, you know. Uh, focused on, you know, the situation getting, we've had people come in and out and we understand that, you know, we've paid people to do this and that it just makes a mess. But if we had someone full time, a secretary and a PA full time, we'd be able to, you know, grab hold of this, you know.

David: [00:33:26] Ift would free you up to go and deliver

Davious: [00:33:29] Oh yeah,

David: [00:33:32] I guess you guys, I see that often. You're, uh, your advertising to get people to come, and I've obviously not at the moment, but when we're, when you're allowed out on the street to get people to come and, um, uh, do collections for you and sell the wristbands and, and, and that kind of stuff, I guess that's one angle to get some, some funds in as well.

Davious: [00:33:54] Yeah. That, that, that was a way we was getting in funds. But in, in reality, um, [00:34:00] it wasn't enough to get an office. It wasn't enough to pay for a secretary. It was, you know, it just wasn't enough. It's, you know, the, the, the amount of money coming in wasn't enough. The people that was also working with us, some of the youth and older people, we would give them a, you know, a large amount of the money, you know, we would, we would share it.

Um, we would divide the money correctly for them, you know, so it brings, it gives them inspiration though, to want to come back on work. You know? So we would them, you give this amount back to the company. We're very transparent with, with with what we're, we're making you give this to the company and you take this for yourself and not did that get made people come back.

But still we didn't have enough volume and we was picking up, we was getting momentum, but then we go hit with the Corona virus. So we was, we was getting a lot of people starting to work and getting the ads via Indeed and the Job Center, but then the Corona virus hit. And then, yeah, as you could imagine, you know.

[00:35:00] David: [00:34:59] Well, you know, I said to you before, we're, we're, we'll do whatever we can to help you guys raise awareness, I think is a hugely important cause. And hopefully this, um, if they want to get involved, we'll make sure that it's easy, um, to, to find you. And they can either, you know, they come through us and we can point them in your direction.

We'll make sure there's links to the, to the website and to your, um, to your social media and all the rest of it so that people, people can get involved. Um, and. Yeah. And the thing that we can obviously do, um, to help bring what, what you're trying to do to the, to the kids, you know, where we're fully behind as well.

And if anyone also has any, you know, ideas or services that they can, you know, bring into play, um, that might be able to help you, then, you know, they can also get in touch. I think that'd be awesome.

Davious: [00:35:52] That would be

Steve: [00:35:54] Ithink, um, your passion is incredible, Davious.

Um, I love listening to it. [00:36:00] You're on it. You're almost on the brink of being angry when you get goin. Um, because of the situation and it's so good. It's infectious. You know, like people, people out there want to know that your heart is in it if they're going to invest in you. And I think it's an absolutely no doubt about that whatsoever.

That you are 100% sold on it. You've lived it. Um. And you, you know it better than anything and you know your products better than anything. So just never lose sight of that. Remember that passion all the time, every morning. Just remember that passion to keep going. Keep plugging away because you'll definitely get there in the end and we've got, Dave says, we'll do it.

We can to help you as well.

Davious: [00:36:41] Thank you. Much appreciate it. Steve.

David: [00:36:45] That's awesome. Well, it's been absolutely amazing talking to you guys and, um, I can't wait to have another conversation and I know you guys are gonna, you know, get involved with some of the other things that, um, we're [00:37:00] working on a Pocket Mastermind and we look forward to you being part of that, that, uh, those events.

And, and like I say, anything that we can do, anything anyone else can do, that's watching or listening. Get in touch cause I think this is a hugely important mission that you guys are on.

Davious: [00:37:17] Thank you.

David: [00:37:18] Awesome. We'll catch you soon.