“I’ll never forget when we went to the homeless shelter. When we gave in the donations, I felt so happy to see the smiles on the staff’s faces. They were so happy to see us giving food to other people. We didn’t know them before but now we’re still giving. That was a very, very proud moment for me.”
Darius attends Lathom Junior School in Newham - a school involved with Team London Young Ambassadors since 2016.
After attending a Team London Young Ambassadors workshop, Darius and his classmates decided they needed to take action to support the homeless. They reached out to their local shelter and food bank to find out how they could make a positive impact.
Darius explains: “It’s not all just about us. It’s about other people. I personally think that we need to act. If we don’t do anything now, then we’re not going to do anything in 10 years, and if we don’t do anything in 10 years, in 20 years we might not even have a world to live in.
“When I got involved, it surprised me how many people actually wanted to help. I thought it was going to be one or two people trying to do something. But then I was very, very happy to see all those people actually caring for London and the world.”
With the support of their teacher, Ms Robbani, they held a food drive and fundraiser and brought everything they collected to the homeless shelter.
“Youth social action is so important for young people because it makes them more aware of the issues that we have in society. The kids are so passionate. They’ve seen the progression of having the action plan, collecting the food and donations and then actually going to the homeless shelter and delivering the food,” Ms Robbani said.
“The shelter has been so interested in how we collected food, donations, and what more we could do. This year we’re collecting food from the harvest that we’re going to deliver.”
Darius thinks his involvement in social action has helped him become more responsible. He’s also encouraging his family to cut down on their plastic use at home.
“It feels very good to know that I’ve played a part in making the world better. When I grow up, I’m going to look back at this moment and I’m going to ask, ‘Did I actually contribute to helping the world and the people?’ I’m more responsible now. I think it’s gotten me somewhere I never thought I could be.”
The Team London Young Ambassadors programme is match funded by the #iwill Fund and delivered by We Charity.
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