My Social Ark Experience - Avneet Dhariwal

My name is Avneet Dhariwal and I’m a student from the University of Birmingham about to begin my 2nd year studying History. I have been working for Social Ark for the last eight weeks, creating a formal mentoring structure for the ‘Step Up Programme’.  I came across this position whilst perusing the placement bank the University of Birmingham compiled as part of the Professional Skills module they offer. Social Ark’s ethos shone through their application brief- compassionate and driven to help their local community. I was amazed by their work and was eager to be part of their team. 

Soon after I sent off the application, I was offered an interview with Lisa and Saif over Zoom. I was quite nervous but as soon as we started chatting, time flew by, and I started to understand more about the family feeling of Social Ark. A few minutes after the interview concluded, my phone started to ring- it was Saif asking me to come back online to discuss the role more. Full of excitement and curiosity, I quickly logged back on.

Lisa and Saif couldn’t contain their excitement as they offered me a placement but with a major twist. Instead of the original marketing role, they suggested completing a project suited to my strengths and interests, they challenged me to create my own role and project brief- within the parameters of Social Ark. I was ecstatic to be given the chance to work with such incredible people and have the freedom to really take on this unique leadership challenge. After a few days of research, Lisa reached out and we talked about what Social Ark needed. It was clear that they needed to revisit their mentoring scheme. They worked with passionate mentors that championed the young social entrepreneurs and the organisation, but the mentoring scheme lacked a formal structure. Together, we came up with the idea for me to lead on the development of Social Ark’s first comprehensive formal mentoring pack and I instantly accepted. 

My placement began with an introduction to my mentor: Carllyn Ng, strategic advisor for Social Ark. Being paired with an incredible mentor gave me the confidence to talk through my ideas about the creation of the structure as well as some much-needed guidance about social enterprises. Lisa gave me full control and creative authority for the project, encouraging and supporting me to embrace the leadership challenge. I was a little nervous and excited at the same time, unsure where best to start, however, Carllyn’s support and guidance throughout helped me to realise I could actually do this and brought out the best structure imaginable.  

After completing some preliminary research about mentoring structures in other social enterprises, I received some feedback from the questionnaires we distributed to the mentors based on the previous informal structure in place. This analysis was originally designed to become the focus of the structure, but this proved to be quite difficult as most of the feedback was praise with 87% of the respondents feeling supported in their role by the Social Ark team! After synthesising and analysing the few improvement points given by the mentors, I started working on the shell of the programme with Carllyn and presented the outline to the team. I was met with positivity and encouragement by them as we focused on the next steps to convert my plan into reality. 

As part of my research, I got the chance to meet Manny Ebokosia, founder and CEO of True Cadence CIC and Board Member for Social Ark. Manny raved about the impact Social Ark and its core team has had on True Cadence, as well as providing valuable feedback on my proposed structure. Meeting with Manny gave me the opportunity to talk through my own future career prospects and also understand both perspectives of the mentor relationship as he himself is a ‘Step Up Programme’ alumni and current peer mentor. His interactions and experience with Social Ark were very valuable to my research and the feedback given was included in the final full structure. 

I presented the full structure to the team the following week and was met with a response full of gratitude and amazement. It felt incredible producing a piece of engaging work that would positively impact a wave of social entrepreneurs going forward with a great team. 

Working with Social Ark boosted my confidence, it showed me what I can achieve in a supportive, creative environment. Every individual I worked with was positive, kind, and considerate and I would like to thank them all for making it a fantastic placement. My experience as a mentee at Social Ark taught me about collaboration and the importance of building solid relationships and networks - skills I’ll carry for life. I am so grateful for Lisa investing in me and I hope to learn more from her as I continue to work with Social Ark in a freelance capacity.

Manny's Journey - by Will Washington

“Bumping into the advert for Social Ark’s Step-Up programme online, it was pretty much lightbulbs for me: this was my chance to do it. I’d always wanted to do it, but I just didn’t know how”

Scrolling through online ads, Emmanuel “Manny” Ebokosia was looking for something. Autumn evenings were drawing 2019 to a dark, rainy close, but with a bold vision in mind, fuelled by his own experiences, he was ready to create something; True Cadence was on the horizon.

Rewind to 2003 – the Concorde was making its final flight and Hey Ya by OutKast topped the pop charts; aged 12, Manny moved to England from his home in Nigeria. Far from London’s city streets, the soundtrack to his early years had been filled with music that filtered down from his parents’ love for the Country genre: Kenny Rodgers, Johnny Cash, George Jones. Starting school was a difficult experience. Even from as young an age as 12, Manny was targeted and mistreated, purely for the colour of his skin.

“I felt like I had to work 10 times as hard to be able to get the same opportunities as my peers.”
“because of my experience of racism in school, at times I had to leave school early because there were a bunch of guys - I'm talking 30-50 of them - waiting outside the gates to beat up black people.”     

Grades suffered, each day was a battle and Manny let his anger define the music in his headphones: 50 Cent, NWA and Immortal Technique expressed an aggression that he resonated with.

“My only options were to find a way to let it all out or to hurt somebody... I had to try to nip my aggression in the bud and I found music, and that really worked for me.”

With the painful experience of school in the past, college was a fresh, clean start, a place of focus and hard work, where Manny’s clear potential was allowed to flourish. By the end of his diploma, he graduated as top of his class, with distinctions in all 18 units of the course, leading him comfortably to university in Hertfordshire, where he studied Human Resource Management.

Having started to write songs as a teenager, the dream of a career in music was never far from Manny’s thoughts. Having graduated uni with a 2:1, the next steps were unclear…

“I worked in HR for a bit… I just bounced around. I realised, though, sitting behind a desk is not really for me, my passion has always been music”

He decided to go for it, launching into the rap and hip-hop game under the name ‘S.O.P’ (the Seed of Perfection), writing and performing classical rap tracks with an Afro-beat twist, harking back to his roots. Gigs were becoming frequent and Manny was beginning to build an audience, the industry, though, can be a dark place.

A big opportunity arrived: the chance to support and open the show for an upcoming, hit-making artist. Manny seized it emphatically, taking his energetic, crowd-winning performance style to the max. Proud with the show and excited to see where the experience would take him, it was a gut-punch to see that the event was hugely misrepresented…

The bouncing crowd that Manny had whipped up was photographed and credited to the other artist’s performance; in fact, he knew that if he’d not brought his own cameraman, there would have been little evidence that he ever performed at the event. This was Manny’s first real taste of the music industry’s dirty politics – he knew that change was needed.

In his years spent pursuing a career as S.O.P, Manny uncovered barrier after barrier in the industry’s dog-eat-dog world.

“Once I started working with the right people, I picked up so much that I realised I wasn’t ready for the industry. I was not ready. I needed to learn a lot more, so I started doing my research and I found that the business side of the industry is tricky – it’s not as rosy as people think”

Tragically, in 2015, Manny lost his sister to cancer, which prompted a huge perspective shift in his life.

“I used to be a perfectionist. Losing my sister changed my perspective on a lot of things, like my idea of what perfection was. So, previously I had a plan of how I wanted my life to go from A to Z, but then I realized that, you know what? It's never going to go how it's planned… some stuff just happens.
So during that period, I went through a lot, I just had one lot of bad luck after the other and I realised that the only thing that I wanted to do was love life, that was all.”

Turning away from the strive for perfection, he rebranded himself as Manny Loveankh in 2016, taking inspiration from the Egyptian ‘ankh’ hieroglyph, which represents life, to symbolise his new pursuit. His own experience of the music world had taught him that young, budding individuals need help if they’re going to make it. He knew the industry and had seen how companies, labels and gatekeepers can act to distort the experience of fresh, exciting artists. If only, he wondered, there was somebody who could have helped him through these problems.

A vision began to form.

“no matter how intense the situation is, music always helps me, because every moment you're spending doing something you love and being creative is a moment that you're not hurting somebody, which you could potentially be doing otherwise.

Imagine a young kid, in a poor neighbourhood; he's always getting into trouble and people know him for getting into fights, for example. Someday, someone comes to look for him to have a fight with him, but he he's not there. Where is he? He’s in the studio making music, right?”

With this mission in mind, in 2019, he applied for a Master’s in Music Industry Management and Artist Development. Manny wanted to create a force for good: a reason to get people off the streets and into the studio, the help the he wishes he’d had, the help he that knew some people need.

This is when Manny found Social Ark:    ‘ lightbulbs ’.

Scrolling through websites, looking for a part-time job to support his Master’s, the Step-Up program caught his eye.

“I applied and got a call from Lisa. We had a sit down, I talked about my ideas and everything and, you know, just from the very first meeting, it just clicked; I felt like I belonged at Social Ark. I felt like I was with family. It didn't feel like an interview, you know, it felt like we were having a coffee date.
As God would have it, I was chosen to be part of the program and everything just pretty much took off from there.”

True Cadence is the result; a social enterprise with a mission to provide support, structured learning, mentoring, and tailored artistic development to young people from under-resourced communities; the vision is to get young people ‘industry-ready’. Manny’s heart is to unearth hidden talents from disadvantaged backgrounds, empowering youth in creativity while teaching entrepreneurial skills through the process.

Through a year-long program with Social Ark, Manny has been able to learn the ins and outs of social entrepreneurship. As part of ‘Step-Up’, Lisa and the team have guided him through the nitty-gritty business side of things, helping to refine and design the idea of True Cadence, which, we are thrilled to say, became a registered company on August 24th this year! When asked, though, Manny has highlighted the relational support of how Social Ark works.

“Where do I even start? I’ve developed a very close bond with everyone and Social Ark. Apart from the knowledge you get from the program, Social Ark is very helpful when it comes to moral support.

Social Ark is there when you need Social Ark, and even when you don't need Social Ark, they always pop up, saying ‘Hey, have you thought about this?’ or ‘This is coming up - you should apply for it!’. They have really been there as a guide, as advisors and, you know, as mental, emotional and physical support when needed.” 

Launching his mission, Manny will run workshops and training sessions:

-        Music Industry Masterclass: Seeking to give participants an in-depth understanding of the music industry, using all of the knowledge, tips and research from Manny’s own experience, as well as the input of expert professionals.

-        Coast 2 Coast Masterclass: A song-writing, production and performance program, also touching on business elements of the industry, which is tailored to 13-25-year-olds. The program culminates with a celebratory performance event for all of those involved.

-        String Along: A course of twice-weekly guitar training workshops, aimed at 11-16-year-olds of all abilities and skillsets, building towards a showcase at the end of 6-8 weeks.

Pursuing the vision, True Cadence will work specifically with vulnerable and underprivileged youths, such as young carers and those from Youth Offending Teams and Pupil Referral Units.
The conditions of Coronavirus, as for everyone, have caused problems for Manny’s big launch – but he’s not stopped working…

Adapting with the help of Social Ark, True Cadence ran ‘Kids Create’, an exciting and inclusive lockdown project which explored the emotional impact of the pandemic on children by encouraging them to write a song. Check the True Cadence website for the end product – its great!

“Having a background in the therapeutic benefits of music, I really wanted to explore the effects of COVID on young children, because we tend to think it's an adult issue.”

Ultimately, Manny’s hope for the future is that True Cadence becomes a recognised, educational hub from which young people can earn musical qualifications to use in the adult world. He wants to place value on music as a vocation, creating a welcoming gateway to those who are talented and motivated, yet from underprivileged backgrounds.

Seeing the way that Manny’s life-story has shaped and influenced the vision of True Cadence, we’ve got nothing but respect and excitement to see where this promising project will lead!

Lisa and Social Ark - by Lauren Coffman

‘We are an organisation in East London set up to work with brilliant young people from under resourced communities who want to use their lived experiences to better their community for everyone.’

These are the words our founder, Lisa Stepanovic, uses to describe Social Ark, the social enterprise she created in 2015, helping young East Londoners develop and grow sustainable businesses that both reflect and support the communities they grew up in. The young entrepreneurs come with ideas in abundance, and Social Ark provides them with the tools to make those ideas a reality, supporting them to ‘tap into their assets and talents and actually learn the skills needed to go and lead change in the community’.

Lisa has created an organisation like no other, placing loyalty and trust at the forefront of everything they do. Lisa explains, ‘our strength is in our social network’, a network that stretches right across, from the young entrepreneurs, to the mentors right through to the board: every member of Social Ark is a family. There is a level of wraparound support at Social Ark that is unique and is always there whatever the situation may be. Lisa takes immense pride in the help and encouragement Social Ark provides, telling me ‘you might have your diary planned out and then you get a phone call, and somebody needs support and everything else stops.’ That extends to the mentors too, who, despite being extremely busy will always make time for their entrepreneurs. As Lisa says, ‘We don’t just talk it, we walk it.’

At the heart of it, Social Ark is a family, with a level of care and support that is one of a kind. There is no ‘them and us’ culture here, Social Ark belongs as much to the young entrepreneurs as it does to Lisa and the team, as well as every person that has been a part of its journey. This feeling of ownership is integral to Social Ark’s ethos and its mission, and to the community Social Ark has built. ‘Everything we do, every program we deliver is codesigned by them because it's important that they own what we do’, Lisa explains. 

Social Ark strives to take back its community, giving the people at the heart of it the resources to become the gatekeepers of their own funding. East London is changing, and whilst gentrification is not a new phenomenon it has become more and more pronounced as time goes on. ‘I feel there's a lot of bias going on’, Lisa tells me. ‘A lot of CEOs of big organisations lean towards people that look like them and people that speak like them.’ This is the drive behind Social Ark, to level up the playing field and give the people East London was built around, those with the lived experiences, a chance to do things themselves. ‘We need to empower them with the skills, they’ve got the drive, determination, passion, lived experience, but what we do is equip them with the skills and the tools and support to actually be that change that we all want to see.’

‘I think that supporting them to lead change benefits everyone. It’s making our streets safer, more cohesive, more inclusive, and yeah, it is creating stronger communities.’

Social Ark’s mission is a vital one, and it’s one that is even more important in this current climate. The demographic of Social Ark’s young entrepreneurs have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. It is not just the virus itself, which has been shown to affect those from under resourced communities and BAME backgrounds at alarmingly higher rates, but every aspect of the pandemic. Economically and socially, Social Ark’s young people have been hit hard, both in their personal and business lives, with start-up social enterprises the last in line for community funding, and therefore the first in line for cuts when tough economic times hit. This means that amplifying their voices and experiences is even more important at a time when they are being more marginalised and cast aside than ever. How they have dealt with these setbacks is something Lisa is extremely proud of, telling me ‘I’ve got so much admiration because even hit with all these barriers; health inequalities, social inequalities, race inequalities, all this stuff… but they are still driven to do what they've got to do and what they want to do.’

As we embark on a new journey for Social Ark with the creation of this blog, we endeavour to reach a wider audience than ever before, and there are a lot of things Lisa hopes readers will gain from it. Showcasing the importance and the brilliance of the Social Ark family is top of that list, and by giving a platform to the young entrepreneurs and their businesses Lisa believes that will shine through. 

‘I think lots of people think young people from under resourced communities just haven't worked hard enough. I hope this will give an insight and give them a different mindset, because when you have those lived experiences, you know it isn’t that easy. That’s why I think they are so special because they are young people doing socially driven business in a world that excludes them and doesn't let them have a foot in the door.’

‘Yes of course I want investment, but I want our young people and their businesses to be legitimised, I want people to really see the value in them. I don’t want them to hire them because it ticks the box, I want them to completely see the value in it, and so if we can do that then this has been a success.’

Social Ark and its young people are changing the narrative, and it is vital that their voices are heard.

Saif Bhoja

Saif Bhoja’s hemp-based clothing company, Huriah, is pioneering in an industry where progressive change is needed more than ever. The clothing industry is the second-largest environmental pollutant after the oil industry, using five times more energy than the airline industry and sustaining our society’s unhealthy culture of fast fashion: prices are low, items don’t last, and 98% of workers, most of whom are women from economically underdeveloped countries, don’t make a living wage.

                  In the context of the world’s wider climate crisis, the problem of the clothing industry is a relatively solvable one; compared to the scientific and technological feats required to overhaul other industries such as energy and travel, clothing is not such a headache… we need companies making quality clothing, sourced from ethical, sustainable workplaces and materials.

Huriah is one such company.

The key to Saif’s enterprise is the use of hemp, one of the world’s most versatile crops: strong, tough, soft, and breathable. It’s incredibly eco-friendly, too! Compared to each kilogram of cotton needing a gargantuan 20,000 litres of water throughout its growth process, hemp only needs 1/8 of this amount, a far more sustainable 2500 litres.  
So why isn’t hemp more widely used? Hemp belongs to the Cannabis Sativa plant family, meaning that, despite its low THC levels (the psychoactive component of cannabis), hemp’s reputation is forever tarnished by its infamous cousin, marijuana, and the drug culture which surrounds it.

However, times appear to be changing. As more and more governments are reconsidering their stance on the illegality of cannabis, Saif believes that people’s wariness of hemp is “becoming desensitised” and that “now is a good opportunity to have that discussion with people about why it's a good product and why it should be used a lot more.”

Growing up, Saif didn’t know of his potential to begin something like Huriah. Family expectations served his future hopes with a cultural pressure: “from an early age, the idea is ingrained to become a dentist, become a doctor or an engineer, those stereotypical, vocational roles”. With this mindset in place, he took academic subjects at college before studying Forensic Investigations at university. Beneath the surface, though, Saif knew that he wanted a career not only to pay the bills, but to give purpose to his life – something he cared about. In his third year at uni, Saif got involved with a leadership program which helped him to glimpse the potential of a career in the ‘third sector’, an unexplored possibility; a new realm of career opportunities which could offer what he was looking for: the chance to make positive change.

“I realized that, for me personally, it wasn't about the tangible gain, but the opportunities I can create not only for myself, but for other people.
I felt that, once I graduated, I’d be in a race to with millions of other people to really advertise myself for the opportunity of a job. So, I was like, ‘Why not create the opportunity myself?’”

The innovation of eco-conscious clothing brands has already inspired Huriah to collaborate with other creatives, but getting to know Saif, it becomes clear that his passion is about far more than just clothing.

“I want to be in a position where I can help young people visualize that, the system we live in perpetuates the idea that chasing money only is our sole purpose… but It's not going to bring you eternal happiness.
Money is great when its seen as a tool to create opportunities for yourself and other people. You see plenty of people that are rich, and you can see they’re unhappy, because I personally think that money hasn’t fulfilled their purpose, that thing they really wanted.”

 Launching into the clothing industry was never going to be easy, though. Driven by purpose rather than experience, Saif leapt into a world of business where everything was new to him. No amount of study for his Forensic Investigations degree could have prepared him for the new skills he suddenly needed: Photoshop, website design and entrepreneurship, just to name a few.
Plunged in at the deep end, Saif learned a lot about delegating and reaching out to people.

 “Sometimes, to make things work, you have to let go of your ego and say, ‘I can’t do this’. Being able to step back and actually manage a business as a business owner means not being the individual that does everything all the time.”

It was at this point, around a year ago, that Saif joined our entrepreneurship program and became a part of the Social Ark family. Through this, we’ve been able to guide and train him through the trials of beginning a small business, using all of our means to help see his plans come to life!

“I wouldn't be where I am now with my idea, if it wasn't for Social Ark. Their insider knowledge of how this industry works and how to manoeuvre it has given me the insight and the chance to really develop and thrive.”
“More than just helping practically, it’s been personal moments with Lisa and other mentors that have given me that deeper, needle-and-thread help to pull things together and refine them.”

 We’ve been able to help Saif with practical, nitty-gritty essentials, like securing grant funding and understanding his industry, but our favourite thing is to have seen him grow as a creative, big-thinking entrepreneur.

 
“‘Entrepreneur’ is a word that I feel like we throw around quite a lot, but I now truly understand the core fundamentals of it.”
“On a different program they might just give you the basics, but this is more than that. Not only have I become more of a social entrepreneur, I feel like I've just become a better person in general”.
“On the program, everybody has this sense of wanting everyone else to achieve. No one is competing with one another, it’s very much a cohesive unit in which we are moving together”

An amazing way that we’ve seen Huriah fly is through the workshops that we’ve helped Saif run for young people. They begin with creating discussion based on everyone’s lived experience, reflecting on how different issues can be brought to light and challenged, followed by the creation of designs based on the discussion which are printed onto t-shirts at the end. Saif nails it with the description that: “we use creative design as a medium to discuss issues within our society. It's as simple as that.”
                  The hope is that each young person leaves the session with a self-designed t-shirt which can act as a trigger, a planted seed which one day should serve as reminder of their achievement and creative potential.

Saif represents exactly what we love to see: passion, purpose and care for the world around us. To any aspiring social entrepreneur, he says this…

“The place where you're going to learn the most and really develop your character, develop as a person and see real change within yourself is in stepping out of your comfort zone. You're only going to get one shot at things, and you don't want to look back with any regrets.”

Nelsandro Farmhouse - Lauren Coffman

Last week, Nelsandro Farmhouse, founder of Sandro’s Online, had a knock at his door, a package, which, when he returned inside to open it, live on zoom with many members of the Social Ark family, he found to contain an award and a cheque.

Voted for overwhelmingly by his peers, Sandro had been rewarded for his work as part of Social Ark’s recent funding partnership with Eastwick and Sweetwater and the London Legacy Development Corporation, using the funding he received to pilot his new project whilst supporting and encouraging the rest of the Social Ark family with their pursuits.

His project, Sandro’s Online, devised alongside Social Ark founder Lisa Stepanovic and his mentor Tony Colville, seeks to combine cake making and decorating with mental wellbeing, bringing people together and giving them a space to learn a new skill in a supportive environment.

The project’s aim is clear: “I want to bring people together and give people a chance to have fun and relax a bit. Baking is relaxing and therapeutic, so we want to give people the opportunity to learn skills in that type of environment.” Sandro tells us.

Born out of his self-taught, lifelong passion for baking and his desire to provide an encouraging and compassionate space for those who may be vulnerable or isolated in society, Sandro used the funding he received to pilot his new baking sessions, taking place over zoom. Hosting different groups for those with autism and suffering from anxiety among other things, the sessions don’t just stop at baking together.

“We don’t just bake things; it goes a lot further than that. For example with my autism groups, when the cake is in the oven we are going to talk, we will do activities and learn things, when it’s my anxiety groups we will talk about strategies and tools to help when they are struggling.”

“Sandro’s Online is about more than just baking cakes.”

And these pilot sessions are only the start of Sandro’s Online, as he hopes to grow the project exponentially in the coming months, learning from everything the pilots have taught him.

“I got exactly what I wanted out of the pilot period,” Sandro explained, “it helped me to really develop the idea and create a plan of what I want to do moving forward as an official CIC. It was a time for development more than anything, to continue making an impact and growing awareness for the project, and I feel like I’ve done those things.”

Whilst the Zoom, and ultimately in-person, baking sessions will certainly form the core of Sandro’s Online, Sandro is placing no limits on where the project could go. Current plans to develop it further include taking workshops into schools and creating an online interactive platform to promote wellbeing and learning, and the ways baking can be an outlet for those things. Eventually, Sandro hopes he will be able to hire people with autism and anxiety to help run these projects, providing stable employment for adults who often struggle to find it, an issue in society Sandro believes vitally needs to change.

Despite Sandro’s Online being a relatively new venture, kickstarted mere months ago through the funding partnership, Sandro’s journey with Social Ark has been a much longer one. Originally connecting with Lisa through the grandparent of a mutual friend, he is the first to admit that he hasn’t always been the most consistent.

“In my early days with Social Ark there were a lot of times I went quiet and didn’t speak with Lisa for a while, but she never forgot me and would always check in. This project is a perfect example of that, I hadn’t been very involved with Social Ark for a while but when the pandemic began she called me and said she had an opportunity for me and here we are.”

The award is evidence that this time around Sandro is making the most of the new opportunity, despite all the difficulties the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown up, and is testament to the potential Lisa sees and has always seen in him.

This is what, Sandro believes, makes Social Ark so special, and why it has been so important to him over the years. It is the personal side of things, the support and the belief Lisa has in every member of the Social Ark family, her willingness to be there for the young entrepreneurs and not give up on them, whatever the time of day and however busy she is. It is that belief, Sandro stresses, that has helped him believe in himself and not give up.

“She’s been a real mentor, she’s not just helped with the logistical and business sides of things, she invests in us as people first and foremost.”

Of course Social Ark has also been vital for Sandro on the business side of things as well, broadening his knowledge and understanding of how to create, run and grow a successful, and socially conscious business, providing him with the tools to learn about things like ‘funding, policies and procedures, insurances needed’ and other financial and business help.

But what Sandro highlights as the thing he has been most grateful for over the last few months is the contacts Lisa, Tony and Social Ark has provided him with, allowing the project to reach new people and grow in new ways, with fresh insight, support and guidance. This is evident as he explains, “Recently Social Ark facilitated a cakes session on zoom for me with all the mentors, and they all chipped in with their insight and went out of their way to connect me with people that will be beneficial for my project.”

As Sandro looks to the future he stresses how lucky he feels, that despite the hardships and personal struggles of the last six months, his new project has thrived, not even in spite of the pandemic but because of it. It has helped him make the most of such a difficult time, creating a socially conscious business that serves his community at a time when they need it most.

“Before the pandemic I didn’t have the idea of using zoom to bake with people and run workshops. It only came about because I thought to myself, if I’m going through anxiety because of the virus there must be others elsewhere going through the same thing. Through using zoom we have been able to reach so many more people with our sessions, we have had people joining us from Mexico, Germany and other places baking with us on zoom.”

Receiving the award last week has been the icing on the cake for Sandro, the perfect recognition for the way he took this funding opportunity and ran with it, not only in developing his own ideas but supporting and championing his peers with theirs. It puts into perspective all the hard work of the last few months, and that it was his peers that voted for the winner makes it even sweeter.

“The award is great recognition for what we’ve been doing, and the money I have received as part of it can now go straight back into the project in order to keep growing it with extra financial support. But I’m also using the award as motivation to keep going, it’s a symbol of motivation for me.” 

“I probably opened the box with the award in about 30 times that day, and practiced speeches in the mirror thanking my mum and everything. It was a really special feeling.”

Though Sandro’s time with Social Ark definitely hasn’t been the smoothest of journeys, he is true embodiment of the core values Lisa has built the organisation around: wraparound support, compassion and guidance whatever the situation may be, helping young people with lived experience to go out and better their communities. Sandro is doing exactly that, and as he opened the award on zoom with the other members of the Social Ark family watching on, delighted for him and his success, those values couldn’t have been clearer.

Abstract Benna - by Will Washington

Childhood was “a mixture of light and darkness” for Reuben Braithwaite, the spoken word artist ‘Abstract Benna’. A 90s kid raised in Brixton to the age of 10, Eminem and JayZ’s were the voices echoing around the brickwork of a home far beyond his house’s four walls; the estate was his community, a place to experience life’s full spectrum. Looking back on childhood, Benna recalls a daze of warm moments, “a giant summer holiday” of playing outside with his friends and community barbeques made him, as only a young boy, feel “so much love”. However, drugs and crime were a cold reality “mixed in with the love and community” of Brixton’s spilt personality; in the innocence of youth, though, Benna was able to coast through an early childhood, “unaware of how dark the darkness was”.

Rap was a huge part of Reuben’s life as a kid – not just a fondness, but an aspiration; the hope of a bright future. Rapping in bedrooms with his older brothers and kids from the estate, his rhymes were set apart by the stories they told. Film and television had always attracted Benna, whose creative expression gravitated towards storytelling from a young age, with pictures like The Matrix and Menace II Society particularly impacting him. “Adding rhythm and rhyme to stories” was the natural manifestation of music and film’s influence on Benna’s life.

Performance was natural to him, though his first experience of it was completely unplanned. Around the age of 8, he was at his uncle’s restaurant and saw a flyer advertising P. Diddy’s tribute to the late Biggie Smalls, a song he knew and loved. With his back to the room and his thoughts on the music, Benna started rapping. As he finished the song and tuned back into the moment, he noticed an eerie silence around the restaurant. Turning timidly to his accidental audience, Benna was met with an unexpected applause; despite the rush of people’s appreciation, a tarnish of awkwardness still lingers with this memory.

His first planned performance was equally memorable. At a similar age to rapping in his uncle’s restaurant, Benna and a group of friends performed a song for their school assembly; this was a big moment, the first time Reuben would showcase a rap that he had written. Things did not go to plan. Dreams of a Hollywood moment were dashed by technical difficulties and an unforgiving audience of young kids, whose boos gave Benna a difficult start to life on stage… he learned the tough lessons of performance early.

School was not a negative experience for Benna, though – far from it; his years at school developed the skills that he masters today. English lessons stood out to him as opportunities to “break words down”, using description and analysis to more deeply comprehend his means of expression. These lessons made clear that Benna’s talent lay in words.

“I remember every week there was a ‘spelling bee’. On Mondays towards the end of the day we would do the spellings and then get our results on the Friday. I used to always get 100%... to the point where other students were starting to give me that look, like “Oh, not him again!”.
“I feel like young boys tend to want to break stuff apart – like, my nephews love to break apart their toy cars… and I was kind of the same, but instead, I was able to break apart words. It gave me a hands-on outlet.”

As a teenager, the darkness of a criminal lifestyle became more visible and closer to home; Benna watched a lot of people he knew make bad decisions. Storytelling through rap became his escape route. With the mind of a storyteller, Reuben’s actions were governed by the knowledge that, like his stories, our lives have a beginning, a middle and an end – and for his ending to be a happy one, he’d have to take care of his beginning.

Benna left school at 16. In love with film and scriptwriting, he went to college, studying media, sociology and business, with hopes to pursue his talent for storytelling. His time at college was not without its setbacks. The spontaneous project to start a clothing brand with some mates never took off; in fact, it served as a distraction from studying, which saw his grades fall below what he needed for the university course he’d aimed at.
Benna’s story, however, is one of success. After a period of working as a runner for various TV companies, he decided to quit the cliquey and unglamorous environment that he found on television sets; throughout this time of frustration, he had been writing.

Transitioning away from script writing, Benna found his niche in spoken word. Ever since, his artistry has gained traction. He has collaborated with both local and national organisations, from The National Lottery and the BBC to various London borough councils, with a mission.

“I want my work to cover three things: what it feels like to be a man, to be black and/or associate with black culture, and to come from the street and be elevating mentally.”
“If I had a career’s worth of content now, in a box, and I gave that box to someone and they opened it, I’d want them to find a part of themselves in the box and feel they’re able to get some clarity in their journey or just recognise themselves and laugh. Laugh with me.”

With the success of his artistry, ‘Abstract Benna’ started looking to invest in young people, aiming to provide inspiration and guidance for those from a background like his. As a youngster, he really valued conversations with people who made the effort to share some wisdom and targeted encouragement; so, with the aim of doing this for the emerging generation of young people, he had the idea to run creative workshops. 

This is where Social Ark was able to step in and help. A few years ago, Benna met Sarah Castro, the Social Ark Chair, at an event where he was performing. Sarah loved his performance and put him in touch with Lisa, who got him involved with our entrepreneurship program.

“Benna came to us at a time when he wanted to pull together all the brilliant work he’d done so far and package his offer into workshops for schools and other youth organisations. It wasn’t a difficult job for Social Ark, as Benna had a fantastic track record, so structuring that wasn’t hard at all!” – Lisa Stepanovic

Abstract Benna’s ‘Creative Masterclasses’ run as one-off, two-hour sessions. Relevant, important debate and conversation are encouraged to serve as the inspiration for poems and raps; the session culminates with participants performing what they’ve written. He also runs a series of ‘Ideas Journeys’, which run through 6 weekly sessions designed to dig deeper into relational, practical help for youngsters and conclude with a celebrational performance event.

“Going into schools and running these workshops for young people is to give them a sense of self-worth through the stories that I help them to tell about themselves.”
“Through young people talking to me and people like me, they can realise that, even though I’m older than them, they’re from where I’m from, so we have the same story – with differences and nuances obviously – but with the same foundation to the story. And I’m there talking to them because I was able to lean on my skills and my talents, so by talking to them about this stuff, I hope to encourage them to do the same”. - Benna

Since Benna got involved, it’s been our pleasure to empower his mission, making it accessible and translating it from something held within him, to something outworked in London. He says that lockdown has been a time where he’s been able to “get interested in other art forms and delve into different places of inspiration”, so we can’t wait to see what his future holds.

 “Every time we meet up it’s definitely a family feel. We might go for dinner and just catch up; it doesn’t always have to surround business, it gets personal… you feel like you can open up and just talk about your life, as well as business. There’s a strong helping hand available through Social Ark”. - Benna

Nigel's mayamada Journey - by Will Washington

Nigel had bigger dreams than his software engineering job. Having breezed out of university into a secure job in tech, his feet were firm and steady on the middle rungs of a corporate ladder that he didn’t want to climb.

“I never hated my job, it was fine… and I worked with really smart people, but I just remember getting to a point where I didn't care about the job. I didn't care about getting any better than where I was, and I thought that was a bad place to be.”

With four years of ‘9 – 5’s under his belt, Nigel knew, “Before I get stuck, I have to leave”. He liked the idea of having his own business, one which would impact people positively and employ the creative skill that he knew was within him. His first attempt, a clothing brand started with friends, never took off; this knock-back, however, was the beginning of a promising path. With the group stripped back to just Nigel and his mate Lao, the duo soon realised the potential of their shared interests; specifically, Japanese culture and storytelling. 

mayamada is the result: a brand of manga, telling the stories of Nigel and Lao’s characters, set within the ‘television network universe’ that they created. Manga is an artwork style that captured Nigel’s attention due to its Japanese roots and its wide, creative variety. Against the backdrop of a rather formulaic cartoon culture in the West, to Nigel, manga represented an exciting opportunity to home-grow his own characters and storylines from London, UK, infused with Japanese inspiration. This is a success story. Since beginning and building the brand, Nigel’s work has been showcased in the media by big hitters such as Vogue, GQ Magazine and The Evening Standard. Shiny accomplishments like these, however, are mere by-products of a deeper driving force. Nigel’s aim is that through mayamada, a social impact can be made; he feels that creativity is undervalued by the education system, yet, “We live in a world where people listen to music, watch films, read books, go to the theater. These are all industries where people make a living.” He strongly argues that creativity can be pursued in many ways:

“People assume that if you're doing something like programming, it's not creative. But like I said, in software engineering, I've worked with a lot of smart people and we had to come up with solutions to problems, creating something from scratch, building it and seeing it have impact. That's the definition of creativity!”

“I think young people in general, particularly from certain backgrounds, feel they are not creative, and that they have to go a certain way through school into a career that doesn't fit them. So, you've got people who might be great musicians or great artists and storytellers, but they’re being told ‘That's silly, do maths’. It just doesn't fit for them! There are multiple paths. So, I think the social impact I want is to inspire young people to have creative confidence and to help them find the path that works for them.”

mayamada’s unique, diverse set of characters – from a samurai monkey working as a chef, to an entrepreneurial, young rabbit trying to escape his small-town life – are creative expressions which usually stem from the life experience of its founder.

“In terms of inspiration, what I find interesting is that you can take bits of yourself… so I could start with a theme or a message, and then take bits of myself or other people that are related to that theme, and then create characters around that. So, you might have, like in ‘Hot Lunch’, for example, the main character Taishi. He’s a tiger who is essentially trying to change the status quo, and he has these big plans, but he needs people to help him make those plans happen… and that's a little bit like myself, in terms of having this brand, having these big plans, but needing people around me to help make it happen.”

Enter, Social Ark.

It was 2015 and Nigel had already established mayamada; he had produced some comics but wanted to take the next step towards his vision for a social impact – for him, this meant running workshops. While looking into applying for a grant to fund his mission, Nigel met Lisa, our CEO. In these days, we didn’t yet exist as a charity; in fact, as Lisa’s vision for Social Ark grew and materialised, Nigel was part of the journey, becoming one of the first projects that we worked with!

“I showed Lisa some of my comics and told her that I was working on running workshops. Then, she looked at the work that I was doing and she offered to help.”

“The biggest impact that Social Ark had was to help me shape and deliver my workshops. Practical things, too, like putting together a proposal, putting together a funding bid (or a better funding bid than I was doing by myself!) - so allowing me to get more money, and helping me be more effective in terms of preparing the workshops. Since then I've been able to build on that, and I’m now doing a lot of workshops around London!”

These workshops, called ‘The StoryBoard’, run either as ‘one-offs’ or in longer series of multiple sessions in schools and youth centres, with the aim of inspiring creativity in young people. In one-off workshops, Nigel teaches from his own expertise, encouraging the young people to utilise his trusted techniques for creating and developing characters. In recent years, with the help of Social Ark, he has secured funding for longer term projects from BBC Children in Need, allowing him to reach out to more young people over a 3-year period in Lewisham!

Another of mayamada’s initiatives is GamePad, a gaming event, designed not only to promote Nigel’s brand and characters, but to change society’s narrative around video gaming. To follow this vision, GamePad is uniting young people into in-person social communities, where all are welcome, and the sociable attraction of gaming is clear to see. Social Ark were able to help Nigel by supporting these events and helping him to secure sponsorship for running an event in the Grenfell area, shining a light at a dark time for that community.

While much of our work here at Social Ark is to do with helping people kickstart new things, our work with Nigel has been different. However accomplished somebody might be, like Taishi the tiger from Hot Lunch, everyone needs a support network to help make things happen. Before Social Ark, Nigel already had a fantastic, creative business… but through helping with his next steps, Social Ark has helped to translate Nigel’s talent and drive into the real-life outworking of his mission to see creativity flourish.

It has been a pleasure to be involved with mayamada and, as Nigel plans for the brand’s promising future, we’re excited to be on board!

By Will Washington

Something for the Weekend - the Skaped Journey by Will Washington

Skaped exists to educate young people about their human rights and raise awareness for humanitarian issues through the creative arts, a passion shared in the friendship of Sandy Abdelrahman and Thay Graciano – founded in London, supported by Social Ark. Reaching out to schools and young adults through themed workshops and community projects, Skaped aims to promote a culture of political conversation and awareness in the emerging generation, unconditionally accessible and communicated through creativity.

The mission of Skaped is deeply rooted in the life experience of its founders. Migrating to London in their childhoods from Egypt and Brazil, respectively, Sandy and Thay experienced the difficulties of new life in a new country. With high expectations stemming from a rose-tinted global view of England, formed by Mr Bean and Harry Potter, both were met with a far bleaker reality. For Sandy, language barriers and bullying made school a difficult place to go; while, for Thay, hopes of a grand education were knocked by an underfunded school, unable to support a department for history nor geography. Thay reminisces that seeing her highly gifted parents both settle for cleaning jobs represented the societal struggle ahead of her; yet, neither her nor Sandy knew enough of the relevant politics to aid their aspirations.

Considering Skaped’s creative focus, it becomes unsurprising to learn that Sandy and Thay found their niche in the arts. Where other routes had failed, the universality of creative arts spoke powerfully into their situation. Coming over from Egypt, Sandy spoke no English, “So”, she strongly feels, “How I came out of my shell was through drama, through the voices of creativity”. Sandy felt an affinity for approaching political subjects through art: “In Egypt, you can’t talk about politics … so what do you use? You use the idea of art: that doesn’t mention the political system, but mentions the corruption that comes behind it.” Thay recollects that, in theatre, “The emotions that I felt of oppression were talked about”. Having met in their teenage years, Thay and Sandy found that many of their conversations revolved around these experiences; before long, a vision began to formulate – “Sandy said, ‘We’re just complaining. Shall we do something about it?’”.

This is where Social Ark enters the story. Having become involved with political activism in her late teens, Sandy hoped to begin a project which would help to counter the negative experiences she had personally suffered; something to educate young people on human rights issues and political conversation. With her exciting idea in mind, Sandy began to approach business development programmes, but, rather than getting the support she needed, Sandy felt treated “like a number”. She explains her feeling that “as a migrant woman, there’s hardly any potential for you in society, let alone to be able to say ‘I have an organisation’”.
Things changed when Sandy connected with Lisa, our CEO. All of a sudden, she was treated “like a human being” and what once was an idea started to become a reality. With Lisa’s guidance and the support of Social Ark, Sandy’s project was refined to include her main passions: politics and the arts. Practically, we were able to help with proposal writing, business planning and the envisioning of Skaped’s mission – but, from the perspective of Thay (who joined in the early process as a co-founder) and Sandy, it was the relational, personal aspects of our support which meant the most.

“They’ve been massive believers in what we do – our cheerleaders, really! They really have our back.” – Sandy Abdelrahman

“Lisa really believes in young people. She empowers us to go for the change that we want to see. There is no, ‘you can't do it’ with Lisa. She will always push you to do what she knows you can do. So, it's an amazing chance… because usually when you come from a working-class background, your parents may be too busy, working 12 hours a day, to be supportive.” – Thay Graciano

With Social Ark’s help, Skaped has become a champion for the political education of young people, promoting equality, freedom, justice, dignity and inclusiveness as its values. Continuing to encourage creativity as their medium, Sandy and Thay have recently run projects such as ‘Me and My Community’, for budding local photographers, and the ‘Global Young Voices Blog’, which aims to vocalise the humanitarian concerns of young people from all over the world.

Both women view the young generation the same way as we do at Social Ark:

“Young people are the future”, “A lot of young people don't feel like they have a voice. You do have a voice!” – Sandy Abdelrahman.
“We can't just rely on adults. All the human rights protections and the future issues that we are going to face are being exacerbated by adults who are now in power.” – Thay Graciano.

“We didn't get the political education we needed; we didn't feel like we had any power. We had to fight for it and make a platform where we could speak. A lot of young people need to be given that platform”.

2020 has been an unprecedented global shake-up. COVID-19 has shaken our lifestyles, lockdown has re-framed our relationships and the death of George Floyd has ignited a much-needed re-evaluation of human treatment towards one another. In this cultural moment, Skaped has never been more apt. Looking to the future, Sandy and Thay are planning fresh ways of pursuing their mission in the COVID-scarred world’s ‘new normal’. In particular, they feel moved to raise awareness for gender equality and environmental action; their belief, though, is that wealth inequality and pervasive mental health issues are overarching, insidious crises, from which many others stem.
A key element of Skaped’s method for change is the simple power of talking:

“We believe in having conversations with people you disagree with. That's how you build a future. That's how you create compassion in politics. You have to speak to people you disagree with … you listen to the conversations and you realise that actually, you agree a lot more than you disagree. We've got to push for that! And that is what human rights is, it’s getting everyone to understand that we have things in common. We are all human.”
­- Thay Graciano

To finish, we asked Sandy and Thay to speak about why they’d encourage any young person with a dream to do as they did and connect with Social Ark! Here’s what they had to say:

“Anyone who wants to start a charity or social enterprise needs to find a mentor and a program, like what Social Ark offers. If you don't, I don't quite know how you would do what we're doing, to be very honest!
I think Social Ark not only empowers people, but it also gives them all the tools. When creating something new, people need be free to pursue what they want to do, without feeling like they have to compromise. So, Social Ark holds your hand and makes sure you're well-addressed and comfy.”

At Social Ark, our heart is to see young people step into the boldness that they were born for. Skaped is a project that we’ve loved being involved in and we can’t wait to see where our journey with them will take us in the future!

Written by Will Washington

Introducing Will

My name’s Will Washington, I’m 20 years old, I study Theology and Religion at the University of Birmingham and, when I’m not at uni, I live in Canterbury. One of my favourite things to do is play music; I’ve been playing the drums and the piano since I was young, so I find both a great way to relax.

How did you find out about the Social Ark Blogger position?

As part of my second year at uni, I have the opportunity to do a placement. When I saw Social Ark’s ‘Blogger’ position on the list of placements, I knew instantly that it was the one I wanted! It combined my love for writing with the growing importance of social justice in my life - and it seemed to fit my skillset, too!

What is your vision for the blog?

I think that the blog is a fantastic opportunity to voice the stories and the feelings of unheard people. In the current cultural moment, people’s personal, authentic stories are so important and, I believe, are getting more airtime than ever before. Social Ark works with a variety of different young people, many of whom are from underprivileged backgrounds; so, acting as a mouthpiece for these people is my main hope for the blog.

Introducing Lauren

My name is Lauren Coffman and I’m a 20-year-old student from North London. I am about to begin my 2nd year studying History at the University of Birmingham. I am a massive football fan, so you can usually find me watching, talking about or writing about football in my spare time, as well as playing the guitar.

How did you find out about Social Ark and what made you want to get involved?

At University of Birmingham many 2nd year students have the opportunity to complete a placement as part of our degree, something I knew early on in my degree I wanted to do. I wasn’t originally planning on applying for any of the placements that were taking place over the Summer, but as soon as I saw the ‘Social Ark Blogger’ role I changed my mind straight away. I was immediately drawn to this opportunity as I felt it was a perfect fit for me, allowing me to develop my writing skills in a supportive and community-driven environment, all whilst getting to work within an organisation that does such important work in the community, using lived experience to drive vital social change.

What are your aims and goals for the blog?

Simply, to be able to share the story of Social Ark, and all the different people that are a part of it with a wider audience. Social Ark is a truly special organisation, full of young people and adults, many of whom come from under-resourced communities, with unique perspectives and voices that I believe need to be amplified and uplifted. I hope this blog will provide them with the time and the space to do this, and I also hope that through their stories we will be able to share the invaluable work Social Ark has done and continue to do with as many people as possible.

Coming soon!

The Social Ark blog will be up and running in no time! Keep your eyes peeled, and watch this space!