The 5 Live special I blogged about last week has been well received in The Guardian by Elisabeth Mahoney.
Pudsey was everywhere on Friday. Away from the fundraising japes and fun, 5 Live once again ran a documentary (as part of Shelagh Fogarty's show) about a project helped by the charity and the work it did. Last year, it was work to prevent young women being lured into sex trafficking and abuse in Derby; this year, an organisation called Positive Futures (posfutures.org.uk) in Liverpool. If you need any further convincing to donate to Children in Need, do listen to the programme.
Even if you think you know about the sort of lives that lead children into gang culture, there were some gobsmacking details in Helen Skelton's report. Children as young as eight spoke casually about endemic violence in their areas. "I've actually seen someone getting battered," said one girl. "I was 10 or 11."
Ben, who left a gang with the charity's help, said: "You hear about stabbings and shootings every day". A youth worker recalled talking to a boy dealing drugs on the street to feed his younger siblings, when a man came up and begged. "That was my dad," the boy said, as the man walked away. The staff didn't gloss over the challenges or odds against them. But, as one said, in the next 20 years, if he changes just one child's life, "it'll be worth it".
As I said it is well worth a listen as it explores the youth culture in Liverpool and how two organisations are helping young people break the gang culture cycle. It includes some very powerful interviews with young people of Liverpool and the youth workers who are helping them change their way of life.
