S2 Episode Twelve: Blinded By Your Grace
Parenting: Raising Our Children – With Gideon Buabeng, Akua Ofosuhene and Lamar
Gangs and gang culture, is all over the news and on the increase. As a parent, how do you know if your child is involved in a gang? What signs should you look out for? Who do you turn to for help and support and how do you help them to get out?
In this episode Jackie, Caroline and Krissi speak to Gideon Buabeng who was in a gang and found himself in hospital after being stabbed 14 times, Akua Ofosuhene who to managed to get her son out of a gang after four years of heartache and struggle and gang specialist Lamar.
We hear their perspectives on how and why our children are recruited into gangs, the impact gangs have families, and the wider community and how they have managed to overcome.
Gideon Buabeng:
In 2015, while Gideon was studying at university, he got caught up in a situation which left him with 14 stab wounds fighting for his life. In his own words he said “with the right support system and determination, I was able to turn my post-traumatic stress disorder into post-traumatic growth and turn my Pain into my Power”.He is now an award-winning motivational speaker, founder of Our Pain 2 Power, Prince’s Trust ambassador, Chairman of the Violent Crime Prevention Youth Board and Representee of the Prince’s Trust Youth Advisory Board.
Email: gideonseibuabeng@gmail.com
Instagram: @Gideonsnetwork
Twitter: @Gideonsnetwork | OurPain2Power
LinkedIn: Gideon Buabeng
You Tube: Our Pain 2 Power
Akua Ofosuhene
Akua believes that we can change our current unjust world through the use of psychedelics with the simple intention to let go of all deeply held beliefs that prop up our current white supremacist world order. She holds so many badges of honour; mother, a designer creating bespoke tailoring under the #MyLocalDressMaker” label, documentary story consultant for the hotline documentary series on Joy FM Radio and MD of A Serendipitous Production, a film and video production company specialising in short feature length dramas and documentaries.
Akua also has a weekly radio talk show on UJR Talk Radio on Tuesdays called “Fire from the Sun” which explores ancient and new radical thought, consciousness and neuroscience.
Email: ofosuhene.akua@gmail.com
Instagram: @akuaofosuhene
Twitter: @AkuaOfosuhene
Radio: UJR Talk Radio Website and UJR RadioL
inkedIn: Akua Ofosuhene
Lamar
Lamar works for the Public Sector as a gangs analyst and provides strategic interaction with key stakeholders in relation to gang culture and advocates for change within the community.
Resources
Videos: know my child & Gideon Buabeng | My Journey From Pain to Power
Booklet – Advice to Parents and Carers on Gangs
Articles: Service Cuts May Expose Rural Youth to County Lines (BBC: 26 August 2021) & Gang Culture in the UK
Charity – Catch 22: Gangs and Violence Reduction
Book – Non-Violent Communication: A Language of Life – Marshall Rosenberg
Discalimer: During this conversation we discuss the use of drugs for the purpose of education only. Drugs are classified into several categories based on their likelihood to lead to negative activities or bad health and we do not condone the use or possession of illegal drugs which is a crime in the UK. Please see the resources on our website, sfgpod.com, which provides additional support for his episode.
