Sisters, Friends & Guests Podcast

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. Email: ofosuhene.akua@gmail.com Instagram: @akuaofosuhene Twitter: @AkuaOfosuhene Radio: UJR Talk Radio Website and UJR Radio LinkedIn: 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. 

In this Episode we are joined by Sonia Harris who is a relationship coach and founder of Relationships A-Z and her husband Rob. We discuss relationships, dating and marriage. We explore what each of those things can look like, what they should look like and the things we can practice to become our best selves and strengthen the relationships we have in our lives.

Sonia Harris is a Relationship Coach with over 15 years' experience. She specialises in preparing singles for dating and marriage and enables many to achieve life-changing results. She is a published author of two books – "PlusOne = 3" and "Rooted for Relationships" and also hosts the popular podcast: The A-Z of Godly Relationships.

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Money begets more money, so the saying goes. But with research from the Runnymede Trust showing that for every £1 a white British family has, black Caribbean households have about 20p and black African households approximately 10p, the odds seem stacked against us.

In this week's episode, we speak to Sharmayne Pitkin, Vernice Wint and Lois Brown, three ladies who are on a mission to change the status quo for their families through trading and investing. Not only for the additional income, but also as a means of creating a legacy of wealth for their children and for future generations.

In the conversation they discuss the different ways of investing and how they manage to balance their trading activities with their responsibilities as mothers and career women.

Vernice Wint is a mother of two, a trader and an entrepreneur. Working from home, she runs Mums on a Mission where she helps mums and women learn a new skill so they can become the best versions of themselves and attain freedom in all areas of their lives.

Carole Williams has been a Hackney Councillor for Hoxton and then Hoxton West Ward since 2002.

In 2016 Carole became Hackney’s first ever Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Human Resources. She is also the lead  Member for Equalities and in 2019 became the Lead Member for Hackney’s response to the Windrush scandal - and the first lead Member for Windrush across the country.

Carole is at the forefront of efforts to increase diversity across the public sector, and plays a central role in delivering on the Mayor’s priority of tackling inequality in the Borough.

Carole also leads on Hackney’s Ways into Work job brokerage service, promoting and securing apprenticeships for young people; maximising job opportunities for residents and working to deliver flexible working to support parents to enter the workforce and progress their own careers.

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In this episode we are joined by our friend Tokunbo Koiki to discuss mental health within the black community. We share our personal experiences with mental health, how it has affected us and those around us and how we have coped. We also discuss the reluctance of the black community to talk about mental health, share some tips on how to identify when we need help and what organisations we can turn to for help.

We consider this conversation to be informative, positive and nurturing but we acknowledge that there may be those who find this difficult in parts. Our priority is to ensure we as women care for our well-being and there are resources linked to this episode on our website, sfgpod.com, to encourage and support us all.

Tokunbo Koiki was born in London but spent her early formative years in the vibrant city of Lagos, Nigeria. A self-proclaimed ‘accidental entrepreneur’ she is the founder of Tokunbo's Kitchen, an award-winning food brand and Styled by Toks, a personal styling service for creative entrepreneurs and a social worker. Tokunbo has a powerful story, but more importantly, she personally believes that everyone else does too. Through the Tokunbo Chronicles podcast, she combines insightful solo episodes with riveting interviews to share transformational stories that educate, entertain and empower her audience.

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In this episode we focus on women's awareness of their sensuality and their right to enjoy sex and pleasure (as adults). We cover all elements of sexual health from physical, emotional to mental and social aspects.  We also delve into the cultural and societal factors that prevent us from lying back and enjoying sex.

We consider this conversation to be informative, positive and nurturing but we acknowledge that there may be those who find this difficult in parts. Our priority is to ensure we as women care for our well-being and there are resources linked to this episode and on our website, sfgpod.com, to encourage and support us all.

Gender is traditionally used to describe the characteristics of women and men that are socially constructed, while sex refers to those that are biologically determined.  We will refer to gender as women throughout this conversation but recognise that this is not how everyone may wish to identify.

Jodie Slee is a trauma informed relationship and psychosexual therapist and has over 12 years' experience helping couples and individuals successfully overcome relationship issues or to achieve their sexual goals.  She has extensive knowledge in theories and strategies in psychology, behavioural sciences and sexology.  Jodie has trained with globally recognised institutions such as The Tavistock and The Relate Institutes and has been featured in numerous mainstream media articles and blogs as a subject matter expert.

Email jodie@sensatetherapy.com

In this Episode Jacqueline is joined by Abena Oppong- Asare MP for Erith and Thamesmead.

In the conversation, they discuss Abena’s journey into politics, the day-to-day role of an MP and the challenges that she has faced as a black woman in the public arena, and the need for us black women to get involved in politics to get our views and voices heard in order to bring about change.

Abena Oppong-Asare is the Labour Member of Parliament for Erith and Thamesmead. She currently serves as Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and Chair of the Labour Women's Network. Previously, she served as Deputy Leader and Education Spokesperson on Bexley Council and worked for the Greater London Authority. Abena was elected as the Member of Parliament for Erith and Thamesmead in December 2019 and is proud to serve the community in which she has lived in for over 30 years. She made history to become one of Labour’s first two female British-Ghanaian Members of Parliament. 

Abena has spent her career working for local people, speaking truth to power on behalf of some of the most vulnerable in her communities. She represented Erith on Bexley Council, speaking up for her area at the town hall and helping to lead the Labour group of Bexley councillors as deputy leader and spokesperson for education. She worked at the Greater London Authority, supporting GLA members to effectively represent the people of London. In the aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy, she led community engagement work for the GLA and Mayor Sadiq Khan, making sure that the people of London were heard to stop anything like that from ever happening again. Before she was elected as an MP, she led resident engagement for a local authority, ensuring the voices of residents helped to shape local services.

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