loveLife Generation hosts OUT - A Training Course in Outdoor Education

Half term in October when everyone else was taking a break we were hard at work organising and facilitating OUT - a pan European training course focusing on inspiring youth leaders to use outdoor education for young people's development. 
30 youth workers from 10 nations came together to explore, experience and appreciate the outdoor classroom and learn how we can use what is around us to build capacity and overcome challenges both individually and in a team. 

This training programme was funded by the EU's Youth In Action programme, managed by the British Council and delivered at Fairplay House Outdoor Education Centre in Essex. The truly international flavour was reflected by the training team from Greece and the UK with participants came from Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Portugual, Romania, Spain, Slovakia  and the UK.

The first two days covered theoretical concepts including the philosophy and history of outdoor education, its application for overcoming physical/ mental challenges for personal development and team building, stages of group work and leadership processes. This was followed by another two days outdoor exercises to experience and examine leadership styles with regard to programme design and delivery. Night exercises added to the learning by demonstrating how simple techniques with minimum resources could be used for enhancing good practice. 

Four days in with everyone exhausted it was time for some culture around London and shopping!!! Then it was back to work for the final 2 days, planning how the learning could be applied at a local/ European level with participants discussing their own initiatives and potential joint ventures for the future. 
Ideas for projects were shared along with current information available about future funding processes. Evaluations done, youth passes achieved and friendships cemented it was finally time to go...til we meet again. 

 

BloomIn Hallywell

Living in urban London with its grey concrete ground, beige buildings and addiction to fast foods makes our green natural spaces ever more important. 
loveLife Generation returned to Hallywell crescent this year but this time to take over the Green. Over the years we have worked in this area running different action projects led by young people to bring the residents together as a community. We teamed up with the Wildlife Trust and Southern Housing to bring people together, learn about the natural world around us and share in the community spirit. 


WILDLIFE ON THE GREEN
With thehelp of the WildLife Trust we went on nature walks in the urban jungle and found all sorts of bugs and wildlife. We even made a bug hotel for all the little creatures.The green was blooming with a wildlife meadow which we planted with a single poppy rising to the challenge.

MUSIC ON GREEN
Every week singing tutors sat on the green and were joined by people of all ages to belt out some tunes. Current songs as well as the old classics flowed in the Hallywell air. 
There was even African drummers one week who shared and danced with us all. 

FUN, FITNESS  AND GAMES ON THE GREEN 
Young people led other young poeple and children in fun games - taking it back to the old days when the streets were the playground! It was a lot of fun! And for those who wanted to get fit - our very own personal trainer ran sessions that got people sweaty!!

PHOTOGRAPHY & ART ON THE GREEN
With cameras, the young people learnt the art of photography.Capturing the precious moments each week they were given a differnt theme. A firm favourite was the self- portrait! 
We also captured the insects which we found but with colouring pencils drawing them on canvas.

FOOD ON THE GREEN

Food always brings people together. But here at loveLife Generation we pick our own! Rabia, our resident herbalist was back with us cooking up pots of freshly picked elderberry tea, handpicked rosebush berries and lots of other goodies!


Our final celebration saw our local MP Stephen Timms come down to habd out awards for the games and pictures. 

Take What You Need - loveLife Generation

Feel free to share this and stick on walls everywhere. 
To download or print a copy go to https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7O_xJTOY0uYcm5pZVNvR0M1ekE/edit?usp=sharing

and do tweet us a picture of it up @lovelifegen 

oh so Natural...Hand Made 4 U.

"Because you're worth it"
but it seems like you are only worth it if you have long sleek straight hair, perfectly straight white teeth and skin that screams 'fake tan'!

But is this really beauty? What happened to natural beauty never mind beauty within.
Well we're not putting up with the status quo anymore! We are on a journey to reclaim natural beauty inside and out. So join us and *SHINE* with our hand made natural products that are good for our body, soul and the environment.



At loveLife Generation we teamed up with Haqqani Herbs (medical herbalist) who taught us about using herbs, essential oils and natural products for health benefits and cosmetic use. 
We also learnt about health and safety, certification for public use, labeling, marketing and building our social enterprise.


All this learning came together in the creation of our own Fit Kit made up of:

• Born Free Shampoo & Conditioner
• Proud to be Me Shower Gel & Body Butter
• Fly High Soap
• Shine Body Butter
• Hands Up Hand Cream
• Full on Lip Balm
• Make a Difference Detox Skin Tea;Calming Tea & Warming Digestive Tea

The products have been made, packaged and tested. The Fit Kit rocket is ready for take off and light you up ...inside and out! 

Flourishing Fitness

Flourishing Fitness, part of loveLife Generation was created to encourage and help young girls to get fit! The idea was created by Salma, a loveLife Generationer- 

Looking at statistics, it was shown that only 38% of girls did moderate amount of exercise compared to 68% of boys. But this was about to change.

Flourishing Fitness came about due to some of the problems young girls have in society. Body image issues, weight issues and confidence issues. 

Being a young female, I understand the issue that some young girls go through with confidence and exercising around both males and females. I decided to create an opportunity for a short period of time to get girls and only girls to exercise with a female personal trainer. 

Discussing our nutrition plan!

This was a way to get them away from all that lazying around in front of the telly and laptop. Personally, I fell well developed technology is part to blame in keeping young people in the house as opposed to going out to play. I remember those days of playing 'BullDog' and 'POLO' on the side street with the children from the rest of the neighbourhood. 

Anyway, I applied to get a small amount of funding from 'o2 Think Big' to get me started and fortunately  they did not disappoint me. 

So, I started of my journey. I had to get a qualified female personal trainer, a place where the sessions could take place, timing, getting young girls/ladies involved. Luckily, I am part of  loveLife  and could do most of that. 

I think its important that young girls get fit and active and have an awareness of nutrition and what benefits the health because, the knowledge will go far. Starting to take care of health now benefits later on in life and helps protect against diseases.

Starting Flourishing Fitness was also a way of letting the young girls share what knowledge they had of fitness and health. 

I took part in a few sessions and I must say, the energetic sweaty, feeling at the end felt awesome because I knew I worked my muscles and mind. 

It wasn't long before Flourishing Fitness was moved to the open streets in Beckton where the loveLife Generation BloomIn Hallywell street project took place. 

Young girls who lived locally were intrigued by the boxing gloves and the fast skipping on the spot and joined in enthusiastically. 

The huffing and panting that went on, I can only thank the trainer. 

The thing is, young girls avoid joining the gym because there are males there and it's always the same old machines. With Flourishing Fitness, we had different activities, both indoors and outdoors so it allowed the young girls have a feel of exercise in two settings. It helped that they had a trainer who was also female and could relate to them but also show them that getting fit is not just about looking good but most importantly feeling good too.

I find it more fun outside and I'm sure the young girls did too. I could see some of them get all fired up and wanting to punch the boxing pads some more.  

What made me want to start this project was the Olympics in 2012 being in London, in Stratford, not far from me. I felt that if young girls could come from around the world to perform in our town, then our girls could also perform in our town with a little bit of help. Flourishing Fitness was that little bit of help. 

I wanted the young girls like me to feel like they were part of this legacy that London had. 

I only hope that Flourishing Fitness taught them more about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle and that it has got them eager to look out for what they put in to their mouths and what exercise they participate in. 

I know it has changed me.

By Salma Razia Khatun, A loveLife Generationer :)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/olympics/10269797/Golden-legacy-from-London-2012-lost-on-young-girls-missing-out-on-the-benefits-of-sport.html

Kingford Take Back The Future

loveLife Generation were back at Kingsford School in Beckton - this time with the Year 10s. 
This group have self confessed that the rest of the school did not necessarily have the best perception of them...BUT that was about to change.

How you see yourself determines how others see you and as loveLife Generation started to get these young people to start reflecting back on themselves they started to recognise that not only were they a great year group but that they could really make an active difference in their lives and that of their school. 
Themes that were looked at included identity, perception, personal reflections and our talents.

LLG finally get their residential

Double LL - G as they like to refer to themselves have been involved with loveLife Generation for over two years now. The majority of them started their journey in Year 9 when they took part in the 'Take Back The Future' training programme.
They enjoyed it so much they voluntarily continued to attend, build themselves as leaders and also help on social action projects. Between them they have participated and contributed to the the Hallywell street projects, the wild life projects, Hand Made For You, Ubuntu Conversations For Change, Save The  Children workshops, Swedish RESPECT MORE exchange, Usher's New Look Foundation as well as others. They've completed their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze, Youth Challenge and are even helping out on other trainings. 
Now having just completed Year 11 and about to embark on a new journey as they hit 16, loveLife Generation have finally been able to afford a residential for them where they stayed on the FairPlay Barge.
Not only did they enjoy the beautiful countryside - they showed great teamwork and love for each other as they completed a timed walk/run with only a map, a few torches and a very heavy wind behind them.

All the training and development they had been through was on display as they shouted words of encouragement as the completed the high ropes obstacle course, rowed, caved and cycled.

Best wishes to you all and continue to BE THE CHANGE you want to see in your world!

UBUNTU

loveLife Generation was founded after a team from Newham visited South Africa and were completely blown away with the way loveLife worked with young people - there was nothing else but to share this with those back home in the UK.
And South Africa keeps on giving. Most recently we teamed up with the Tutu Foundation UK using the great South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu's work on peace building to ensure that Africa's gift of Ubuntu is delivered.


Ubuntu captures the essence of being human. 
"Ubuntu [is] the essence of being human. Ubuntu speaks particularly about the fact that you can’t exist as a human being in isolation. It speaks about our interconnectedness. You can’t be human all by yourself, and when you have this quality – Ubuntu – you are known for your generosity. We think of ourselves far too frequently as just individuals, separated from one another, whereas you are connected and what you do affects the whole World. When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.”

Ubuntu captures what loveLife Generation is about in 'being the change' we want to see because we know we are a force for good.
We have strong links with the Foundation as Rukiyah who is a ground breaker also works for them and after being trained as Ubuntu community facilitators we ran 3 seperate Ubuntu 'Conversations For Change' bringing together very diverse people together. 
The first set brought together young people from different schools and colleges, the second brought together people from different faith and no faith backgrounds and the last one brought together different service providers together.

The young people hooked onto the ubuntu so much so they now call themselves the UBUNTU TEAM (U-Team) and as a form of ubuntu action went on to complete their peer coaching qualification and have created a project to spread ubuntu onto primary school children. They will run ubuntu activities with primary schools in July and also put on an ubunutu outdoor event.

The interfaith group also took on their own action which was to learn and provide people with information on the new changes in benefits.

The 3 different ubuntu groups were brought together for a final celebration where the CEO of the Tutu Foundation presented them with their certificates as well as sharing each others ideas.
We were also blessed to have been invited to watch Archbishop Desmond Tutu receive his Templeton Award at the Guildhall. We were estatic to see this great man in action as well as to meet his daughter REvd. Mpho Tutu who was as inspirational as the great man himself. 

The return of the Maldives

Having worked with young people from the Maldives last year, we ran a workshop with another group from the Maldives who wanted to turn their visit in the UK into social action when they got back to their communities in the Maldives. 

They got their teeth straight into the loveLife way - taking part in our fun activities where we looked at some of the issues they faced which included high level of drug issues amongst young people, youth unemployment and  intergenerational conflict. A far cry from the sandy beaches we see advertised for hooney mooning couples. 

We did key elements of our 'Take Back the Future' programme and the young Maldivians gave us a glimpse of what their community would look like if they could erase the negatives like environmental degradation and protect things like respect!
We also looked at the causes of conflict and what the young Maldivians could do individually do avoid conflict before each of us shared an action we would be taking away and making a change.


RK

Rukiyah runs the London Marathon

loveLife Generation co-founder ran the London Marathon this year and managed to raise over £850.00 https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/rukiyah  and this will go towards training a group of young people we have been working with this past year to skill them up in leading their peers in social action much needed in the communities they live in.  

Here is a YouTube link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dC0f-cKGbY8 to a video depicting the marathon highlights and to say thank you! And below is Rukiyah's blurb of how the day went.

"A big congratulations to all those who ran the London Marathon. The crowds were fantastic and my personal cheer crews ( 2 cheer leading crews all for me!!! ) were the best around.
For me, the day started very well –I was calm and relaxed! I had put in the training and though mostly in the cold, rain and snow the sun decided beam down on us for a change. 
The first half went very well as I continued at a steady pace managing to get to the half marathon at around 2.39 hours. Cheer Crew #1 gave me that extra motivation at that point!
I ran past the spot I used to cheer from as a kid, my smile stretching across my face as I hi fived all the little ones lining the street.
The old knee threatened me a few times but it had been taped and strapped down enough not to give way. Whilst being overly careful of my knees I failed to give attention to something I did not even think would hinder my run – CRAMP!
By mile 17 my legs were cramping severely. I did not know cramp could start from the foot all the way up to the thigh. I had to carry on and when I got to Cheer Crew #2 they egged me onto just keep going.
Walking was not an option and though people might’ve been walking faster than me, I had to continue to run even at a snail’s pace. At around mile 21 I had to ask a paramedic for some help with the cramp but not a whole lot could be done for me unfortunately...just had to carry on.
Luckily at mile 22.5 Cheer Crew #1 not only cheered from the side they ran, shook maracas, banged on tambourines. So dedicated were they that they only stopped when a member of the Cheer Crew was down (latest update: Mel is ok but twisted her ankle quite badly).
Cheer Crew #2 picked up where Cheer Crew #1 left off at mile 23.5. At one point I had all the crowd shouting my name – I felt famous!!!!! The cheer crew shouted out advice of how to relieve the cramp, screamed and even managed to get a bit of networking in as they led me to Mile 24.
It was here were my legs decided to stop – My head and heart willed them to move but they just didn't want to. I gave them a moment and massaged a bit of the cramp out before I headed onto the home stretch. As I approached the finish line, in my head I was sprinting though in reality it was no more than a fast, twisted up limp like jog.
It took 6.07 hours altogether and though slightly disappointed, I made it to the end. One of my aims was to run all the way which I did and more amazingly I raised a whopping £857 for loveLife Generation thanks to all your generous help.
Thank you all so much for your kind support and generous donations.
Fly high and Shine ON :),

Rukiyah "

Poonum returns to Brazil

"2006 a wide-eyed young girl full of dreams of change, boarded a plane to Rio de Janeiro. Armed with the teachings of The loveLife Generation, and accompanied by the crazy group that was the former Newham Youth Parliament. We set off hoping to connect and discover new ways of tackling gun and knife crime, test out our loveLife strategies and workshops in the favelas, and give back via doing some voluntary work. In reality we got a lot more than we ever imagined! An experience that is still beyond words, life time friends, a culture shock, and life long lessons."

Read Poonum's or 'Full Moon' full blog on her return to Brasil and follow her epic journey on her blog http://fullmoonpoetry.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/brazil/ :)

In her words 'Keep flowing' 

PRESS RELEASE                                                                     

For immediate release

Rukiyah Khatun  of loveLife Generation named one of the

Future 50 Young Social Entrepreneurs for 2013

Rukiyah , co- founder of loveLife Generation is announced as one of the Future 50 Young Social Entrepreneurs of the Year during a reception hosted by Ernst & Young and organised by Striding Out CIC.

The Future 50 Awards, part of the Future 100 programme organised by Striding Out CIC, puts the spotlight on young entrepreneurs aged 20-35 who are demonstrating entrepreneurial flair and innovation in running a responsible business venture; one which demonstrates a balance between economic, environmental and social goals to achieve ultimate business success. 

The Future 50 are invited to join the Ernst & Young Accelerate network  giving them access to skilled business support through a series of networking and learning events.

Lovelife Generation aims to Involve, Inspire and Motivate young people to “Be the Change you want to see” (Gandhi)

loveLife generation works with young people / communities on Attitude, Aspiration, Action and Achievement for success and transformation, personally and collectively and offer training and social action programmes alongside opportunities for accreditation, volunteering and enterprise. 

Chief Executive of Striding Out and organiser of the Future 50 awards and the Future 100 programme, Elaine Owen FRSA said: "The future of our world is in the hands of individuals who are committed to generating commercial and ethical returns.” 

Challenging economic times can offer opportunities to question the way we operate as both a business community and a society. We are profiling the 'Future 50' young entrepreneurs who are changing the face of everyday business and improve commerce's impact on the wider world."

The Future 50 awards encourage and rewards extraordinary vision, ethical business practice and social responsibility. They aim to showcase businesses that offer innovative and sustainable solutions to social problems.

The Future 50 Awards is part of the Future 100 programme organized by Striding Out CIC  www.stridingout.co.uk, a national social enterprise  which is committed to supporting the development and growth of young and ethical entrepreneurs.

ENDS

                                                                                                                                               

For Further Information

An Awards reception is taking place on 23/05/13 at the Ernst & Young, 1 More Place Offices in London. The press are invited to register to attend to interview winners. 

To register to attend the event please register here: http://future50.eventbrite.com/

Company Website – Insert company and personal contact details 

Accelerate- www.ey.com\Accelerate - for further information please email accelerate@uk.ey.com

Future 50 – www.future50.co.uk – A full list of award winners can be found on the website..

Future 100 – www.future100.co.uk – A full list of previous award winners

Striding Out -  www.stridingout.co.uk - For further information, please contact Donna Costello Communications Coordinator of Striding Out on 0151 245 0227 or email donna@stridingout.co.uk

love potion instructions

To create a generation of people who love their lives please follow the following:
(These are not in any particular order and can be done one at a time)

1) Throw in a whole lot of belief . Believe in yourself  - There are so many things you are already awesome at and many more things for you to become awesome at!

2) Smile. Often. Even at strangers. Even on the London Underground! 
3) Mix in a little creativity. Do the things you usually do in a more creative way  e.g.Take a different route home.
4) Stir in bags of kindness. Even if it’s not offered to you.
5) Use time wisely. It is the most expensive non-renewable resource out there, you can’t afford to waste it. 
6) Grate in some thanks. 
7) If you are a talker, listen more. You’d be surprised at how much your ears offer.
8) If you are a listener, talk more. You’d be surprised at how much your speech can offer. 
9) Step up, challenge yourself and set new standards (no matter how small or big!)
10) Do more of what you enjoy doing and makes you happy. 
11) Look after your environment. You only have the one planet, it needs love too.
12) Laugh. Often. 
13) Toss in forgiveness.  We all make mistakes. 
14) Appreciate friends.  
15) Crazy dance whenever. Wherever. 
16) Don’t forget to dream big. And then find ways to make it happen. 

There are many more actions which you can take to lead a life that you love, these are just a few. Don't be shy in encouraging others to join in too. 


RK

Did you mean love Life or Love life?

Sexual health and relationship Education (SRE)*


We have been running sexual health and relationship workshops with the LLG crew - our regular group of young people aged 15+ for the last few weeks.
The programme was designed around them and their needs, so the first thing was to ask them what they wanted to learn more about. This (long) list might have come as a surprise to many as the expectation may be that young people people are more aware about sex education, due to the likes of the internet, but this is not always true. Friends are still the main source of information for young people when it comes to sex education with as little as 5% of young people being informed by their mum and only 1% through their dad. 
Of course parents bring with them a certain level of embarrassment so schools is the obvious place to turn to.  
However, about half of secondary school kids in the UK admit that the Sex and Relationship education in school does not cover what they really need to know and it's only a handful of young  people who  actually attend these classes as just over a quarter of school kids get no SRE whatsoever.**

This makes the SRE sessions all the more important and no surprise then, that the list compiled by the LLG crew was vast and included things from STIs to contraception to simply the body.
Every week, in an open, comfortable and fun space, the young people have been uncovering a little bit more in an entertaining way (the STI super puzzle for example) to these quite serious issues - (We call it Edutainment) 

Along with the facts, we have been delving into some other things too.  

Self image,the perceptions young people have, relationships,  gender and tackling stereotypes  have engulfed the sessions in heated debates allowing the young people to discuss their opinions, see things from others perspectives and develop their ideas too. 
It is hoped that more sessions like these will enable young people to make more informed decisions - ones that are based on facts and not the mumbles from friends, TV, internet etc.

RK
---END---




*loveLife Generation was born after an inspirational trip to South Africa where loveLife is  the largest youth led organisation to combat HIV and AIDs and through awareness and education. 
**For more information please see: www.brook.org.uk/application/brookpr/index.php?option=com_brookpr&view=article&id=91&Itemid=640 
www.fpa.org.uk/professionals/factsheets/sre