IMPACT STORY: DAVID ADENIKEN

Success4All helps children and young people in the North East prepare for a brighter future. Its impact can be measured in the success stories of the children & young people who access its services.

Here David shares his impact story.

HOW IT STARTED

David Adeniken’s journey with Success4All started when he was in year seven.

At the time, David was having a difficult time in school.

A mixture of struggling with his schoolwork and being “a bit of a wild child,” led him down an unforeseeable path.

EXCLUDED & MISUNDERSTOOD

As a society, we often associate being ‘wild’ with being out of control, disruptive and loud.

However, there’s more to the word than meets the eye.

To us, it means being full of emotions.

It means being creative, expressive and inquisitive and sadly, it also often means being misunderstood.

As the author, Kate Silverton once said, “There is not a bad or naughty child.” There is however always a reason, which sometimes, as adults we often negate to consider.

There is so much expectation placed on the shoulders of young people who are still trying to figure the world out. As we grow older, we often fail to stop and consider what it is that young people are going through and experiencing.

Yes, we were all once young people ourselves, but the challenges we faced are different to what young people face today.

LET DOWN BY THE SYSTEM

When David entered year eight his school took the decision to exclude him.

Instead of trying to get to the root cause behind David’s behaviour, or supporting him with coping mechanisms, they opted for a short-term resolution. No one enters education to destroy a young person’s future, but often that’s what exclusion does.

Our view on the detrimental impacts of exclusion is also shared by Sarah Stone, Executive Director for Samaritans in Wales. In ‘Exclusion is not a solution’, she wrote:

“Exclusion from school is linked to a much wider set of recurring inequalities, circumstances and consequences including suicide risk, poverty, loneliness and social isolation, Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and the criminal justice system. Its impact on the life chances of young people can be far reaching.”

With little support and guidance being offered, David was left out of school with no way in and no hope.

PLEA FOR SUPPORT

Luckily, David’s family were aware of Success4All.

They got in touch with Caroline Afolabi-Deleu, Founder of Success4All, and shared their concerns.

It was then that Success4All took the decision to intervene.

We, with the support of our tutors, decided to become David’s school and community. Behind the scenes, we worked tirelessly to secure him a school space, but that took time.

When we did eventually secure him a school space, David was filled with a newfound purpose and hope. He saw what his future could look like if he continued on the path he paved whilst at Success4All.

IMPACT

In 2022, David completed his corporate degree apprenticeship with Morrisons and gave an emotional and inspiring talk at our sold-out event, ‘Representation In The Nonprofit Sector Matters’, which you can watch below. In October 2022 David’s story of resilience and perseverance was recognised as he was nominated and awarded a Black History Youth Award.

IN DAVID’S OWN WORDS

During the six months whilst I was out of school, I was going to the Millin Centre, Kids Cabin and the Learning Hub at Walker. There, I met with a range of geography, history, math and science tutors.

The way they supported me was just fantastic, especially coming from a family where we’re not financially the most lucrative.

I was a young 12-year-old lad who didn’t have any, to a degree, real positive role models around me but during the six months whilst I was with Success4All, I was working with Caroline and Busola and met some great people like Abdul, who won the Princess Diana award, Victor, Arte, Morea & Michael.

They were great mentors and coaches who treated me with respect, with kindness, and they were always willing to have a one-to-one talk. They built me up and helped turn my life around.

What sticks with me is that it was more than just tutoring.

It was more than just ‘Hi David. This is what we’re learning today, David.’ It was, ‘Hi David. How are you getting on at school? How could you be doing better? What do you think of this decision? What kind of career paths are you interested in?’

They were my main route to education throughout year eight and they helped bridge that gap.

Without Success4All I wouldn’t have been able to move on to the next stage of my academic career.

When I finally got accepted into a school, in year nine, I still received tutoring from Success4All when I needed it.

It was through meeting so many people, successful people, that looked like me that I started to think; wow if they can do I can do it. What they said motivated me.

Success4All made me realise that when I applied myself I could do well and so I ended up finishing year 11 with five As, four Bs and one C.

Throughout our conversation, David was adamant that his success was down to the support of Success4All, however, he forgets one key factor that played a significant role in his journey and that’s himself.

Without David showing up day in and day out seeking support and asking for help, he wouldn’t have achieved the outcome he did. It is only down to his hard work, resilience and determination that he achieved those grades and he came out stronger in the end.