‘I can help these kids – I was like them once’ NATIONAL LOTTERY AWARDS 2020 WINNER
After boxing saved Wasem said from bad life choices, he Wanted to give the same chance to other young people
THE sudden death of Wasem Said’s father when he was 15 was a blow the teenager struggled to bounce back from.
He fell in with gangs and witnessed crime, drugs and violence – before sport gave him a positive purpose.
Today the inspirational young man from Butetown in Car diff is helping teenagers from difficult backgrounds turn their lives around at a culturally inclusive boxing club.
In just two years, he has recruited more than 200 members to Tiger Bay Amateur Boxing Club, fighting hard along the way to tackle antisocial behaviour, racism, Islamophobia and poor mental health.
Now Wasem’s commitment to young people in his community has won him a National Lottery Award.
Wasem, 29, says: “I lost my role model when my dad died. I struggled with my emotions – I was young and I didn’t know how to show them.” After a friend persuaded Wasem to try mixed martial arts, which includes boxing, at 17, he started training at the gym three times a week. It gave him the skills and discipline to get a job in security and take a different road. “Boxing saved me,” he says. “It was hard, but a positive challenge. It changed me – I felt responsible for the first time. My mum was proud I was doing a
Concerned that the next generation lacked the same way out, Wasem hired the back room at South Wales Islamic Centre in 2018 and welcomed young people in to train.
training but the best train ing you can have is to understand the kids – and I’ve stood in their shoes.
esteem, opportuni ties and positive training sessions and closed schools, Wasem recruited his members to deliver 160 food parcels a week to vulnerable people. He said: “It was really emotional, seeing different generations together. They don’t mix much in normal times. boys, while the young people learned the value of giving to others.”
Almost 5,000 incredible individuals were nominated for a 2020 National Lottery Award – the annual search for the UK’S favourite National Lotteryfunded people and projects. The awards celebrate the inspirational people who do extraordinary things with the help of National Lottery funding.
Wasem’s award includes a £3,000 prize to continue his good work with the club, which got off the ground thanks to National Lottery funding.
And that funding comes from the £30million* you raise every week for good causes like this by playing The National Lottery.
“I’m very grateful to National Lottery players for giving us this start,” says Wasem. “It’s turning lives around.”