Community spirit is a knock-out!
EX-GANG MEMBER TURNED BOXING COACH WASEM SAID HOPES HIS NATIONAL LOTTERY AWARD NOMINATION WILL INSPIRE OTHERS
The young people who attend Cardiff's Tiger Bay Amateur Boxing Club have often faced harrowing experiences at a tender age. But whether it’s losing relatives to knife crime, battling poverty or coping with complex family breakdown, they all share one thing – using sports training to build themselves a brighter future. Which is just what Wasem Said had in mind when he reopened the club in his community – deprived but culturally rich Butetown – in 2018. Wasem, 29, who lost his dad when he was 15, went down a dark path, getting mixed up with gangs – but sport saved him. “I don’t know where I’d be without boxing,” he says. “I needed to dedicate myself to something and this club is the result.” “We never turn anyone away,” says Wasem. “I’ve seen people who were on the streets taking drugs completely change their outlook. Butetown is a very challenging area, deprived with plenty of antisocial behaviour, but also full of possibility. “A 14-year-old boy who comes is one of the most dedicated here. He had no one to turn to at home, but he’s one of our success stories.” Before Covid-19 hit, 300 members aged seven to 55 regularly attended classes at the club. Now Wasem has been nominated for a National Lottery Award for supporting Butetown during lockdown. “I knew there were a lot of vulnerable elderly people living locally, so about 10 of us have been delivering 160 food parcels twice a week,” he says. “We’ve also been posting workouts on Instagram and keeping in touch by phone. Plus, we’ve just started outdoor circuit training sessions.” Thanks to National Lottery players, around £30million a week funds UK good causes like the club. “I’d like to thank them all,” adds Wasem. “Even if they don’t win, communities across the UK do.”
Thanks to all National Lottery players, communities in the UK are winning