Young women reflect on their communities

Young women from Girls’ Brigade England & Wales helped London Mayor Boris Johnson make his mark - on a special graffiti mirror showing what matters to them and their communities.

Boris met the young women at the launch of YOU.Matter at Merton Sea Cadet base, Mitcham, London, on Thursday 19 January.

As part of YOU.Matter, Boris has handed the Girls’ Brigade England & Wales (GB) and seven other youth organisations a share of £1.3m to help transform lives across the capital. This comes in recognition of the positive contribution these groups make to society, in light of the disturbances last year.

Five leaders and 14 young women from GB groups based at Worcester Park Baptist Church and Downsview Methodist Church attended the launch event.

Lucy Thacker, 17, from Worcester Park Baptist Church, says ‘On our giant mirror we wrote things like peace, joy, equality and having a voice - Boris wrote Team London. He spoke to every single teenager in the room, and had a nice chat to me about GB.’

The money, made available by the Greater London Authority and managed by the Safer London Foundation (The Metropolitan Police Charity), will be used to connect with young people on the margins of society. Through the project GB will be able to work with even more churches to open up relevant groups and opportunities for young people.

Hannah Field, Mission Co-ordinator for GB, says ‘In today’s economic climate it’s great to think that the Mayor of London values the positive contribution that GB makes to society, as it seeks to join in with God’s mission of restoration to see lives transformed and enriched.

‘YOU.Matter is an exciting project. As we know, everyone matters to God and it’s great to have this opportunity to share it in word and action.’