This week’s guest editor is a born-and-bred local with a truly incredible story – one that’s still only just beginning. Today, Kevin Koffi runs award-winning community organisation, Khady’s Dream, which engages Camden’s youth to reveal the true impact of being sent to prison. But only a few short years ago, Kevin himself was tumbling down a very different path.

As part of a huge turnaround in his life, last year Kevin posed the question to a group of local 13-21 year-olds: “would you go to prison for two years for £1000?” Shockingly, 93% of those young people said yes, they would.

Khady’s Dream is a response to Kevin’s (and his mum, Khady’s) lived experience, and is inspired by a wish to expose the real costs of entering the criminal justice system…

Picture this: a small room in the Royal Free Hospital, a boy just born to a young mother, aged 22. She held him in her arms filled with hopes of a bright future, however life had other plans.

Her living in a hostel at that time meant it was not easy, moving from one place to another in different accommodation in Camden until eventually settling down in Bloomsbury. The boy struggled to fit into the school system, and by the age of nine he was being referred to as ‘difficult’, ‘disruptive’, ‘uncontrollable’ and possibly needing anger management support, all of which led to him being excluded permanently from three mainstream schools and five pupil referral units by the age of 15.

In all that chaos, moving around different schools in different boroughs, the boy’s first arrest was at 13 for three counts of robbery and affray.

Worried, and desperate for support, his mother felt she had no choice but to make a heartbreaking decision and send him away to the Ivory Coast, West Africa, itself a dangerous place just coming out of civil war. Lying to her son about the trip being a football tournament he’d been selected for, with false paperwork and travel tickets, in reality he was being removed from all his friends and family, leaving him instead with only distant relatives that were strangers to him.

After 14 months, fear of yet another civil war broke out, which would have left the boy in serious danger. The mother's hands were tied, the boy had to come home… and that's where her worst nightmare came true. Just months after returning to the UK, that boy was arrested by armed police on Blackstock Road for possession of two firearms and ammunition.

The boy was me.

I spent just under six years behind bars across 11 prisons spanning the UK, when something changed. I found out my mum had become ill after years of seeing me in and out of the criminal justice system. Her mental health was at a breaking point. The one battle we cannot see – until it’s too late.

A thought process began. Would I ever forgive myself if there was lasting damage to her health because of my choices, my actions? Would everything I’ve done result in a stroke, PTSD, even suicide? Questions turned into fear, fear to anger, and anger into thinking; why did no one tell me this could be the reality of my poor decision making when I was 11, 12 or 13? Why did nobody explain that my actions had a ripple effect way beyond a criminal record? Why did I have to wait until my mum got sick to realise this, and break free from this cycle?

When I was introduced to Jayde, my life changed. We’d had similar upbringings, but had made different choices, so taken different pathways. Together we had a combined goal to create something truly special that resonates with young people: Khadys Dream.

Our Before You Commit programme educates young people about the hidden consequences of the criminal justice system through media and workshops. We have been delivering the program for a year now, and it has been a journey, from delivering in schools, youth clubs, community centres and prisons to one of our biggest achievements, winning the Stephen Lloyd award.

For me the cycle has ended, but for others it’s just begun. Young people have a distorted view of prison life and the system, influenced by social media, movies and glorified accounts from peers. This belief system, built up over years, is hard to break. As a community, we can do so much more, and now there is a new way to reach young people.

PARTNERSHIP

ART

🖌️ Mr Doodle does a footbridge

Not all art lovers heading towards Regent’s Park this week have been headed for Frieze (which runs until Sunday 13th Oct, by the way), since plenty have been draw specifically to see the final artwork created for the epic 140-new-piece strong London Mural Festival 2024.

Taking over both sides of the footbridge between Chalk Farm and Primrose Hill, massively popular street artist Mr. Doodle has been commissioned to spray his signature quirky characters, complex patterns and objects by Camden Goods Yard, the 8-acre regeneration project taking place on a large tract of the adjacent railways lands.

The artist’s Doodle World is as much his meditation as well as his artistic creation, bringing a sense of wonder and mayhem to our streets via the doodles, which are based on messages and suggestions from people living in Camden who shared their memories and connections with the area.

The new work replaces the nearly two decades old community mural on the walkway, so it should be visible for years to come, meanwhile watch this space for news of a special Camdenist event, coming to the neighbourhood rising nearby in a few weeks time…

CAMDENIST CULTURE CAMPAIGN

🎞️ Late Night Extra: Kentish Town Cinema planning verdict

As we ‘go to press’, word has arrived that change of use was granted for the long-promised cinema in NW5’s old polytechnic assembly hall at the Council’s committee hearing last night. After more than a decade of waiting for the return of a silver screen to the neighbourhood by locals, and the failure of finding an operator, it may appear like the dream is finally dead. However, our proposal for the building to be acquired as a community asset may yet be the culture-led solution for activating the space that would please everyone involved. We’ll be speaking with the various parties involved and reporting back in next week’s edition…

1-CLICK POLL

📊 This week's poll question:

Do leave us your thoughts on this latest chapter in the whole saga in the post-voting comments box, too…

FOOD & DRINK

Jugad brings healthy curries - and gurus - to North Yard

We’re a bit wary of commercial wellbeing woo-woo ventures, but as long as the resulting dishes still taste decadent enough, then we’re all in. Brand new to Chalk Farm’s all-too hidden restaurants-inside-stables row, Jugad is now bringing conscious curries to the quality North Yard line-up.

It’s the first restaurant from Foodhak, the meal and snack delivery startup that runs on ancient Ayurvedic medicinal principles, and has the former head of the acclaimed Gunpowder, Jose Fernandes, as exec chef, so some very decent kitchen chops right there.

Foodhak founder Sakshi Chhabra Mittal comes from a billionaire’s jet-set background, so she only went and roped in her mate Deepak Chopra to come and give a contemplative talk down at Jugad this week.

It all looked as glamorous as it claims to be healthy, or at least dairy, refined sugar and gluten free, which makes a refreshing upgrade on the more fluorescent of Indian dishes, anyway. It will be interesting to see if the international stars and gurus of all shapes continue to gravitate to this corner of Camden Market.

🥯 Talking of well-funded, irresistibly tasty local ventures, Primrose Hill’s runaway success story, It’s Bagels, is opening a new branch down on Soho’s D’Arblay Street later this month. We can’t say if it will ease the snaking queues that still characterise the original location, but they will be offering pre-made bagels for the first time, catering to those in a proper West End hurry.

🥚 In a classic case of use-it-or-lose it, the Camden outpost of Levantine brunch specialists The Good Egg has shut after only a year (and no, we didn’t get around to dining there *throws up hands in defeated admission*, despite knowing how tasty those dishes are).

MUSIC

🎸 5 to try this week on the local live circuit

🎤 90s electronic legends Stereo MCs play live at KOKO tonight, Friday 11th Oct, bringing their hip-hop and funk-fueled sounds and tracks from their own successful label to the stage.

🎺 Head to The Dublin Castle on Sat 12th Oct for AKA The Syndicate, who released their self-titled debut album, full of original ska, reggae and punk influenced music in 2021 to much acclaim.

🎙️The Magpies are one of the most exciting acts on the roots scene today, combining first class musicianship with sublime harmonies and impressive song and tune writing with a fervent thread of feminism running through everything. Catch them at The Water Rats on Sunday 13th Oct.

🔊 With their gritty beats, quality rhymes and pervading 808 thump, CunningLynguists are the hip hop anomaly with one of the most consistent catalogues in the game. They make a long-awaited return to live shows at The Jazz Cafe this Monday, 14th Oct.

🎸 Whatever magic potion the troubadours in Laurel Canyon were sipping on in 1971, Jesse Terry has managed to track it down and take a deep gulp. He brings the twang to Tufnell Park dive bar Aces & Eights on Wed 16th Oct.

STAGE

New death row show is a hot ticket

🔐 The Fear of 13 is the new one-man-show based on an original documentary film about American languishing on death row, Nick Yarris. He was convicted and sentenced to capital punishment for kidnapping, rape and murder in Pennsylvania, and spent 22 years awaiting his fate. Tickets are already in short supply, so join the scrum daily online for more. Runs at Donmar Warehouse until 30th November.

🤥 Two members of Liar’s Anonymous strike up a relationship outside the group and enter into a daring game of fantasy and deceit in Lie Club at Camden Town’s Etcetera Theatre. Can they hold onto any sense of the truth or will the lies consume them? Thursday 17th October.

🤣 Reserve your free ticket for Samsung Presents George and AI, where comedian George Lewis will delve into the important questions like “is my fringe smarter than me”? It’s on Tuesday 22nd Oct at Samsung KX, atop Coal Drops Yard.

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