Congratulations – yet again – to Eliza Ribeiro, the 20-year-old from South Croydon and inspiring founder of the Lives Not Knives anti-violence charity, whose work was recognised last night when she was presented with the Young Star prize at the Women of the Future Awards.
This national recognition at an awards ceremony at a central London hotel will help cement the vitally important work which Ribeiro and her young team have been doing in a range of areas, including holding workshops in schools and staging Code Clubs at some Croydon primary schools. The award has already seen Ribeiro interviewed on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour this morning.
Ribeiro has been known at Inside Croydon Towers since she was a pupil at Regina Coeli on Pampisford Road, though the Lives Not Knives part of her story began a few years later, when after she was excluded from her secondary school, she was also witness to two fatal stabbings. This stirred her into action, founding LNK at the age of 14.
Ribeiro’s courage and determination has been shown on the public stage before, such as when she confronted Boris Johnson on a televised debate show when he was seeking re-election as Mayor of London. But her daily work to persuade Croydon’s young people to turn their backs on knife-carrying and gang culture demands a different kind of bravery on a daily basis.
This Women of the Future Award is unlikely to be the last for Eliza Ribeiro.
- Proms charity makes grant to help work of Lives Not Knives
- Lives Not Knives takes the campaign on to the stage
- Dozen primaries sign up for Code Club afterschool lessons
Coming to Croydon
- Summer in February: Nov 18
- Library’s Dr Who day: Nov 23
- Much Ado About Nothing: Nov 25
- Future Tech City: Nov 30
- Comedy in Music show: Dec 1
- Steve Knightly at Stanley Halls: Feb 5
- Inside Croydon: Croydon’s only independent news source, based in the heart of the borough – 262,183 page views (Jan-Jun 2013)
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