US rnb superstar Trey Songz took a break from his tour with Neyo to attend an event hosted by BET International as part of their ‘Global Good’ campaign and the Damilola Taylor trust. The star studded event included guest speaker, the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson and a Q and A session with singer/songwriter Trey Songz with the youth in attendance and performances by Mobo Award winning gospel rapper Jahaziel, alongside Mizz Camara, and Poet Dean Atta.
The event was arranged to support and raise awareness for the the Damilola Taylor Trust and to help inspire, engage and motivate the youth in London and to highlight the negative impact knife crime is having on the streets of England’s capital city. This was the first of many high profile events that will be hosted by the TV network in conjunction with The Damiola Taylor Trust.
Text Trey to 70007 and donate £2 to the Damiola Taylor Trust.
Damilola’s Story
Damilola Taylor was born on 7th December 1989 in Nigeria. All who knew him described him as a sensitive and exuberant boy who loved life and lit up the room when he walked into it with his infectious good humour and winning smile. He enjoyed sport, particularly football and was an ardent Manchester United supporter.
His sister, Gbemi suffered from a severe form of epilepsy and Damilola’s ambition was to follow a career in medical research in order to find a cure for her and others like her.
In Summer 2000, in order to gain the necessary treatment for Gbemi, Damilola, his brother and mother, Gloria moved to England, settling in Peckham. His father, Richard remained in Nigeria to support the family by maintaining his Civil Service career.
Damilola began the new academic year at Oliver Goldsmith School. On 27th November 2000, Damilola set off for home from his studies at a local library, he was never to reach home alive.
After 3 long trials, Damilola’s killers were finally brought to Justice and are now serving time. They were aged 12 and 13. Damilola’s death raised many questions about the baseline values in our society and what leads young people to commit such acts of violence.
When Damilola was just ten years old he wrote: “I will travel far and wide to choose my destiny to remould the world. I know it is my destiny to defend the world which I hope to achieve in my lifetime”. A boy with great vision would sadly never see his dreams fulfilled due to a senseless act of violence. The Damilola Taylor Trust was set up to honour his memory by working in the community to try and help bring about changes for the better.
The Damiola Taylor Trust – www.damilolataylortrust.com
BET International – www.bet.com
