A WOMAN who had a friend stabbed to death has set up a new organisation to prevent young people falling into a life of crime.

Tapelo Sibanda, 31, of Turner Close, recently set up Cultured Hearts, a new organisation based in Basildon which aims to engage children and young people with vocational skills and help them to explore their skills.

The project also hopes to set up a mentorship scheme which gives young men without a role model the chance to have one-to-one guidance to help them build a sense of entrepreneurship and become a positive influence within the community.

Ms Sibanda said: “We lost a friend to knife crime in March, and looking around I realised that there has been a steady rise in the level of knife crime amongst youths in the past two years.

“When I have been out to speak to our young people, many of them tell me that they haven’t got a job, haven’t had a proper education, and feel like there is nothing out there for them.

“How can we help the youth if they feel like they have nowhere to go? There is so much potential, they just need to be equipped with the right skills.

“All this has made me want to take a stand and revisit my vision, which was to work with the youth in projects to build them up, get them to put their weapons down, give them the courage to walk away from crime, and embrace their positive passions and use them to better their lives.”

She will be holding a youth empowerment event from 5 to 9pm at Laindon Community Centre, with tickets costing £5.

The evening will feature inspiring talks by the founders of youth empowerment and entrepreneurship charities 2020 Change and Ultra Education.

Cultured Hearts is also working alongside Rayleigh-based performing arts group, the Mushroom Theatre Company, to offer creative opportunities to young people including songwriting workshops.

Call 07753166225 or email culturedhearts@gmail.com.