Ex-youth offender, Anurah Farrell, overcame nine other finalists to win the Urban Voice UK ‘Project Your Talent 4 
Business’ award along with £17,000 of business support. Anurah (Farrell) was awarded the prize for developing a device for carrying multiple sanitary bins by hand. It dramatically reduces the number of trips staff have to make to deliver washroom and facility services, and has already proved a hit with facilities management companies.
Anurah won the prize after completing 9 months of intensive mentoring on ‘training for work’ programme, ‘Street Elite’. Street Elite, which is delivered by youth sports charity Cricket for Change (now know as The Change Foundation) and housebuilder The Berkeley Group, offers intensive support to those often living on the edge of gangs and criminality, helping them to gain the confidence, qualifications and self-esteem needed to get into education or work.
The 24 year old, who is now enrolled in the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy at Westminster Kingsway College, attributes his success to the help he was given by the programme: “The engaging support that was shown to me through Street Elite was very empowering for me at that particular time in my life. I can say that it was time well spent and you really get back from Street Elite what you put into it.”
Perry Sophocleous, Street Elite coach who mentored Anurah said: “Anurah has incredible passion and work ethic, he just needed support to channel his energy, and that was where Street Elite was able to help.”
In the future Anurah sees himself identifying more business ventures and investing in new innovations. But what words of advice would he give to young people who are facing similar situations to the one he did before he joined Street Elite?
“I would be saying to people, that if they would like to achieve anything then just try and fail and try again but always seek help and advice along the way because there are always people willing to help like Street Elite. You just have to be willing to help your-self first.”
