Changemakers exhibition

Pastor Alex is the Founder and Senior Pastor of Highway of Holiness Church in Tottenham, and its branch in South Sudan. He is committed to working to bring about positive and significant transformation in individuals, communities and society as a whole. He works especially with young people and the homeless.

Pastor Alex ran a supplementary school for underprivileged young people on the Broadwater Farm Estate and the surrounding area for 14 years, resulting in improved academic performance. He currently runs the Highway Youth Club, providing recreation, education and personal development for the young people of Tottenham. He is also the executive producer of the popular youth TV talk show, Keep It Real. 

He is the director of the Highway House (homeless shelter) in Tottenham, which provides food and shelter for 50 homeless people from all spheres of life all year round. 

In March 2019, he was awarded an MBE for his services to British society. 

About the inspirational item:

Pastor Alex's chosen object is his Bible.

It was in Year 8 of secondary school that Ayanna Witter-Johnson received her cello Reuben and they have been inseparable ever since. Her contemporary classical music has a hint of jazz and soul, as well as inspiration from her Jamaican heritage. Ayanna's notable performances include venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and The Jazz Cafe. 

Ayanna began playing the piano when she was four years old and the cello at 13. She received a first-class degree in Classical Composition at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in the UK and won the Trinity Laban Silver Award in 2008, subsequently earning a Master's of Music (MMus) in Composition at the Manhattan School of Music. It was whilst studying in America, that she became the first non-American to win first place at the Apollo Theatre's famous Amateur Night At The Apollo.

Performing both classical and contemporary music - she sings while accompanying herself on the cello and has described her song-writing style as "a bit of soul, R&B and reggae, infused with classical undertones".

About the inspirational item:

Ayanna holds Reuben, her beloved cello.

Hesketh is a community youth worker and sports head coach and mentor. Having recently retired as a CoNEL college lecturer, Hesketh has been active in community work in Haringey for over 40 years - including mentoring youths aged 14-25 with challenging behaviour. He set up the first Sports Academy in the borough and is currently head basketball coach for Haringey. A recent profile of Hesketh was published in The Evening Standard in October 2019, showcasing his work with young people who are most at risk from violence and knife-crime. His programme of 'midnight' evening basketball tournaments and coaching at Ducketts Common is modelled on similar sessions that were popular in the 1990s and in present times to help curb inner-city crime.

Hesketh is a founding member of Haringey Independent Stop & Search Monitoring Group (HISSMG) and Community Against Violence Group. A grass roots community organisation, run by volunteers, it provides the local community with a way of passing on their views and experiences on stop and search. Also linking with Local Haringey Metropolitan police probationers to give them insight in policing the local Tottenham area. His mission is to ensure that all young people in Haringey know their rights in relation to stop and search. He regularly liaises with local schools, colleges and youth clubs to arrange free talks and seminars by the group and is responsible for organising several community consultation exercises of young people - including at the College of North East London (CoNEL) and students at Gladesmore School and Parkview School. 

About the inspirational item: 

Hesketh is pictured wearing traditional African clothes which connect him to his African heritage. He is also holding an African drum which when played 'makes him feel peaceful and spiritual'.

John is passionate about education - 'During slavery, our ancestors were denied literacy and one of the things, once slavery ended, that they wanted for their descendents was education because they saw at first hand the grave effect which lack of literacy had on their lives. Their determination to get education was so great that sending their children away to school - sometimes 5 miles away - daily, became their number one priority.'

John's father was the first literate person in the family and following in his footsteps, John worked hard to educate himself. After obtaining all the education that was possible for poor citizens in Jamaica, he came to the UK in 1958 to further his studies and find work to support his other siblings.

The pressure of survival forced John to work in several jobs - as a railway guard, stock keeper, musician and hairdresser - whilst getting qualified as an electronic engineer. As a musician, John formed and played in 5 bands in London which toured the continent, turning to song writing mainly for his reggae musician brothers Winston and Dave McAnuff.

After taking part in the BBC documentary 'England is the Place for Me' in 1982, John researched his family history and Jamaican heritage and joined a Jumiekan Langwij course, studied the Langwij and created a song to help it's development, titled 'Jumiekan Langwij Alfabet Song and Project'. In recognition, NIACE awarded him the 2008 National Senior Learner Award and he was appointed NIACE Ambassador. 'All members of my family through their works, aim for the same thing...to make the human race better and the world a better place to live in'.

About the inspirational item: 

John is pictured with his guitar.

Valentino has been a champion of change in the British educational system that was failing children of colour. He pioneered supplementary education schools in this country, and was the founding Principal and Director of the 'Josina Machael Supplementary School', established in 1976. A former youth worker, Valentino used to work and live in Haringey. Now retired, he is a novelist. His publications include: We Are Our Own Educators and the novel Love Under the Mango Tree.

About the inspirational item: 

Valentino holds his novel 'The Long Enduring Road To Success', published in 2018.

Writer turned filmmaker Veronica McKenzie was the winner of the 2019 Pan African Film Festival & Arts Festival (PAFF), Narrative Feature Award for her recent debut film Nine Nights, which she had produced and directed. Her film was also nominated for an African Academy Movie Award.

Veronica's career in TV and film began with writing comedy sketches. She has been shortlisted for the 2009 Disney ABC Writing Fellowship Program and was a quarter finalist for the Nicholls Fellowship (2010). Her wide experiences takes in TV as a storyliner for 'Coronation Street', and theatre, 'A Woman on Fire' - her tribute to Nina Simone. Veronica set up Reel Brit Productions in 2011, co-producing shorts 'The Last Supper' (2011), and ITSY (2017). Feature documentary 'Under Your Nose' (2016) was screened at the V&A, Tate Modern, and universities in the UK and abroad. Veronica also leads the National Lottery Heritage Funded, Haringey Vanguard BAME LGBTQ+ heritage project with partners Bruce Castle Museum and the London Metropolitan Archives. 

About the inspirational item:

Veronica is pictured with her award from the 2019 Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF) in Los Angeles.