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My music bus healing a gang divide

大象传媒 Inspirations 2020 winner: Justin Finlayson turned his London bus into a music studio to help young people impacted by long term gang rivalries.

Justin Finlayson is a former bus driver on a mission to save young lives. He comes from an area of London which suffers from a long term gang divide. When the violence got particularly bad back in 2017, he drew on his driving background and came up with an idea to try to heal the rivalries. Justin bought a double decker bus, built a recording studio inside, and created a musical sanctuary where young people from warring areas could make music. Justin鈥檚 project, which he called United Borders, soon captured the attention of the stars of UK hip hop and grime - Akala, Stormzy and Nines. But the project wasn't easy, and the first bus was burnt down by arsonists. Justin persevered and now he's operating in a new bus, surrounded by young people whose lives he's changed.

Jo Fidgen caught up with Justin to name him of the winners of 大象传媒 Inspirations 2020. For full details of the awards and Covid-19 related changes, please check the revised terms on our website: www.bbcworldservice.com/inspirations.

Producers: Harry Graham, Maryam Maruf, Troy Holmes
Editor: Munazza Khan

Picture: Justin Finlayson
Credit: Brunel Johnson

Available now

44 minutes

Last on

Tue 22 Dec 2020 03:06GMT

Broadcasts

  • Mon 21 Dec 2020 12:06GMT
  • Mon 21 Dec 2020 18:06GMT
  • Mon 21 Dec 2020 23:06GMT
  • Tue 22 Dec 2020 03:06GMT

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