If one person had to be chosen as a positive example for children from disadvantaged areas wanting to turn their lives around, it would be Sammy. Sammy is a 20 year old young man who has lived in London since he was just seven. He is currently facing removal to Jamaica, where his life would be placed in severe danger.

He will face an appeal hearing this month so we only have a couple of weeks to show the Home Office why it is so important that they let Sammy stay at home. Please consider signing the petition and following the campaign on twitter and facebook with the hashtag #LetSammyStay

Sammy is the captain at the boxing club at which I am a member. I got to know him through his help during boxing class and through a charity fundraiser attempt that he led us on in aid of those affected by the Typhoon in the Philippines ( https://www.justgiving.com/fightingfit4thephilippines/ ). He is a giant influence on the community associated with the boxing club and is always giving his time and knowledge for free to children and adults alike.

Sammy arrived in the UK at the age of seven and was left in an abusive home where he was not wanted. He underwent a difficult childhood as he tried to adjust to being left in a home where he was not wanted in a dangerous South London estate. As a teenager a man that Sammy was close to was in serious trouble with the law. Sammy received a telephone call and visits from frends of the man threatening him and telling him to take the blame. As he was afraid of the person involved he for a while was convinced that it was the best thing to do. He then turned to his close friend, Sylvester Akapalara, who assured him he should not take the blame for something he did not do. Sammy was innocent, and the case against him was dropped. The man was eventually voluntarily deported to Jamaica, but tragically Sylvester was murdered in cold blood for being “in the wrong place at the wrong time” ( http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/snitch-and-well-come-for-you-peckham-gang-gmgs-chilling-warning-to-locals-after-gunning-down-innocent-teen-7807413.html ).

After this Sammy was left homeless for nine months and like many young boys from his estate ended up committing some offences when he was still a teenager. This culminated in his involvement in the London riots in 2011. He served 4 months for violent disorder and following this has made serious efforts to turn his life around.

Upon his request, and with the help of his social worker Ms. Stephanie Samms, he was provided with a place of his own to stay far away from the estate he was brought up in. During this time Sammy found boxing and in pursuit of his boxing ambitions has shown great discipline and dedication. He lost 19kg over the first few months of training and spends almost half of his weekly £57.35 budget on travel to and from the gym. In the gym he has shown remarkable leadership and generosity, and due to his commitment and voluntary teaching he was recently promoted to be the Club Captain.

In addition to this, Sammy has shown his commitment to helping people outside of the local community through his work on the Philippines charity appeal and separately for the Famine Aid Trust, despite having so little to live on himself. Now that Sammy has left behind the difficult environment in which he spent his teenage years he has begun to build towards a professional life. He was selected for a work placement at a major law firm in the City, and recently began applying to top colleges in order to facilitate his professional development.

Sammy has managed what so many young men from similar backgrounds have not been able to do and has turned his life into something positive for him and for the community. He is a major role model for young people in the community and deporting him after he has made such positive steps away from crime would be devastating for Sammy and for those who look up to him. They need to be shown that positive life choices can be rewarded, and if Sammy is sent to Jamaica, they will have precious few positive role models left.

If he were to return to Jamaica he would be going to an even more dangerous place than where he spent his teenage years. A place where he has a direct threat against him and where he fears his life may not last a year.  He has no-one to help him there and knows little of the country except for feint memories from when he was a small child. Sammy has spent nearly two-thirds of his life in the UK, feels British, and has fought harder than most to turn himself into a positive role model in British society.

Please, help Sammy to stay in the country he has grown up in, the country that has helped him turn around, and the country where he feels at home.