The African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT) has partnered with Brixton based charity, Poetic Unity to host an exclusive screening of impactful spoken word performances that are the result of a poetry masterclass hosted last month in Brixton. Taking place on Saturday 30th November at Ritzy Brixton, the event will also include a panel discussion and Q&A, offering guests the chance to learn more about Sickle Cell Disease and hear from individuals who have turned their ‘Pain into Purpose’.

The masterclass, held in October, brought together 10 young black adults who used their personal experiences and ACLT’s provided facts about Sickle Cell to create moving poetry under the theme ‘Pain into Purpose.’ The session included both those living with Sickle Cell Disease and others who were newly introduced to its challenges, crafting powerful messages with guidance from expert mentors.

The screening will showcase the works of two commissioned poets that came out of the masterclass – Princess Ari whose poetry explores her dreams of painless days without withdrawals, and Kobi who celebrates his friend Iyanu through his work, explaining that he does not seek pity due to his condition as he lives life without limits to his character.

ACLT is a charity committed to helping provide hope to patients living with blood cancer & other illnesses such as Sickle Cell and kidney failure, where a matched donor of stem cell, blood, and/or organs is required to save a life. Through a shared ambition of giving the youth a voice, the charity’s partnership with Poetic Unity, whose own mission is to help young people find their voice through poetry, is rooted in raising awareness of the importance of donations.

Following the screening, ACLT will launch a social media campaign, sharing compelling snippets of the poetry in the lead up to the opening of the Brixton Blood Donor Centre this December to drive blood donations.

Orin Lewis, OBE, co-founder of ACLT, commented: “Our main goal at ACLT is to raise awareness of the life-saving importance of blood donations, a goal that is based on our belief that no one should die waiting for a donor to become available. Through this collaboration with Poetic Unity and the empowering work that they do, we are proud to provide young adults with the encouragement to make an informed decision to become regular blood donors, and hopefully drive new donations at the new Brixton blood centre, all done through a creative medium that they can engage with.”