Youths who vandalised Rochdale Thai Boxing Club help make amends by cleaning up and joining the club

Three youths who vandalised Rochdale Thai Boxing Club have helped make amends for their behaviour – by helping to clean up the mess and becoming the club’s newest members.

The unnamed youths, aged 11 and 14, had smashed up part of the club on 21 April, leaving graffiti behind.

But in a surprise twist, after they were identified by the club, the three youths have helped to repair the damage they caused and, consequently, have taken up the sport.

Club founder Omar Ghalib said: “We identified who caused the damage and the very next day we set about cleaning and repairing the damage. It took us all week and we finally got it ready late Sunday night to open up again yesterday.

“We sat down with the children and their parents and explained possible outcomes for them in the future if they carried on behaving in this way.

“We also explained how Thai boxing can help in all aspects of life and give them the chance to make a positive change in life.

He laughed: “I had already forgiven them for the damage they have caused and wanted them to be part of the Thai boxing club family, and now I can’t get them to leave at the end of the day. I knew I wanted to do this before I knew who had caused the damage.”

 

 

Omar has also offered to help the children with their studies and given them opportunities to volunteer.

He added: “We have been working with naughty children for years; it is the main reason I set up the club, helping kids develop social skills, crafting young leaders that work towards the betterment of the local community.

“Their outlook is more positive. They are surrounded by helpful people now, so their role models are better. They are coming up with suggestions on how we can improve the gym area as a whole and spent Sunday litter picking in our garden.

“They are happy and hopefully this will show in their school results.”