Meet the Artist: Labebu Bawa Lengani, aka Labib. Assistant at Hoodlab. He describes himself as friendly, smart and every now and then slightly annoying. His words, not the writers’ 😝.
His art is sponging up information all around him. He takes example from the people he looks up to, like Bill Gates, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos. He looks at their accomplishments and follows in their footsteps. What mistakes did they make? So he can avoid them himself. He wants to make life easier for himself and his family by becoming one of these high class men.
“I’m going to make a million before I am 25 years old.” That’s his goal, with more sentimental value than you might think at first sight. He wants to repay his mum as she has done so much for him and his siblings. When talking to him you feel his strong sense of responsibility and the way he contemplates cause and effect.
He met Arjen, Joke and Louis at Hoodlab Venserpolder in 2018 playing chess. Labib liked the vibe of Hoodlab and started working with us as an assistant. “It makes me feel free, I learned a lot here.” Although he is still at school he prefers learning at Hoodlab. He explains to me why: “Schools focus on the past, not the future. A lot of stuff you learn is nice to know, but you’re not actually using it. At Hoodlab we always think a step ahead and we communicatie a lot. That’s really valuable for me to learn. Before I started working here I was a little bit shy so it helped me to get more in touch with people, to start a conversation and open up. I am grateful to be working here.”
In return we’re really grateful Labib is a part of our team. It’s great to see him developing into a young man with lots of talents, intellect and attentiveness. At Hoodlab he recently discovered his talent as a photographer. Colleague Jane handed him a Canon DSLR camera and he discovered a genuine talent.
Go check out his work at @_.nemo_photography_ 🔥 📸.
Podcast met Ibrahim Si Boukasem Buurtwerker bij DOCK
In deze podcast praat Jane van Hoodlab met Ibrahim over de toekomst van Dock, het bieden van perspectief voor jongeren en het ombuigen van wantrouwen naar vertrouwen.