….To Put Girls First With Milk Honey Bees' Ebinehita Iyere

Ebinehita Iyere left school and went into care at 15 by that time she had lost five of her friends to violence. She was put in an 18+ hostel and says she was forgotten about. Having been taken in by the system, she felt invisible to the system. She turned into a nurturer looking after older males and females who were in the care system. Ebinehita thinks she was forced to become an adult too early but says she learnt from the people there how to protect herself. And without that experience she believes she wouldn't be doing what she's doing now. Ebinehita is a therapeutic, diversion practitioner working with boys and young women who come into contact with police custody as well as safeguarding issues. She is also the founder of Milk Honey Bees, a black-girl led expressive safe space for young women to flourish and put H.E.R (Healing, Empowerment and Resilience) first.  It gives them a safe space to express themselves and heal from their experiences of youth violence. Ebinehita was nominated for the 2021 Veuve Clicquot Bold Future Award.  For Emmeline's bookshelf she recommends Look Up  by Nathan Bryson and Dapo Adeola about little girls dreaming big.  The book is written and illustrated by two men which she thinks perfectly demonstrates the fact that it's not just about women understanding each other but about men and boys understanding the role they play in making women more visible.