Sean grew up thinking there were no green spaces in Earl’s Court, which is why his friends and brothers adopted the local cemetery as their park – playing sports, riding bikes and climbing trees. Later on, he learnt there actually were plenty of local gardens, but they were all privately owned and under lock and key.

On weekends Sean's mum took him to work with her at ‘The Gateway Club’ – a centre for young people with learning disabilities. It was a club with scarce resources, but the staff were very caring, patient and nurturing. This stuck! He was proud to know that his mum took care of these people. They would call him their ‘brother’ and his mum their ‘mum’. One big family.

In 2006, Sean travelled the world for a year. During that time he mixed with wonderful people, each with their own traits and with a common goal in life: to be happy. He absorbed the environment – from the street children in Mumbai to the opulence of Dubai, and realised that sports played a big part in children’s happiness. It was a way of bringing people together. From the homemade cricket bats in India to the dilapidated boxing gyms in Cuba, resourcefulness seemed to overcome the hardship of poverty.

Sean returned to the UK in 2007 and founded Solidarity Sports. His first project – ‘Six Weeks of Football Fun’ – gave 20 children living in Earl’s Court the opportunity to enjoy sports and keep healthy. Since then, he has helped children all over London. From taking over 100 children on exciting trips abroad to publishing their very own cookbook, the journey has given Sean and him team smiles, tears and lots of laughter in between.

Sean's vision is to help more children and have a more positive impact on their lives. The Sports Solidarity slogan used to be: ‘Inspiring children to be’. However, sometimes he thinks he enjoys working with young people so much that it should read the opposite: ‘Inspiring adults to be’. It’s closer to the truth.

Empathy with Sean Mendez

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