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MadTwoz Family is an association created in 2012 by Jérémy. I pass you the details of his rather difficult childhood marked by abandonment and heartbreak, he told me twice but he does not need to be pitied. Jérémy and his team deserve something else. From the height of their "not even 30 years", they lived more and were more effective than us. They dare to roll up their sleeves to do the right thing, they no longer wait for us to give them the right to exist, to act, they do. The passage of his life to remember and because it is in the title, I tell you. At 14, Jérémy finds himself in the United States to study. This is where we say to ourselves "what luck he had! " Well, not at all. First, he lands in Newark, New Jersey. It is not an easy corner. As he explains it to me very well, he thought that "high school would be like in the series" that he watched. Schools full of kind teenagers, ready to welcome you and to love you as you are. Unfortunately, the reality is very different. Jérémy absolutely does not have the means to wear trendy clothes, brands, to do everything that others do, so he is put aside.

"Sometimes you know what you want but you're not in the right universe. I had simple clothes and damaged shoes. "

Even though he is an English speaker, his English is not quite the same and he has an accent. The other teenagers laugh at him all the time and don't consider him at all. Impossible to integrate in these conditions and the feeling of abandonment returns to the gallop. He is once again alone in the country where anything is possible. Her great aunt who is an elderly woman does not understand her problems, they are too far away from her and cannot really help her. The first people who show interest in him and take care of him are the "guys" in the gangs. The feeling of belonging… It is a strong, very strong call. The maneuver, because it is, is the same as that of sects and terrorists. We bring you what you desperately lack. At first, Jérémy does not touch the affairs of the gang. Simply, he is no longer alone. But, little by little, people identify him with the gang since he always "hangs out" with them. He finds himself mixed up in their stories without even seeing it coming.

“Prison gave me time to think. Before, it was fast life ”

And then, the time for graduate studies arrives. His family cannot afford to pay him for college. So he watches the others leave. He remains stuck in the neighborhood, only the gang remains. The rest is obvious, right? He falls and goes through the prison box, he is 19 years old. But his story varies here. The prison does not harden it, it makes it solid. He begins to think about his career and the prison elders help him in this introspection, "if you are French, what are you doing here?". Yes, indeed, Jérémy is beginning to think that going home could be a good idea to get back on track. When he returns, he sees the old friends again. So, "what's going on? What are we doing ? " "Nothing here, there is nothing to do. We must leave. ” The observation is clear, young people do not find their place, they do not feel considered. He decides to start a music group, MadTwoz which means "cool together".

They are not seen very well. They talk about their daily life and that inspires them with some insults and some very unpleasant comments on the gendarmes ... "We are children of immigrants so we saw people in the family who were taken away by immigration. We grew up with this image of the gendarme, we all grew up with this anger ”explains Jérémy.

“For the children who were there in 2012, we can no longer give Monopoly. They are 18 years old "

Then comes the idea of ​​the association to keep the children occupied. They voluntarily keep the name of the group to which they add the word family. They want MadTwoz to be positive, to be looked at for what they do well and not for the anger they send on the air. "Be the change you want to see in this world," said Ghandi. They may not have known Ghandi but they understood everything. Starting to take care of the children in the neighborhood treated Jérémy of his anger. He has some left and he explains it very well but he wants something else for his neighborhood and his island. He has long understood that this is not the way. Once again, I will pass you the details, the story is long and rich and if you have the opportunity to meet Jérémy, he is not ashamed, he tells you about his journey without embellishing, he will tell you what has been and what is. The main thing to remember is that despite hard daily work, the creation of a magazine (SXM friendy mag), the creation of a bicycle repair workshop, a cyber space, reading and writing workshops, summer camps for children (15 this year with the precious support of Secours Populaire "Français" he specifies) and projects not knowing what to do with them, MadTwoz Family is struggling to recover from the passage of Irma. Their premises have been destroyed, they pile up in the tiny space where we met. We couldn't hold a meeting there, we were standing. Impossible to set up any workshop there. Children cannot remain unoccupied all summer, they cannot remain left to themselves every day of the year. At MadTwoz, they have the workshops but also the listening and the food because they do not eat all, every day.

I would like to appeal to your compassion but also to your common sense. MadTwoz Family is doing a job that we cannot do and that is necessary. I'm not asking you to take my word for it. Take a look at their facebook page, meet them, visit their local, talk to the young people who “hang around”. Individuals or professionals, you can donate money, equipment, human time, skills… (Remember that your donations are tax deductible). They lack the means to finance the rent of the new premises but also the installation works. They obtained grants which are conditioned on their ability to reopen a reception place. If they cannot accommodate, they will have to return the money. Jérémy is ready to return the money if there is no solution but when we hear him say "if it were only for me, I would sit there watching the time go by but it's bigger than me ”, we don't want there to be no solution. And to tell you the truth, while writing this article, I looped the famous title of Marvin Gaye and Tami Terrell, "Ain't no mountain high enough", it's a sign! _NB

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