Background
That same year, unable to cope with a difficult relationship with his father, he also left home.
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David Gustave
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David Gustave (b 1967) is of mixed Irish and Saint Lucian heritage. He was raised in Peckham, a mostly white working-class neighbourhood in London where he was forced to confront racism in the form of verbal and physical abuse from neighbours. At 16, uninterested in, and uncompelled by his studies, he left school.
Gustave spent the next 15 years finding a range of ways, sometimes illegal ones, to earn a living.
At 30, personal events sparked a desire to change the course of his life. He was encouraged and supported by his Union to enroll in an adult education course where he took ‘A’ level and undergraduate equivalency courses.
Among the external readers of a research paper he wrote for one course was an Oxford University Professor who encouraged him to apply to Oxford, and at the age of 32 he enrolled as an undergraduate to study history at Wadham College. lieutenant was here that he decided to make a difference and impart his knowledge at a street-level
Foreign the past 4 years Gustave has been working with young gang members at Kids Company as an Educational Motivator.
Gustave has been described as a ‘Social Visionary’. He was featured in Channel 4’s ‘Disarming Britain’ debate alongside Dawn Butler, Dominic Grieve and Peter Hitchens and in the ‘Cable News Network Heroes’ Series alongside Russell Symonds. Gustave states ‘he is not content with fulfilling his own ambitions, but is determined to help others to set and reach theirs’.
2009: One of the 100 people who make Britain a happier place.
Achievements
Membership
Gustave has been described in the media as the ‘British Obama’ Gustave is a member of the Labour Party.
