Memory of baby Kingsley Olasupo lives on in the community

Volunteer at The Believe Achieve Centre Harley Phillips, organised a fundraiser earlier this month to raise money for a memorial bench in tribute to  Kingsley Olasupo.

Volunteers and their supporters managed to raise £350 for the bench through holding a raffle, which included some live performances from local dance groups.

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Parents of Kingsley, Tunde Olasupo and Nicola Daley set up the centre in 2022.

Kingsley was born, along with his twin sister Princess who was born 27 minutes after him, at the Royal Bolton Hospital on April 8, 2019, but he tragically died on April 18, 2019, after suffering from meningitis and sepsis.

Following a four-day inquest, Area Coroner for Manchester West, Peter Sigee concluded that there were ‘individual and systemic failures in the post-natal care of Kinglsey’, who would have survived had he received the right medication.

Tunde says that the whole event came as a massive surprise to him and says it shows that the work, they are doing is helping people.

He said: “One of the reasons that we created this space was to give people the life that Kingsley will never have.

“The bench is for hope for the future and symbolises that people should never give up on what they believe in.”

Harley says the event was a huge success and it was his and the volunteer’s way of giving back.

Kingsley with his sister Princess He said: “Everything Tunde and Nicola do is in Kingsley’s name, and any money they have and save, goes back to supporting people from the centre.

“Tunde has given so much to us, so we wanted to give back.

“We had a lot of support from their family, and Nicola and Tunde were absolutely gobsmacked when they walked in.”

The centre is completely run by volunteers who rely on funding from the National Lottery Fund and support from organisations such as the Good Things Foundation who help offer free data and laptops to those who need it.

Harley – who is from Kearsley – decided to start volunteering after witnessing a lot of anti-social behaviour in his area.

He helps run a range of youth activities, including workshops on mental health, and knife crime, as well as being the north west’s districts young ambassador for the Bolton Lions Club.

He said: “Where I am from there is a lot of anti-social behaviour, and so I am just trying to help change that, and with engagement that should help massively.

“We help support people who may be struggling with their energy bills, and provide vouchers for their heating, gas, and electric, and we have experts who offer 24-hour support for finances and debt management.

“When you see the smiles on people’s faces it’s amazing, and the support we are giving is life changing.”

The event was hosted at The Home of D Havilland club.

The memorial bench is set to be installed in a couple of weeks.

If you have a story and something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at jasmine.jackson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @JournoJasmine.