My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
Yes
I am 18 years of age or above, by the application deadline.
Yes
My organisation is a registered UK entity and has a London-based address.
Yes
My organisation is a non-profit (e.g. school, university, or local authority) — not a for-profit, which can only join as a partner.
Yes
If there is a for-profit organisation as a partner in my initiative, they work on a cost-recovery basis only.
Yes
My solution is implemented at scale, or if not, I have a clear business plan, a minimum viable solution (prototype, pilot, or proof of concept), evidence of access to a lease for the space you are leveraging, and evidence of work or impact in London within your coalition.
Yes
I am aware that, if I am submitting more than one application to a Challenge run by Ashoka and Go! London, only one of them is able to progress through the stages.
Yes
Are you an employee (and their children and grandchildren) of Ashoka or any of its respective affiliates and participating advertising and promotion agencies?
No
I have read and accepted the Challenge Terms & Conditions.
Yes
First Name
Kristela
Last Name
Masakayan
Pronouns
She/Her
Email address
I would like to receive notifications and updates about Go London!, Ashoka, Ashoka Changemakers, and other Ashoka opportunities.
1
Are you an Ashoka Fellow?
No
Are you applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow?
No
If you are applying from an organization founded by an Ashoka Fellow, please specify the name and organisation of the fellow below.
Lead Organisation Name
Kol Bonaich
Year that you started/ registered your organisation
2012
Initiative Title
Active Resilience: Empowering NEET Youth through Sport & Mentorship
My initiative is designed for and delivered in London
1
Website URL(s) or Social Media Handles
https://www.kolbonaich.co.uk/
Initiative Stage
Idea (You have a solid concept and are hoping to get started in the future)
Sectors/Themes: What topic does your project most directly relate to?
Children & Youth
Initiative Summary: Describe your initiative in one sentence
By delivering a trauma-informed intervention that utilizes structured swimming and aquatic 'Blue Health' activities—including rhythmic lap swimming, water-based team challenges, and meditative immersion—as a vital strategic 'hook' to engage underserved, socially isolated, and NEET young Londoners aged 14–25, Kol Bonaich will dismantle the barriers of a 'crushed sense of self' by integrating these low-impact, high-sensory sessions with mandatory hot nutritional meal provision and professional 1-to-1 clinical mentorship; thereby creating a consistent, 24/7 safe-haven 'Active Hub' where the unique physiological benefits of water—specifically the reduction of cortisol, regulation of the circadian rhythm for improved sleep, and activation of the parasympathetic nervous system—serve to stabilize mood and enable marginalized individuals to transition from chronic anxiety into a proactive journey toward emotional resilience, physical health, and tangible vocational readiness, ultimately proving that when the immediate barriers of hunger and inactivity are replaced by the tranquil yet transformative power of aquatic exercise, even the most 'at-risk' youth can reclaim their agency and build a sustainable future free from the cycles of isolation that define their current reality
The Problem: What problem are you helping to solve and who will benefit the most from your solution? How close are you to the problem and/or community impacted?
Kol Bonaich is tackling the crisis of chronic social isolation and the "crushed sense of self" among London’s most underserved young people (ages 14–25). Our primary beneficiaries are those identified as NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training), many of whom are survivors of trauma or living in extreme poverty. For these individuals, disadvantage is not just financial; it is physiological. Constant stress and isolation lead to elevated cortisol, sleep deprivation, and a total withdrawal from community life. Mainstream physical activity—a proven clinical tool for mental health—is currently inaccessible to our cohort due to the "Triple Barrier": 1. Economic: Prohibitive costs of pool entry and kit. 2. Psychological: Severe social anxiety that prevents them from entering public "judgmental" leisure spaces. 3. Physical: A lack of basic life-saving skills, with many never having had the opportunity to learn to swim. We are not external observers; KB is deeply embedded within the community we serve. Our organization was born from the direct needs of local families, and we currently support over 250 households annually through our 24/7 crisis center. We have a "high-trust" relationship with youth who are typically "hard-to-reach" for statutory services. Our leadership and volunteer base (78+ strong) includes individuals who have navigated the same cultural and socio-economic barriers as our participants. This swimming initiative was specifically requested by our Youth Board, who identified "the silence and weightlessness of water" as a preferred alternative to high-impact, aggressive sports. By removing the cost and providing a private, culturally sensitive environment, we are solving the problem of inactivity-driven depression at its source.
Your approach: How are you/ will you addressing the problem outlined above? How does your solution unlock or reimagine access to spaces for sport and physical activity? What role do landowners, local authorities, or other decision-making stakeholders play in your approach? We'd love to know about the origin of your idea, and what was your "aha" moment" that led you to take action?
We are addressing the crisis of youth isolation by transforming a traditionally "exclusive" space—the swimming pool—into an inclusive sanctuary for healing and resilience. Our solution, Active Resilience, removes the "Triple Barrier" of cost, anxiety, and skill-deficit through a partnership-led, trauma-informed model. We "reimagine" access by moving away from public, crowded sessions that trigger social anxiety. Instead, we collaborate with landowners and local authorities to secure private "off-peak" pool hire. This turns a standard leisure facility into a "safe-haven" where our youth feel invisible to the public but seen by their mentors. By using underutilized morning or late-evening slots, we optimize existing local infrastructure that often sits empty, making it "youth-ready." Local Authorities (Councils): We act as the "bridge" between the Council’s public health goals and hard-to-reach NEET youth. We provide the specialized safeguarding and mentorship that local leisure centers aren't equipped to offer alone. Leisure Operators: We work with pool managers to provide cultural competency training for lifeguards, ensuring a welcoming environment for youth from diverse or traumatized backgrounds. We realized that for youth with a "crushed sense of self," high-impact sports can feel like another form of pressure. Swimming offers the opposite: sensory regulation and quietude. We pivoted our strategy to "Blue Health," recognizing that water isn't just for exercise—it’s a clinical tool for emotional reset. By combining this "quiet" activity with a hot communal meal afterward, we create a journey from sensory calm to social connection.
Collaboration with young people and the community: In what ways does your initiative engage young people and community members closest to the problem? What role do they play in building the solution you deliver?
Kol Bonaich operates on the principle of "Nothing for us, without us." Our initiative is not a top-down program; it is a collaborative response built alongside the young people and community members who live the problem every day. Our youth are the primary architects of Active Resilience. They engage through our Youth Advisory Board (YAB), a representative group of 12 young people—all with lived experience of NEET status or mental health isolation. - The Decision-Makers: The YAB didn't just suggest swimming; they vetoed high-impact sports like boxing, explaining that "aggression isn't the cure for anxiety." They identified "weightlessness" as their goal. - The Peer Network: They act as "Active Ambassadors," using their high-trust relationships to recruit the most isolated peers who would typically ignore official flyers or council emails. We involve the wider community—parents, local mentors, and 78+ volunteers—to ensure the initiative is culturally safe and sustainable: - Resource Mapping: Community members helped us identify "hidden" local pools and off-peak hours that we could negotiate for private hire. - The Wrap-Around Care: Local volunteers lead the "Community Kitchen" aspect of the project. They don't just cook; they facilitate the communal meal sessions where the real "mentoring" happens after the swim. By treating our youth as experts in their own lives, we ensure that "Active Resilience" isn't just a service they use—it’s a community they have built. This sense of ownership is the most powerful tool we have for breaking the cycle of a "crushed sense of self."
Potential for/Evidence of Impact: How do you imagine your initiative will make a difference in unlocking spaces for and access to physical activity and sport so far? If you have already implemented it, what difference have you made so far? What is the impact your initiative has had , and or what impact do you envision having in the future?
Our initiative transforms exclusionary, high-anxiety environments into therapeutic sanctuaries. Public leisure centers are often "unconscious gatekeepers"; for a young person with a "crushed sense of self" or NEET status, the noise, cost, and perceived judgment of a public pool create a psychological wall. We don't just "pay for tickets"; we reclaim the space. By negotiating private "off-peak" hire with local authorities, we remove the "spectator" element. This shifts the pool from a place of public display to a "Safe Haven" where youth can focus on healing through Blue Health. To ensure rigorous impact tracking, we utilize the "4 C’s of Aquatic Progress" (Comfort, Capability, Confidence, Connection) alongside validated tools like the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM-R). While this aquatic pilot is a new evolution, Kol Bonaich has a proven record of "unlocking" assets. We currently operate a 24/7 crisis center supporting 250+ families. In our trial fitness sessions, we saw a 60% improvement in self-reported sleep quality, proving that the privacy of the space is the critical factor in re-engaging "hidden" youth. Our vision is to create a "Blue Health Blueprint" for London, replacing isolation with a lifelong connection to physical and emotional well-being.
Innovation: What is different about your initiative compared to other solutions that are already out there? How is your approach original and innovative?
What sets Active Resilience apart is our rejection of the "one-size-fits-all" approach to youth sports. Most mainstream solutions focus on high-impact, competitive, or team-based activities (like football or boxing), which can inadvertently trigger the "fight or flight" response in traumatized or anxious youth. Our approach is original because it utilizes "Blue Health"—the clinical application of aquatic environments—to provide a non-aggressive, sensory-neutral alternative for young Londoners who are currently "hidden" from the system. Traditional "free swim" vouchers fail because they ignore the social anxiety barrier. Our innovation lies in the Private-Hire Sanctuary Model. By securing off-peak, private use of local pools, we remove the "public gaze." This turns a public leisure facility into a controlled clinical environment in which the "weightlessness" of water serves as a physical metaphor for shedding the burdens of a "crushed sense of self." Unlike standard "youth clubs" that use sport for fun, we use swimming as a biological regulator. We specifically target reducing salivary cortisol and regulating circadian rhythm. Our sessions are timed to help NEET youth—who often suffer from chronic "reversed" sleep patterns—reset their internal clocks, making them more receptive to the 1-to-1 mentorship and vocational training that follows. Our innovation was sparked by a young person’s rejection of our boxing program: "Everything in my life is a fight; I don't want to fight in my free time too." This led us to "Blue Health." By moving from the ring to the pool, we aren't just changing the sport; we are changing the neurological impact of our intervention. We are "learning by doing"—prototyping a model where quietude is the catalyst for resilience.
Viability and Scalability: How are you setting your initiative up for success, and what is your plan to ensure operational sustainability of your solution and its impact? What are your ideas for scaling your initiative to the next level?
To ensure Active Resilience remains a permanent lifeline for NEET youth, we are moving beyond "pilot thinking" into a model of strategic resilience. By utilizing "off-peak" private hire agreements, we maintain low overheads while maximizing underused public assets. While Go! London provides the essential "innovation spark." We are already mapping follow-on support through the National Lottery "Awards for All" and City Bridge Foundation, specifically for our unique "Blue Health" delivery. Our 78+ strong volunteer base ensures that core delivery costs are focused on frontline clinical mentorship and pool hire, rather than heavy administrative layering. We are committing to the Go! London Organisational Health Check to identify areas for growth. Our plan includes: - Accredited Training. Transitioning our senior youth participants into Level 1 Swimming Assistant or Lifeguard qualifications. This creates a "revolving door" of local employment while providing us with a sustainable, culturally competent staff pipeline. And Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). We aim to offer local businesses "Active Wellness" sponsorship packages, where their staff can support our communal meals in exchange for community impact credits. Once the "Active Resilience" pilot in North London is refined, we plan to "branch" the model into East and South London boroughs, partnering with additional local authorities who face high NEET and youth-isolation rates. We will develop a "Blue Health Toolkit"—a standardized, trauma-informed manual that other London-based youth groups can use to negotiate their own "Private-Hire Sanctuary" agreements with leisure providers. We don't just want to run a local program; we want to disrupt how London utilizes its "Blue Spaces" for social change.
Roles and Responsibilities: Describe how responsibilities are shared among your team or partners.
Our delivery model is built on a clear, shared-responsibility framework that balances professional oversight with community-led action. At the helm is our Project Lead, who holds primary accountability for the fund’s strategic objectives, including pool-hire logistics, financial reporting, and the rigorous safeguarding protocols required for high-risk NEET youth. Working in lockstep with the lead is our team of professional mentors, who ensure that every aquatic session translates into a clinical breakthrough for the participant's mental health. The operational "heartbeat" of the initiative, however, is driven by our 78+ dedicated volunteers. These individuals, many of whom possess lived experience of the same socio-economic barriers our youth face, are responsible for the vital "wraparound" care that happens outside the water. They manage the Community Kitchen, facilitating the communal meals and informal social bonding that follow every swim. By sharing responsibilities this way, we ensure the Project Lead can focus on high-level impact and safety, while the volunteers provide the authentic, high-trust environment necessary to rebuild a young person’s sense of belonging.
Upcoming Milestones: Please provide an overview of the milestones that are required for your initiative to come to fruition/to grow.
Milestone 1: Establishing the "Private-Hire Sanctuary" The foundation of our success is the transition from public to private space. Our Project Lead will work with local authorities to "unlock" off-peak hours at community pools. Success here is defined by a signed Service Level Agreement (SLA) that guarantees a sensory-calm environment, free from the "public gaze" that currently prevents our youth from participating. Milestone 2: The "Communal Table" Integration Sustainability relies on more than just exercise. A critical milestone is the full activation of our 78+ Volunteers in the "Nourish" phase. By Month 3, we aim to have a consistent routine where every swim is followed by a hot, healthy meal. This milestone is achieved when 90% of participants stay for the post-swim social hour, indicating the successful breakdown of social isolation. Milestone 3: Vocational Transition & Scaling To ensure the initiative grows, we must move youth from "service users" to "service providers." By Month 10, we will identify participants ready for vocational training. This "Aha" milestone proves that the "Blue Health" model has successfully rebuilt their confidence enough to pursue formal qualifications, creating a permanent, community-led talent pipeline for London's leisure sector.
Capacity-Building Participation and Support Funding: If you were to make it as a finalist, you will be required to participate in an 8-week capacity building programme. If funding/ cost is a barrier to your participation, we may be able to offer up to 10,000 GBP of grant money available to support you. Please break down below, if it is the case, what costs you would incur and you would need covered. (Please note that there are restrictions on how the grant money may be used; please refer to the T&Cs for further details.
To ensure Kol Bonaich can fully engage with the 8-week Capacity Building Programme without compromising our frontline 24/7 crisis support and current youth interventions, we require "Backfill and Participation Support." As a grassroots organization with a high-trust, volunteer-led model, our Project Lead and core team are currently at 100% capacity. This funding will allow us to hire temporary cover and enhance our internal systems so that the insights gained from the programme can be immediately operationalized. Our participation is currently restricted by "Single Point of Failure" risk, because our Project Lead is the primary holder of both the strategic vision and the key stakeholder relationships; their absence for the programme creates a service gap. The £10,000 grant will remove this barrier by: 1. Ensuring Continuity: Our 250+ families will not lose their lifeline while we upskill. 2. Sustainability: We won't just "attend" the sessions; we will have the staff hours available to actually build the "Blue Health Blueprint" and scaling strategy discussed in the milestones. 3. Equity of Participation: As a community-led charity, we lack the "core-cost" reserves of larger NGOs. This funding levels the playing field, allowing us to participate as equals.
